Where to find cleaner, safer cosmetics

The word “organic” or “natural” on a label is no guarantee that a beauty product is free of potentially hazardous chemicals.

To make the best choices, compare potentially hazardous ingredients on the “Makeup watch list” sidebar against ingredients listed on the packaging of makeup you currently own or are thinking of buying. The Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep database (ewg.org/skindeep/#) can also be helpful, as can the websites of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics (safecosmetics.org) and its certifying partner, Madesafe.org. Downloadable apps allow you to take their recommendations to the market with you.

Each of these organizations — and the outlets listed below — uses different criteria to decide which ingredients are safe and which should be avoided. You may want to review them all before deciding which rating shares your concerns and values.

Online

Beautycounter.com was founded in 2013 “to get safer products in the hands of everyone.” The company sells its brands directly on its website and through a multilevel marketing program. The website includes a downloadable “Never List” and an ingredients glossary. More than 100 of its products are EWG verified.

Sephora recently launched Clean at Sephora, “clean beauty” products that are free of certain ingredients (listed on the website) and contain less than 1 percent synthetic fragrances. Products that meet the criteria are marked with a round green seal, both online at sephora.com and in the company’s retail stores.

In Santa Fe

The following local stores carry some beauty products they define as “clean.” Each has its own criteria and rating system for chemicals and brands it considers safe, so read the labels and ask questions before you buy:

Natural Grocers (1090 S. St. Francis Drive; 505-474-0111; naturalgrocers.com/store/santa-fe)

Pharmaca (530 W. Cordova Road; 505-820-7690; pharmaca.com/beauty)

Sephora (inside J.C. Penney at Santa Fe Place Mall, 4250 Cerrillos Road). Look for products with the green “Clean at Sephora” seal.

Whole Foods Market (753 Cerrillos Road; 505-992-1700; wholefoodsmarket.com/department/whole-body)