Here's a challenge for you.  Go off and grab your favourite Big Name Brand moisturiser or cleanser.  Now type the ingredients into the Skin Deep database.  Skin Deep assesses the safety of 8,729 ingredients found in over 50,000 cosmetics and personal care products.  If it leaves you wanting to know more about what's in your toiletries, and what the alternatives are, read on.

Chemicals in Skincare Products

Don't be put off by its brown corduroy image (after all, the rather dishy Zac Goldsmith is a Director), The Ecologist magazine has produced a series of excellent articles on dubious chemicals found in cosmetics and skincare products, as well as a host of other household products and brand names.

• They provide information on how to decipher the labels on body washes, bath foams, shampoos, baby washes and shower gels
• And on the issues surrounding preservatives commonly used in big brand household products

For further links, the Channel 4 microsite How Toxic Are You? provides a comprehensive list of resources about suspect chemicals in beauty products and chemicals in food.

Chemicals in the Home

• Back to The Ecologist (swoon) for information on seemingly innocuous household candles
• An extensive, but easy to digest, report on suspect chemicals in children’s pyjama’s, T-shirts and underwear, as well as personal care products and perfumes has been produced by Greenpeace which every parent should read.  Give it a few seconds to download, it's an excellent campaign pushing large companies to substitute dodgy ingredients in widely used products.