I love sharing my most recent cruelty-free beauty empties and my thoughts about them, but this time I wanted to also search the Think Dirty app for their scores. Think Dirty is an app that lets you scan or search for products to see whether your cosmetics and personal care products contain any toxic ingredients. I have used the EWG database to check my products in the past, but I’ve fallen out of the habit in the last couple of years. I have already fully used the products I write about in this post, but I wanted to check them to see whether I should repurchase any of them or find an alternative. I was surprised at some of the results.
- Not Your Mother’s Tinted Dry Shampoo, light to dark brown: I was sent this by Influenster to try. I had already used the regular NYM’s dry shampoo, but the difference is this one is tinted. On my first two uses I didn’t like this product because it left my fingers black, but once I learned to use it I no longer had that problem. I like it and would repurchase, although it costs about $1 more. This item is not in the Think Dirty app but the original has a score of 6 because it contains fragrance.
- Yes to Tomatoes Detoxifying and Hydrating White Charcoal Mud Mask: I loved this mask! It visibly improved my skin, especially on my nose, in just one use. My pores looked cleaner and tighter, and my skin felt smoother. I will be purchasing this again when I use up my current mask. This mask is not yet in the Think Dirty app.
- Morphe Continous Setting Mist: I loved the fine mist from this bottle. It was remniscent of the Milani mist that I have loved in the past. The Think Dirty app rates this as an 8 because it contains fragrance. Other concerning ingredients are PPG-26-Buteth-26 (possible organ system toxicity), phenoxyethanol (potential neurotoxin) and PVP (respiratory and skin irritation).
- Love Beauty and Planet Murumuru Butter and Rose deodorant: I wanted to love this because I enjoy rose scents, but it’s rated an 8 in the Think Dirty app. It also works about as well as Native, which I am currently using.
- Physicians Formula Rose All Night Ultra-Rich Restorative Cream: It lives up to the name Ultra-Rich, but I didn’t necessarily enjoy that. It doesn’t fully absorb so my skin felt a bit greasy upon applying it. It has a mousse consistency and smells nice, but I would not repurchase it. It is not listed in the Think Dirty app.
- Burt’s Bees Daily Moisturizing Cream: This worked OK for me. I think the bottle gives an illusion of having more product in it than it does. This was not listed in the Think Dirty app, and I think it is a newer product.
- Hello Antiplaque and Whitening Flouride Free Toothpaste: I liked this toothpaste! It was a sample size of the natural peppermint flavor, and I thought it worked well. This isn’t listed in the Think Dirty app but similar products had a score of 3, which is not bad.
- Schmidt’s Rose and Vanilla Deodorant: This rated a 0 in the app, which is great. I liked the scent and it worked OK. I didn’t repurchase, though, because it tended to melt and ooze out of the tube and onto my skin.
- Native Lavender & Rose Deodorant: I found this to work about as well as other “natural” options. It is more pricey though. It scores well in the Think Dirty app at a 1. I am now trying the Coconut and Vanilla scent.
- Boots Botanics Hydrating Day Cream: I wanted to like this, but it wasn’t the amount of hydration I expected. It had a nice scent, but it also scores an 8 on the Think Dirty app, which is bad. Fragrance and phenoxyethanol are the concerning ingredients cited. I would not repurchase this.
- Lush Sleepy Body Lotion: I liked this lotion before bed but it scores an 8 in the Think Dirty app because of the fragrance.
- NYX Micro Brow Pencil: I thought this worked well and used it up entirely. When I checked the Think Dirty app, NYX brow pencils did not score well because of possible endocrine disruptors. I will not repurchase this pencil.
As you can see, many of the products I used were new releases that were not yet in the database. I look forward to rechecking these in the future to see if they are safe to use. If you would like to see what’s in your skincare and makeup it’s a good idea to check Think Dirty.
Why are fragrances bad? Manufacturers are not required to list their fragrance ingredients on their product labels. That means that a fragrance can be made of many chemicals, some of which are harmful, and you would never know about it. According to the documentary “Stink,” the justification for this is that companies claim the fragrance is a trade secret or proprietary.