A Consumer's Dictionary of Cosmetic Ingredients: Complete Information About the Harmful and Desirable Ingredients Found in Cosmetics and Cosmeceuticals [Paperback]

Ruth Winter (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 22, 2005

Take the guesswork out of choosing safe and effective cosmetics and cosmeceuticals.

You wouldn’t eat something without knowing what it was. Don’t you want to take the same care with what you put on your face, hair, and body? Find out what’s in your health and beauty products with Ruth Winter’s A Consumer’s Dictionary of Cosmetic Ingredients. This updated and expanded sixth edition gives you all the facts you need to protect yourself and your family from possible irritants, confusing chemical names, or exaggerated claims of beauty from gimmick additives.

Virtually every chemical found in toiletries, cosmetics, and cosmeceuticals—from body and face creams to toothpaste, hand lotion, shaving cream, shampoo, soap, perfume, and makeup—is evaluated in this book, including those ingredients marketed as being all-natural, for children, and for people of color. The alphabetical arrangement makes it easy to look up the ingredients in the products you use.

With new substances popping up in products we utilize every day—and with the continuing deregulation of the cosmetics industry—A Consumer’s Dictionary of Cosmetic Ingredients is more indispensable than ever.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

You wouldn't eat something without knowing what it was--don't you want to take the same care with what you put on your face, hair, and body? Find out what's in that shampoo, makeup, toothpaste, lotion, or perfume here, with more than 6,000 entries, organized alphabetically. Cosmetics are barely regulated these days, leaving it up to you to learn what those strange-sounding names mean and how they might affect you. For example, did you know these intriguing tidbits?

• Abietic acid, a texturizer in soaps, is harmless when injected into mice but causes paralysis in frogs.
  
• The American Medical Association frowns on medicated makeup, because their potential to do harm often outweighs their benefit.
  
• Mayonnaise is as effective a dry-hair conditioner as the expensive preparations.
  
• Milk is a good face wash, but you'd better rinse it off well, or rancidity will give rise to bacteria that will cause pimples.
  

Don't skip the introduction, a provocative discussion of "cosmeceuticals," anti-aging products, what's really meant by the word "natural," "culture and cosmetics," and what to do if you have an adverse reaction. This is the fifth edition of this guide, which originally appeared in 1978. Even if you own the fourth edition, you'll want to update, because this edition includes 1,400 newly developed chemicals and hundreds of name changes. --Joan Price --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Inside Flap

An essential book for anyone who wants to make informed, healthier choices about the cosmetics they use. This valuable listing of thousands of cosmetic ingredients includes all those found in the products you use regularly, and advice about evaluating the many new products that come into use each year. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 576 pages
• Publisher: Three Rivers Press; 6 Rev Upd edition (March 22, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400052335
• ISBN-13: 978-1400052332
• Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 1.5 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #122,405 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Ruth Winter, MS, The author of 37 popular health books, was past president of The American Society of Journalists and Authors and winner of many awards including: The American Medical Writers Award for Magazine Writing; The National Association of Science Writers Service Award and The American Society of Authors and Journalists Career Achievement Award for Non-Fiction. Ruth Winter is the former science editor of The Newark Star-Ledger, and syndicated for columnist the Los Angeles Time. She contributes often to the Internet. Her A Consumer's Dictionary of Cosmetics and A Consumer's Dictionary of Food Additives have just been published in their Seventh Editions by Crown/Three Rivers. She has also written three books with her neurosurgeon husband including the bestselling Brain Workout (St.Martins) They have three children, Robin Winter-Sperry CEO of Scientific Advantage; Craig, Director of Anti-Piracy for The Motion Picture Association of American and Grant, president of Manhattan Bureau Corp, a video film production company. Ruth and her husband Arthur have three grandchildren, Samathana, Hunter and Katlynd.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

54 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars very informative - a must read if you have sensitive skin, January 22, 2000

By 

kittyworld (Marietta, GA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Consumer's Dictionary of Cosmetic Ingredients (Paperback)

yes this book does tell you what purposes many of the ingredients have. for example, "as an emolient", "as a thickening agent", "a preservative", etc. this book is a consumer's guide, not a text book teaching you about chemistry and cosmetic formulation, so there's no need to be too technical. i have very sensitive skin that's prone to allergies. i used to waste a lot of money on cosmetics because almost everything will give me rashes. when i was tested by an allergist i was reacting to every single sensitizer i received. now i use this guide to learn about ingredients and sort through the vast inventory of beauty products to find the right one. i just bought a newly updated version as the older version did not cover all the newest ingredients.

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Comprehensive and thorough, November 13, 2005

By 

A reviewer (Northeast, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Consumer's Dictionary of Cosmetic Ingredients: Complete Information About the Harmful and Desirable Ingredients Found in Cosmetics and Cosmeceuticals (Paperback)

The 6th edition of Ruth Winter's A CONSUMER'S DICTIONARY OF COSMETIC INGREDIENTS, first published in 1978, contains an excellent 40 page introduction covering everything from the state of cosmetics regulations, safety concerns, basic ingredients, and what to do if you have an adverse reaction, to an annotated list of organizations concerned with cosmetics safety. This detailed book is over 500 pages with thousands of entries of varying lengths--from a line or two to a paragraph. There are some longer entries of 2 or more pages on a key topic like sunscreen. The information covers more generic cosmetics, like cold cream or lipstick, as well as more technical ingredients and chemicals that you may find a specific products. In addition to a 3-page bibliography, there are two useful Appendices: "Common Label Warnings--Pay Attention!" and "Nail Safety."

33 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The only book needed to find out about ingredients., January 25, 1999

By 

Marj Melchiors ([e-mail]) (AZ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Consumer's Dictionary of Cosmetic Ingredients: Updated Fourth Edition (Paperback)

This eye opening cosmetic ingredient dictionary is the perfect tool for checking out the ingredients in any cosmetic product. There has not been anything left out of the more than 5,000 listings. Ruth Winter has a science background and puts it to good use by telling the reader if the ingredient if allergenic, carcinogenic, or has no known toxicity. In comparison to Aubrey Hampton's "What's In Your Cosmetics?", Winter's book wins without a doubt. Hampton pays too much attention to listing information on natural ingredients and not enough of toxic ones. As a cosmetic ingredient researcher, I appreciate the convenience of having this resource at my fingertips, and you will too!