by Wayne Willis

Let’s start with first principles. Dr. Zasloff and all the members of our team are totally committed to HEALTHY beauty. This article is for the benefit of customers who have spent time studying the science behind the products we use in our lives.

One of the inquiries we’ve received is our position on polyethylene glycols (PEGs), ingredients that have been identified as “to be avoided” on some lists of safe personal care products.

When we were first formulating illumai, we researched the safety of PEGs as used in the illumai formulations.  We noticed that some organizations questioned whether including PEGs in personal care products was safe.  In those studies, it became clear the safety question is not the PEG itself, but rather the potential by-product of incomplete synthesis when making the PEG. In some cases, when a  PEG is being made, if the chemical company isn’t careful, the reaction can fail to complete and thereby create a  by-product called 1,4 dioxane, “dioxane” for short.

The fear of dioxane contamination has led the Environmental Working Group (EWG) and others to warn consumers to “try to avoid” PEGs. On a scale of 1 to 10 (least to most toxic) PEGs get a rating of “3” on the EWG Skin Deep Database .  By the way, a “3” rating is actually pretty good.  Most of the products you use rank as a 3 or higher.  For example, Ivory Soap is a “3”.  And Herbal Essence is a “6”!    Here is a real surprise: Neutrogena T/Gel Therapeutic Shampoo is an “8” — well into the high-hazard range.  (Illumai scores better than 74 of the 101 shampoos rated by EWG, and only 12 have lower scores than illumai.)

The PEGs in illumai are formulated under high-quality conditions by reputable, US-based manufacturers.  They are inspected and have no dioxane contamination, as certified by the manufacturers. Further, PEGs have been recognized on the FDA “Generally Recognized As Safe”  list as ingredients that are safe, even for food. They are also safe for the environment.

All this being said, the team at illumai are huge advocates of smarter consumers, and we support  FDA authority to keep toxic products away from consumers.  Further, we have joined with EWG  to educate consumers about hazards in their personal care products and to deliver products that are safe and effective.  The PEGs in illumai are safe but, to reduce possible confusion or uncertainty, we are looking at removing this ingredient in the future.

Our mission is HEALTHY BEAUTY, and we endeavor to deliver on that promise by not only avoiding questionable ingredients, but avoiding “safe” ingredients which destroy the biome.  By restoring and strengthening the biome, illumai delivers a highly safe and very effective product.