Industry expert comes clean on the ingredients found in professional products.
July’s PRO: Jeannie Jarnot, founder and CEO, Beauty Heroes
Candelilla wax
Star Products: Josh Rosebrook’s Styling Cream and Au Naturale’s Zero Gravity C2P Foundation (www.beauty-heroes.com)
Emulsifying Wax NF
Emulsifying Wax NF is a common, inexpensive ingredient used in lotions and creams to give them a smooth consistency and help keep them from separating.
Emulsifying wax is made by adding a detergent (typically polysorbate-60 or steareth-20) to a vegetable- or petroleum-based oil. This process of adding the detergent to the oil to form the wax is called ethoxylation, which may give off 1,4-dioxane, a toxic carcinogen. The letters ‘NF’ after the term Emulsifying Wax, which indicates that it meets the standard of the National Formulary and is approved to be used in products prescribed as medicine in the U.S., are particularly misleading as to its safety.