• Posted August 11, 2026

Study Finds Undisclosed Chemicals In Most Personal Care Products

The ingredients listed on your shampoo, sunscreen or baby lotion may not tell the whole story.

For a study just published in the journal Environment & Health, researchers who tested 113 personal care and cleaning products found 98% contained at least one chemical not disclosed on the label. 

And 85% contained at least one undisclosed chemical with known or suspected health hazards.

Even products marketed as "natural," "non-toxic" or "organic" frequently contained undisclosed chemicals linked to health harm, according to the results.

"That means someone can carefully read ingredient lists, choose 'clean' products and still end up exposed to the very chemicals they were trying to avoid," said senior author Jenna Hua of the Million Marker Research Institute.

The study also showed more than one-quarter of products contained chemicals that contradicted their own labels or company websites.

The testing identified synthetic chemicals in some products marketed as "100% natural," phthalates in some products labeled "phthalate-free" and known allergens in some "hypoallergenic" products.

But the investigators stressed this does not necessarily mean manufacturers added these chemicals on purpose. 

Contamination can creep in through raw materials, processing equipment, chemical reactions, storage or packaging.

Right now, U.S. oversight relies largely on ingredient disclosure by manufacturers.

The authors argue that testing finished, packaged products for undisclosed chemicals should be a standard part of product safety and quality control.

"People shouldn't need a chemistry lab to know what they're bringing into their homes or putting on their skin," Hua said in a news release. "The next generation of product safety must look beyond the label and test what is actually there."

More information

The Natural Products Association has more on natural products.

SOURCE: HealthDay TV, Aug. 11, 2026