What are endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDC) in skin care products?

Some substances are so similar to our natural hormones that they can act like hormones if they enter the body. Our hormonal balance is like a finely tuned piece of machinery, so it doesn’t take much to upset the balance.

When experts discuss endocrine disruptors, it is usually in reference to sex hormones, where the focus is often on the disturbance of functions, such as embryonic development and semen production. But the same endocrine disruptors are also suspected of influencing the onset of obesity, diabetes and cancer. Then there is good reason to be wary of them - especially if you are pregnant.

Neither the Nordic Swan Ecolabel nor AllergyCertified allow substances suspected of being endocrine disruptors on the EU list. Often the Nordic Swan Ecolabel takes more precautions than found in EU legislation. For example, the Nordic Swan Ecolabel banned the use of Benzophenone-3, a substance suspected of being endocrine disruptors, before it was added to the EU list of suspected endocrine disruptors.

Derma products have the Nordic Swan Ecolabel, which means they do not contain anything from the EU list of substances suspected of being endocrine disruptors.