What Is It? Also known as PET and PETE, polyethylene terephthalate is a synthetic plastic resin that is used in cosmetics, beauty and hair products to not only bond the ingredients to your body, but increase the thickness of the formulas as well. When it dries on your skin, hair or nails, it provides a barrier between you and moisture, which helps hold and style your look. While no one wants hair tousled in all the wrong places, our research shows that should the least of our worries.

Health Risk: A toxic red lip is anything but kissable. Some of the concerns circling around PET include endocrine disruption, developmental problems and reproductive toxicity. Moreover, it is a potential carcinogen – and although the jury is out, we’re steering clear.

How To Avoid It: Lucky for us, all our beauty faves are completely PET-free! We love Ilia’s bright lip colors, Kjaer Weis for eyes and May Lindstrom for the most supple skin ever. And when it comes to holding our mane in place, no one does it better than Tela Beauty Organics!