Derma E Reveals ‘Refuse’ List

In an effort to be “fully transparent with its customers,” skin care brand Derma E is sharing details of its longstanding “Refuse List” with the public.

The Derma E “Refuse List” is billed as a comprehensive list of more than 2500 common ingredients that it contends have been found to be toxic to both people and the environment. 
 
Derma E has been building this list of ingredients to ban in their products since its inception in 1984. This list includes parabens, phthalates, formaldehyde donors, animal ingredients, synthetics fragrances and more. 
 
Derma E contends sharing this list will help to build awareness that cleaner beauty is more than being vegan and cruelty free, but taking harder and often more costly paths in formula development to still deliver highly effective yet safer product to their consumers.
 
Derma E founder Linda Miles began the Refuse List in the early 1980s. 
 
“When I began this company in 1984, I made a conscious decision not to include certain ingredients in our formulas that I believed to be harmful to my customers. As new chemicals were developed over the years, many of which I saw other beauty brands including and promoting to consumers, I continued to make the tough decision not to include them in Derma E products because of their questionable effects on both humans and the environment. Each time I added an ingredient to the list I saw it expand into the incredibly comprehensive Refuse List that it has become today,” said Miles in a statement. “I’m so proud of the stance that Derma E continues to take on their ingredient usage and couldn’t be happier to see this information shared with consumers.”
 
Steve Hernandez, senior VP of R&D at Derma E noted, “In my extensive time working and developing new products at multiple beauty companies, I have never seen such a comprehensive list of ingredients that a brand refuses to use. As a chemist and formula developer, this can be a real challenge, especially as you see your competition going to market with products that use so many of these ingredients. Derma E has followed their moral compass and found a way to develop high functioning formulas that truly work. This is something to be commended and I’m proud to work at a company that continuously puts their customers first.”