| Allergen is a substance/chemical that can lead to allergies. Your body recognise the foreign substance as dangerous, which is why it counterattacks. It could be a man-made substance, but it could also be a natural occurring substance like pollen or essential oils.
Allergenic: a substance that can activate your immune system because it thinks it is being attacked by something dangerous. Bioaccumulative is a process in which chemicals from the environment accumulate in an organism (plankton, fish, humans, etc.) without it being able to get rid of them again. This can sometimes have a measurable, negative effect on the organism. Heavy metals such as mercury are bioaccumulative. Siloxanes (so-called silicones) may also be bioaccumulative. Birth defects mean that a substance can harm the fetus before birth. This can be a virus, drug or certain dangerous chemicals Endocrine disruptors characterise substances/chemicals that interfere with the body’s hormonal balance. It may be that the substance activates mechanisms in the body, or that the substance resembles the natural hormones in the body so much that it increases or decreases the concentration of hormones. Hormone-like substance is a substance similar to the natural hormones, thereby affecting the body’s natural processes. Irritant refers to substances/chemicals that affect the body in a particular location. In cosmetics, it is typically the scalp or hands/arms. It may cause rash, itching, swelling or redness. PPD is the abbreviation for the dye p-phenylenediamine. The EU Scientific Committee considers it to be ‘extremely sensitising’. PPD and PTD are the two most common dyes in hair colours and can cause very strong and very serious allergic reactions. PPD is legal in hair colours, but must never be used in certified Green Salons. Note that when manufacturers write «without PPD» they often use PTD. PTD is the abbreviation for the dye toluene-2,5-diamine. The EU Scientific Committee considers it to be ‘extremely sensitising’. PPD and PTD are the two most common dyes in hair colours and can cause very strong and very serious allergic reactions. PPD is legal in hair colours, but must never be used in certified Green Salons. Note that when manufacturers write «without PTD» they often use PPD. Sensitising: When exposed frequently and for a prolonged period of time of a particular substance, you may be sensitised to the substance in question, which may eventually lead to an allergic reaction to that substance. You can avoid developing allergies, if you decrease exposure to the substance. Allergies are not something you can get rid of, so the more often you use a sensitising substance, the faster you can develop allergies. Slowly degradable in the aquatic environment means that a substance/chemical is slowly decomposed into other substances in the aquatic environment, such as EDTA and siloxanes. Estrogenic effect: Estrogen is a female sex hormone and a steroid. It is of great importance to the female menstrual cycle.
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