Study Finds Unlabelled Chemicals in Personal Care and Cleaning Products

Do we truly know which chemicals are in the personal care and cleaning products we use each day?

A new study published in Environment & Health indicates that we do not.

Earlier investigations have suggested that manufacturers and product labels do not always reveal the complete picture about the contents of everyday items. This led researchers from several institutions across the US to investigate more closely.

Unlabelled chemicals in personal care and cleaning products

The researchers examined the chemical makeup of 113 personal care and cleaning products across 12 categories, including laundry products, sunscreen, baby lotions, shampoo, deodorant, and toothpaste.

Although the products tested were not identified by name, they were purchased from Target, Amazon, Walmart, and Dollar Tree.

Nearly every product contained chemicals that were not listed on its label. (Schultz et al., Environ. Health, 2026)

An enormous 98 percent of the products had at least one chemical absent from the label. In addition, 85 percent contained at least one unlabelled chemical known or suspected to pose a risk to human health.

"We found undisclosed harmful chemicals in products claiming to be free of them," says Jenna Hua, an environmental health scientist at the Million Marker Research Institute in the US.

"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.

"The label can't protect you when it doesn't show what's really in the bottle."

More than 1 in 4 products contained chemicals that conflicted with their marketing claims. (Schultz et al., Environ. Health, 2026)

Among the substances the team specifically evaluated were endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs). These chemicals can imitate or block the body's natural hormones. Hormones are crucial biological messengers, and EDCs disrupt their function.

EDCs have been associated with a broad range of health conditions, including breast cancer and obesity.

The study proposes that people may still encounter EDCs unknowingly, even when they understand the risks and make an effort to avoid them.

"The label can't protect you when it doesn't show what's really in the bottle." – Environmental health scientist Jenna Hua

"People shouldn't need a chemistry lab to know what they're bringing into their homes or putting on their skin," says Hua.

"The next generation of product safety must look beyond the label and test what is actually there."

How the researchers tested product chemicals

To search for chemicals, the team used a method called non-targeted analysis. As its name implies, the technique does not begin by looking for a particular named chemical. It instead generates a full inventory of the chemicals present.

Over a quarter of the products contained chemicals that ran counter to claims in their labelling or marketing, such as '100 percent natural' or 'hypoallergenic'.

The researchers emphasise that they do not necessarily believe these additional chemicals were deliberately added.

For instance, they could arise from contamination during manufacturing or storage, or from unforeseen chemical reactions between ingredients.

Nevertheless, the research team is urging stronger regulation and independent testing of products on shop shelves.

"For certain chemical categories, such as fragrances or botanicals, companies do not legally have to disclose all chemicals in the product," write the researchers.

"In the case of 'fragrance', many chemicals can be umbrellaed under the term and are not disclosed due to 'trade secrets'… In the case of botanicals, plant products can contain hundreds of individual chemicals that, although they may be 'naturally-derived', can still be harmful and should be disclosed."

It is important to note that the study did not assess the health effects of these chemicals; it identified only which chemicals were present. Determining the potential harm these substances cause, and at what doses, could be the next stage of research.

Even so, public health would benefit from consumers receiving better information about what is in the products we buy.

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"Future research should focus on expanding non-targeted analytical approaches to additional product categories and improving identification confidence for unknown chemical features," write the researchers.

"Testing should be done on the finished, packaged product, and improved methods for tracing sources of contamination across supply chains may help clarify the origins of unlabeled compounds detected in consumer products."

The research was published in Environment & Health.

This article was fact-checked by Rachel Garner and edited by Fiona MacDonald. Although we take pride in our process, we are only human. If you notice an error, please let us know.