Misleading Brands is an open attack on false advertising and product labelling. Whether it’s harsh chemicals in your shampoo, toxic chemical sunscreens filled with synthetic additives or simply fake concoctions pretending to be real - we dive deep into the biggest brands’ bag of tricks. Backed by extensive research, our goal is to inform you of misinformation tactics and drive companies to do better.

Harmful “Hair Care”

Harsh and toxic synthetic ingredients found in shampoos, dry shampoos and pomades. These ingredients are tied to allergies, scalp irritation, hair loss, hormone & endocrine disruptions, and more.

All Shampoos
Why Do Toxic Dry Shampoos - Like Batiste and Dove - Exist?
Why Do Toxic Dry Shampoos - Like Batiste and Dove - Exist?

WELL BEFORE headlines came out regarding contamination of the Dove and Batiste dry shampoo sprays with the cancer causing carcinogen Benzene — the ingredients of these dry shampoos already screamed “do not use me!” Unfortunately the Benzene contamination news was just disturbing icing on top of an already toxic cake.

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Want Style Without the Toxins? American Crew is Not The Move
Want Style Without the Toxins? American Crew is Not The Move

AMERICAN CREW’S BRANDING includes images of rugged men with phrases like “empower men through quality grooming practices and products.” It forgets to mention that the parabens in their hair styling products can cause sexual health issues or infertility. Or that its fragrance ingredients are a powerhouse for allergic reactions and have toxins that affect the immune system. In this article we dig into all the ingredients of concern in American Crew hair styling products.

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Herbal Essences: Avoid This Essence of Harsh Chemicals + Neurotoxins
Herbal Essences: Avoid This Essence of Harsh Chemicals + Neurotoxins

Where do we start with this “rose hips smooth shampoo”? Majority of the ingredients in this shampoo are harmful allergens and toxins. And the red color of this shampoo comes from the synthetic Red 33 colorant - not rose hips!

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Selsun Blue: 6 reasons this harmful shampoo is not worth the anti-dandruff properties
Selsun Blue: 6 reasons this harmful shampoo is not worth the anti-dandruff properties

We believe “Healthier hair. Healthier scalp. Doctor recommended” is a pretty arrogant description by Selsun Blue of this shampoo given the harsh + harmful chemicals.

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Suave Essentials: 7 Reasons to Dump Their Toxic Shampoos
Suave Essentials: 7 Reasons to Dump Their Toxic Shampoos

Suave Ocean Breeze is actually a breeze of cancer causing carcinogens and allergens. Suave shampoos have consistently been linked with hair loss, skin burns & other undesirable reactions. It’s no wonder they have been subjected to class action lawsuits and constant consumer complaints.

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Pantene Pro-V: Bad for Our Hair and Body
Pantene Pro-V: Bad for Our Hair and Body

The more appropriate tag line for this shampoo would be “daily harsh chemicals renewal” Pantene says that its “powerful Pro-V formula deeply hydrates and nourishes hair,” but its formula is full of synthetic and toxic ingredients.

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Toxic Chemical Sunscreens

Sunscreen ingredients tied to hives and allergic skin reactions, endocrine system disruptions and lower testosterone levels + damaging to coral reefs and the environment

All Sunscreens
Neutrogena Sunscreens May Protect, But at What Cost?
Neutrogena Sunscreens May Protect, But at What Cost?

Neutrogena sunscreens pose health risks to humans and are harmful to our coral reefs. The side effects include both immediate ones like allergic skin reactions including itching and hives, and ones that are not immediately obvious. The long term consequences that can manifest after years or decades - like hormonal & endocrine disruptions and lower testosterone levels - are of the highest concern.

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Time to Bury Our Toxic Coppertone Sunscreens
Time to Bury Our Toxic Coppertone Sunscreens

The Coppertone sunscreen boldly states “Stays on Strong When You Sweat” on its bottles. Well, turns out, not only does it ‘stay on strong,’ but it also gets absorbed by our skin and then pushes its way into our bloodstreams. This wouldn’t be an issue if Coppertone was made with natural and nourishing ingredients. But given all the toxic, synthetic and petroleum basic substances in the Coppertone sunscreen - it becomes quite concerning.

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The Trouble with the Banana Boat Sunscreen
The Trouble with the Banana Boat Sunscreen

The ingredients in the Banana Boat sunscreen are harmful from top to bottom. The sunscreen has the prominent “CLINICALLY PROVEN” text on its bottles - it might be helpful if Banana Boat also told us that their sunscreens are clinically proven to cause allergies, skin irritation and disrupt our hormones…and that they are clinically proven to be harming our coral reefs…and that they are clinically proven to not be nourishing for our skin in any way.

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Unhealthy and Processed Cereals

Cereals made with a high pressure manufacturing process that denatures grains and causes inflammation, an unhealthy gut and behavioral problems in children

All Cereals
Cheerios: An Ultra-Processed and Unhealthy Cereal
Cheerios: An Ultra-Processed and Unhealthy Cereal

The high pressure toxins creating extrusion process used by Cheerios contradicts all the touted health benefits and the ‘natural’ & ‘real’ labeling theme. Presence of the cancer causing carcinogen glyphosate and inflammation causing modified corn starch only makes things worse.

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Cap'n Crunch: You need to keep this cereal off your kid’s bowl
Cap'n Crunch: You need to keep this cereal off your kid’s bowl

From the high temperature process used to produce this cereal to the harmful preservatives and artificial coloring present, there are a lot of questions consumers need to be asking of the Cap’n.

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Lucky Charms: 4 reasons to keep your kids away from this devilish cereal
Lucky Charms: 4 reasons to keep your kids away from this devilish cereal

A consumer picks up a box of this cereal, looks at the adorable picture and the bold health stats at the top, and gullibly throws it in their shopping cart. Not realizing that Lucky Charms is full of processed extruded ingredients as well as artificial colors and flavors.

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Given the additives, there is very little that’s ‘real’ about Reese’s Puffs
Given the additives, there is very little that’s ‘real’ about Reese’s Puffs

The trouble with Reese’s starts with the way the cereal is made. These puffs are made via extrusion, a harmful & unnatural process that takes corn grains through extremely high pressure and heat.

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Pancake Syrups…aka Fake Maple Syrups

Artificial syrups containing 0% real maple syrup and 100% processed additives with links to skin irritation and precursors to cancer

All "Maple" Syrups
Mrs. Butterworth’s - not a syrup you want on your morning pancakes
Mrs. Butterworth’s - not a syrup you want on your morning pancakes

Mrs. Butterworth’s touts being “deliciously thick and rich” without clarifying it’s actually thick and rich in additives and artificial flavors. These processed chemicals & harmful ingredients have been linked with cancer and skin irritations. Mrs. Butterworth’s also contains 0% real maple syrup.

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Log Cabin: 3 reasons to keep your cabin free of this fake & unhealthy syrup
Log Cabin: 3 reasons to keep your cabin free of this fake & unhealthy syrup

Log Cabin has potentially toxic ingredients under the guise of a traditional, wholesome pancake syrup. We urge you to keep your cabin free of this junk.

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Aunt Jemima: There is nothing original about this artificial & unhealthy pancake syrup
Aunt Jemima: There is nothing original about this artificial & unhealthy pancake syrup

The inviting imagery and the syrup’s “Oh, how sweet it is!” tagline beguiles consumers away from the actual harmful and artificial ingredients in this pancake syrup. Aunt Jemima’s “original” syrup has 0% real maple syrup and 100% of the additives you don’t want.

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Heated & Processed Honey Without Raw Honey Benefits

Honey that has been heated, processed and in some cases adulterated. This type of honey has lost most of its prized nutritional & healing properties

All Honey
Nature Nate’s Honey: Heated, not raw, with high levels of the toxic compound HMF (+ possible syrup additives)
Nature Nate’s Honey: Heated, not raw, with high levels of the toxic compound HMF (+ possible syrup additives)

Nature Nate’s markets its honey as “100% pure, raw & unfiltered honey.” The assumption here is suppliers provide raw honey from honeycombs to Nature Nate’s, which directly bottles it into the containers we purchase. Nowhere does 100% pure, raw and unfiltered lead us to think the honey might be heated for ‘easier processing.’

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Signature Select Honey: Heated, Not Raw & Diluted Honey Lacking Pollen & Any Health Benefits
Signature Select Honey: Heated, Not Raw & Diluted Honey Lacking Pollen & Any Health Benefits

Samples from Safeway clover honey showed it contains no pollen. This implies the honey went through ultra-filtration – forcing honey through extremely high heat and pressure, effectively killing all beneficial qualities of actual pure and raw honey.

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Walgreens Nice! Honey: Fake Honey Robbed of its Entire Nutritional Profile by Heat and Processing
Walgreens Nice! Honey: Fake Honey Robbed of its Entire Nutritional Profile by Heat and Processing

Walgreens’ ultra processed and heated “Nice! honey” lacks the healthy enzymes, essential vitamins & minerals, and antioxidants that actual pure raw honey with pollen would have. This is fake honey that is nothing more than a sweetener.

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Kroger Honey: Heated and Without the Health Benefits of Actual Raw Honey
Kroger Honey: Heated and Without the Health Benefits of Actual Raw Honey

This honey was shown to be heated at a high temperature and has consequently lost the health benefits of raw honey. It also contains the toxic compound Hydroxymethylfurfural. The labeling is thus false and misleading.

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Whole Foods 365 Organic Honey: Heated and Devoid of Health Properties of Actual Raw Honey
Whole Foods 365 Organic Honey: Heated and Devoid of Health Properties of Actual Raw Honey

“Organic mountain forest honey”. What a name. There cannot be a honey more pure and raw than one that comes from bees buzzing around a mountain forest. At least that’s the misleading image Whole Foods 365 wants to conjure in your mind when you pick up a container of this. Sadly, the tests tell a different story.

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Think hair & skin care without synthetic chemicals can’t be effective?

Our Brands for Good would beg to differ.

 

Nourishing calendula, meadowsweet and rosemary are some of the leaf extracts you will find in the shampoos of our Brands for Good marketplace — a space for small brands focused on crafting non-toxic and naturally effective hair + skin care.

Our founders include lifelong beekeepers and herbalists who share a passion for unearthing the healing & nurturing power of mother nature. The body care that you will find here is thus naturally nourishing - and effective - and made with creative ingredients like plant extracts, seed oils, beeswax and bentonite clay. All free of harmful chemicals and unwanted additives, of course.

It’s time to treat our bodies right and eliminate the daily showering of toxins. To start your journey to a healthy microbiome, COME EXPLORE.