Personal care is the category with the longest ingredient lists and the loosest words

In its 2021 proposed order, FDA said sunscreens containing zinc oxide and titanium dioxide would be classified as GRASE — generally recognized as safe and effective. For twelve other widely used actives, including oxybenzone, avobenzone, homosalate, octinoxate, octisalate and octocrylene, the agency said more safety data are needed before it can make a final determination. Two ingredients, PABA and trolamine salicylate, were proposed as not GRASE.

"More data needed" is not the same as "unsafe", and it is important not to translate it into one. But if you want to buy the option the regulator has already put in the settled column, that option is a mineral sunscreen with zinc oxide or titanium dioxide as the active — and the trade-off, every time, is a white cast. Any mineral formula that leaves no cast has achieved that with tinting or particle engineering, not magic. Mineral versus chemical lays out both sides.

An antiperspirant uses an aluminum salt to temporarily plug the sweat duct and is regulated as an over-the-counter drug. A deodorant addresses odor and does nothing about sweat. "Aluminum-free antiperspirant" is therefore not a thing, and a natural deodorant that promises dryness is overpromising.

The practical consequence is that switching is a real adjustment and the first two weeks are the worst of it. Baking soda, which is the active odor control in many natural sticks, also causes irritation in a meaningful minority of people — which is why most brands now sell a sensitive version without it. Aluminum-free versus antiperspirant is the honest version of this comparison.

Two places, mostly. Traditional "glide" dental floss has been made from PTFE — the same fluoropolymer family as non-stick coatings — and silk or woven polyester alternatives exist that are not fluoropolymers at all. And long-wear cosmetics have historically used fluorinated ingredients for water resistance and slip, declared under names most shoppers will not recognize.

The fix in both cases is a label check rather than a brand change: look for "PTFE", "polytetrafluoroethylene", and ingredient names starting with "perfluoro" or "polyfluoro". PFAS in cosmetics lists the terms, and PFAS-free floss covers the floss specifically.

• A short list you can read. Not a certification, just fewer unknowns.
• Named actives with percentages where the product is an OTC drug — sunscreen, antiperspirant, acne treatment.
• No "fragrance" on daily-contact products, or a brand that itemizes its fragrance components voluntarily. Some do.
• A certification where one exists — MADE SAFE and EWG Verified both review full formulas rather than packaging claims.
• Honest claims about what it does not do. A deodorant that says it will not stop sweat is telling you the truth about its category.