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These chemicals may lurk in your personal care products

Olena Malik
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Getty Images

Ever scan the ingredient list of your favorite personal care products like shampoos or lotions and think, what are these complicated chemicals? And are any of them bad for me? We definitely have. And our colleagues at NPR's Life Kit did one step better: They parlayed their anxiety spiral into a helpful guide on the safety of personal care products. So today, Short Wave host Regina G. Barber talks to Life Kit's Marielle Segarra about some of the top chemicals of concern, including parabens and phthalates.

Click here to hear the full Life Kit guideincluding how to audit your go-to products.

Listen to Short Wave on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.

This episode was originally produced by Clare Marie Schneider and edited by Meghan Keane, with special thanks to Carmel Wroth. It was produced for Short Wave by Rebecca Ramirez. The engineer was Robert Rodriguez.

Copyright 2025 NPR

Regina G. Barber
Regina G. Barber is Short Wave's Scientist in Residence. She contributes original reporting on STEM and guest hosts the show.
Marielle Segarra
Marielle Segarra is a reporter and the host of NPR's Life Kit, the award-winning podcast and radio show that shares trustworthy, nonjudgmental tips that help listeners navigate their lives.
Clare Marie Schneider is an associate producer for Life Kit.
Meghan Keane is the founder and managing producer for NPR's Life Kit, which brings listeners advice and actionable information about personal finances, health, parenting, relationships and more. She is responsible for the editorial vision of Life Kit, which aims to serve NPR's larger mission of public service.
Rebecca Ramirez (she/her) is the founding producer of NPR's daily science podcast, Short Wave. It's a meditation in how to be a Swiss Army Knife, in that it involves a little of everything — background research, finding and booking sources, interviewing guests, writing, cutting the tape, editing, scoring ... you get the idea.