Andy Hnilo argues that everyday skincare products often contain government-recognized carcinogens and understudied ingredients rated orange for safety concerns. He pushes back on the idea that low preservative percentages matter, instead advocating for small-batch, handcrafted formulas made weeks before use rather than stored for years.
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I'm telling you, like, my big thing is just staying away from those government-recognized carcinogens. And every moisturizer, it seems like, down to the preservative, 1 to 3 to 5%, I don't care. Like, how long do you need your formula to be stable? We do small batch. The Gold Serum you're holding in your hand was manufactured 100% weeks before. You've not been on the shelf years. We like to be meticulous about our small batch and handcrafted approach. People appreciate it. I just think something you're doing daily, you got to look into those glycerins. You got to look into the cetearyl butylene glycol, isoprene glycol. They're finding a new, you know, Okay, safe. We all get the red to green ratings. A lot of brands signing off on orange. I just think it's orange because it hasn't been studied enough.