Formaldehyde in skincare - trust the formulations or steer clear?

[abelsi]

I used to use Sunday Riley Good Genes but after becoming more aware of ingredients and actually taking the time to read them, I discovered the last ingredient in Good Genes is dmdm hydantoin and stopped using it. Dmdm hydantoin is a formaldehyde-releasing agent meant to act as a preservative and an antimicrobial agent. It mainly can cause sensitivity and allergic reactions, but long-term use is what scares me. I know cosmetic formulas have to contain less than .074%, still it worries it could prove detrimental to my skin in the long run. If I didn't love Good Genes so much I wouldn't care since none of my other products contain formaldehyde, but I miss it so much! I wanted to know what other people thought about it, so please let me know!

[MrsHarder]

They changed the formula sometime last year and the 1st ingredient became water and they took out the MDMD.... which to be totally honest sucks so bad! The old formula was AMAZING! The new one is worse than something you’d buy at the dang dollar store. I’m seriously depressed about it.

[TennisTony]

Fun fact - your body produces formaldehyde.

And when I'm on Sunday Riley's website, I don't actually see DMDM hydantoin in it. I know they recently reformulated their serum and lowered the price.  Have you checked out the new ingredient list?  They mentioned (in a Sunday Edit email) that their reformulation did include new preservative technologies or greener preservatives or whatever.  It may not be an issue anymore.

[beautylovegrace]

I use Good Genes and completely understand your concern. You’ll be happy to know Sunday Riley recently announced they are removing DMDM hydantoin and replacing it with a cleaner preservative. You want some sort of preservation in the product to keep bacteria from growing in it. So now you can feel confident about long term use of Good Genes. I saw someone had recommended Farmacy’s Honeymoon Glow, which is also a personal favorite of mine, as an alternative and it is a clean product. You can’t go wrong with that one. I love it. You could also try a new product from Biossance, it’s their Lactic resurfacing serum. Biossance is one of the cleanest skincare brands I know. I love all 3 of these products. They are similar in their action and I use them regularly. I switch them up every few weeks to keep my skin on its toes. Hope this puts your concerns at ease.

[Brutalitops]

@abelsiI would also say it's fine, obviously what you put on your skin gets absorbed into your body but it's not like you're eating it. And as @GG84 pointed out, it's only formaldehyde releasing under certain conditions. If you wanna switch to something else, FARMACY - HONEYMOON GLOW AHA Resurfacing Night Serum with Hydrating Honey + Gentle Flower Acids is amazing, half the price, and has stronger/higher % acids. But it's definitely different- I always felt like GG left a film on my face which is why I didn't like it, but whatever makes me feel that way might be something you like about GG 🤷‍♀️

[GG84]

Formaldehyde is only released through HEAT in consumer products. Unless you are heating up your good genes to 450F you are fine. There are very strict laws against formaldehyde. I understand not fully understanding how formulating works, you are fine. @abelsi