More than half of US women check ingredients on their beauty products

(Relaxnews) - How often do you check the label when shopping for beauty products? According to a new study, 59 percent of US women now scan their cosmetics for potentially harmful ingredients before heading to the checkout.

The "Green Beauty Barometer" survey has revealed that the majority of shoppers read beauty product ingredient labels prior to purchase, while nearly 40 percent intend to increase their spending on all-natural beauty products.

Sulfates were the top ingredient to look out for, with 29 percent of participants seeking to avoid them, according to the poll carried out by natural beauty brand Kari Gran. These were followed by parabens (22 percent), synthetic fragrances (18 percent), PEG compounds (15 percent) and mineral oil (11 percent).

Women aged 35-54 are most likely to check the labels, with 65 percent scanning the ingredients list of products. Sixty-three percent of 18-34-year-olds do the same, as to 59 percent of those aged to 45-54. The age group least likely to read the label was the 55-64s.

Natural beauty is becoming more of a priority for many women, with 39 percent of participants claiming they will buy more all-natural beauty products in the next two years than they currently do. Millennials aged 18-34 are the most likely to spend more on all-natural beauty products in the next two years, with half of them claiming they will.

A recent "Natural Personal Care Global Series" survey by market research company Kline found that the natural cosmetics market grew by 10.6 percent between 2013 and 2014. Earlier this year a Nielsen English-language survey found that 46 percent of participants would be willing to pay more for a beauty product that claimed to be "all natural."

The "Green Beauty Barometer" survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Poll on behalf of Kari Gran from June 1-3, 2015 among 1,104 women ages 18 and older.