Know how to find healthier cosmetics without hazardous ingredients.

A troubled economy is no reason to treat your face like a toxic waste dump.

RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—It appears women’s love affair with lipstick is petering out, at least now that times are tough. The Financial Times of London reported earlier this week that the “Lipstick Index,” a financial marker showing that lipstick sales go up during recessions as women turn to less-expensive indulgences, has been replaced by what is now being referred to as the “Foundation Index.” Which means more women then ever are coating their skin with questionable chemicals.

THE DETAILS: The paper cites sales statistics from Estée Lauder (whose chairman Leonard Lauder first coined the phrase “lipstick index”) and L’Oreal showing that foundation sales rose 2.5 percent in 2005, while lipstick sales dropped 5.8 percent.

WHAT IT MEANS: Most of us like to spend a little cash to make ourselves feel better, even in hard times. So if you hit the stores for some mood-lifting makeup, whether it’s foundation or lipstick, keep in mind that many cosmetics are filled with a grab bag of chemicals, most of which have never been tested for safety, according to research performed by the Environmental Working Group. So you, in effect, become the guinea pig.

Here are a few ways to keep unhealthy chemicals off your skin: