Do lotions, shampoos, and body washes contain BPA or other bisphenol chemicals?

What's actually in it

Personal care products like lotions, shampoos, conditioners, body washes, and face creams can contain bisphenol chemicals. The most well-known is BPA (bisphenol A), but manufacturers have been quietly switching to alternatives like BPS, BPF, and BPAF. These "BPA-free" replacements are structurally similar and may carry the same health risks.

Bisphenols can end up in personal care products from the plastic packaging, from the manufacturing process, or as intentional ingredients. Your skin absorbs them directly, skipping the digestive system's ability to partially break them down.

What the research says

A 2026 study in Food Chem Toxicol measured BPA, BPS, BPF, and BPAF levels in personal care products and then calculated the cumulative risk of using multiple products daily. The researchers used a probabilistic model to account for the fact that people don't use just one product. They use shampoo, conditioner, body wash, lotion, and more, all in the same day.

Individual products often contained bisphenol levels that looked safe on their own. But the study showed that when you add up exposure from all products combined, the total dose climbed to levels that concern toxicologists. The cumulative exposure was especially relevant for BPA and BPS, which showed up most often.

Skin absorption is a bigger deal than most people realize. Unlike food, where chemicals pass through your liver first, chemicals absorbed through skin go directly into your bloodstream. Studies have shown that dermal BPA absorption can be as efficient as oral absorption in some cases.

The risk is higher for people who use many products: a full morning routine of face wash, moisturizer, sunscreen, shampoo, conditioner, and body lotion stacks the exposure from each product.

Look for products labeled "bisphenol-free" or choose brands that avoid plastic packaging altogether. Glass or aluminum containers reduce the chance of bisphenols leaching from the packaging into the product. And simplifying your routine, using fewer products, is the easiest way to cut your total exposure.