how "organic" cosmetics might mess up your kids and give you cancer

The word "organic" is very well defined when it comes to food-- the USDA certifies whether a farm is organic or not. It's all very standardized.
But the word "organic" appearing on a foundation or shampoo bottle means bupkis. It's a marketing technic, no better standardized than the words "salon-professional" or "will take your hair to a place it's never been before" (no joke... verbatim from Herbal Essences).
The Environmental Working Group has set up an online database of thousands of cosmetics, from shampoo to mascara to body lotion, rating the toxic risk of the product from all of those weird unpronounceable ingredients.
For instance, under the name "DMDM Hydandoin," formaldehyde makes a frequent appearance. Formaldehyde! As in the thing that FEMA will actually protect Katrina victims from. Another toxin called phthalates ("thal-eights") is common in products that contain fragrance-- and there's a lot of those. Besides cosmetics, phthalates also show up in soft plastics, including a lot of children's toys, and vinyl shower curtains too. Since more phthalates leach into your body at higher temperatures, a shower curtain is a particular risk. Phthalates do nasty hormonal things to developing boys, and my fear of them has led me to purchase a fabric shower curtain, fragrance-free deoderant, lotion, cleansers, etc, and I've warily eyed some of my shoes too.
But phthalates are only one of the many toxins the database revealed to be in my bathroom. I've already started switching brands of some cosmetics. I wish I could give you a short list of good brands vs. bad ones, but most brands are all over the place. I highly recommend looking up everything in your cabinet... and if you can't find a particular product then look up everything on the list of ingredients. And then, after your inevitable freakout, find safer replacements.