Do You Know the Dangers About This About Johnson and Johnson Baby Shampoo?
ARTICLE CONTINUED HERE
Both SLS and SLES are known to have many effects that can potentially be detrimental to health. Among the possible dangers are the following
Skin irritation / skin corrosion
Hormone Imbalance
Eye irritation / eye deformities in children
Protein Denaturing
Carcenogenicity (potential to cause cancer)
The AJT report staes that “Other studies have indicated that Sodium Lauryl Sulfateenters and maintains residual levels in the heart, the liver, the lungs and the brain from skin contact. This poses question of it being a serious potential health threat to its use in shampoos, cleansers, and tooth pastes.”
Skin Irritation
SLS is used routinely in clinical studies. This may suggest a level of comfort, however, the way in which it is used is disturbing. Despite being the number one active ingredient in virtually all soaps, shampoos and cleansers, the sole purpose of using SLS in clinical studies is to cause skin irritation that can then be used to identify the properties of other chemicals!
Amazing isn’t it? For years, we have been applying known irritants to our skin on a daily basis. To quote the ACT report “The abbreviated symbol for Sodium Lauryl Sulfate is used around the world in clinical studies as a skin irritant. SLS is the universal standard, by which a measured percentage is evaluated to promote a given level of irritation and reaction. By this SLS standard level of irritation, it is then possible to evaluate the healing or modifying characteristics of any ingredient or formula used on the SLS irritated skin.”
General Shopping Guidelines
Some general guidelines to keep in mind when purchasing personal care products include:
Look for the genuine USDA Organic Seal.
If you can’t pronounce it, you probably don’t want to put it on your body. Ask yourself, “Would I eat this?”
Look for products that are fragrance-free. One artificial fragrance can contain hundreds—even thousands—of chemicals and fragrances are a major cause of allergic reactions.
Pay attention to the order in which the ingredients are listed. Manufacturers are required to list ingredients in descending order by volume, meaning the first few ingredients are the most prominent. If calendula extract is the last ingredient in a long list, your calendula body wash isn’t very natural.
Stick to the basics. Do you really need 10 products to prepare for your day? Simplify your life and rescue your bank account by reducing the total number of products you use daily.
Buy products that come in glass bottles rather than plastic, since chemicals can leach out of plastics and into the contents. Bisphenol A (BPA) is a serious concern. Make sure any plastic container is BPA-free.
Look for products that are made by companies that are Earth-friendly, animal-friendly and committed to organic and sustainable business practices.
A report published in the Journal of The American College of Toxicology in 1983 showed that concentrations as low as 0.5% could cause irritation and concentrations of 10-30% caused skin corrosion and severe irritation.National Institutes of Health “Household Products Directory” of chemical ingredients lists over 80 products that contain sodium lauryl sulfate. Some soaps have concentrations of up to 30%, which the ACT report called “highly irritating and dangerous“.
Hormone Imbalance
In the last 100 years or so, many new health problems have come to light. These include PMS / PMT, the so-called “menopausal symptoms” which never used to exist, and more recently a massive drop in male fertility which threatens our continued existence in many western countries. SLS is most likely a major contributor to all of these problems due to its oestrogen mimicking activity.
Oestrogen is a hormone found quite normally in both men and women. Like all other hormones, it’s circulating levels are rigidly controlled by the glands of the body due to the potent effect of its presence on virtually all cells. Not only does SLS irritate the skin, it is also absorbed through the skin (high levels of skin penetration may occur at even low concentration). Once in the body, the SLS molecule attaches to oestrogen receptors, mimicking the effects of the hormone in various body systems.
What to Look for to Avoid Formaldehyde and 1,4-Dioxane
If you want to avoid formaldehyde-releasing ingredients and 1,4-dioxane, you need to know what to look for as they’re NOT listed on the label; at least not in those words. Common ingredients likely to contaminate products with formaldehyde include:
- Quaternium-15
- DMDM hydantoin
- Imidazolidinyl urea
- Diazolidinyl urea
To avoid 1,4-dioxane, watch out for these ingredients, which create 1,4-dioxane as a byproduct:
- PEG-100 stearate
- Sodium laureth sulfate
- Sodium myreth sulfate
- Polyethylene
- Ceteareth-20
The bottom line is that sodium sulfate poses undesirable side effects that you need to be aware of. To minimise the risk of sodium lauryl sulfate, ensure you rinse your hair thoroughly. Alternatively you can consider using an organic shampoo without sodium sulfate.
