It’s a completely legitimate question that you would think wouldn’t even have to be asked in this day and age.
Think about it. If all the different agencies were doing a stellar job, you’d never have to wonder if a shampoo or conditioner was safe for you and your family, you’d just know that it was.
If it was on the shelf in a major store, then it should have to be safe, right? That is what you’d presume.
I mean, you pay taxes for all these agencies to check all this stuff for you. Or do they think you’re supposed to have a degree in biochemistry to figure it all out on your own?
How Many Dangerous Chemicals Are In My Shampoo And Conditioner?
Below are just a few of the potentially dangerous chemicals found in your Shampoo and Conditioner: It is not practical to list all of them herein, the list would be rather lengthy, so we are providing you this partial listing.
Many of the chemicals listed below remain in your system for days, weeks and even years. Another large danger becomes reality when these chemicals mix and when they mix with other things you’re exposed to on a daily basis such as, laundry detergent residuals in your clothes, auto exhaust, household cleaners and many more.
According to the Organic Consumers Association, in their report, Warning: What Your Shampoo’s Label Won’t Tell You.
“In just 26 seconds after any exposure to chemicals on your skin or in your lungs, traces of these chemicals can be found in every organ of your body. When you put these chemicals on your skin, up to 60% will end up in your body and much of it will stay as residuals”.
How To Use This Shampoo And Conditioner Chemical Glossary
To use this glossary effectively take it with you into your bathroom and find the ingredients in your shampoo and conditioner that you are using currently and discover for yourself the toxic challenges to which your body has been subjected.
Finding both a shampoo and conditioner that don’t contain any harmful or dangerous ingredients that actually work has been nearly impossible…until now!
You will no doubt see the strong benefits for both you and your family as you make the easy switch to (place your product here).
Here are Just a Few of the Common Harmful Shampoo and Conditioner Ingredients:
They are arranged in alphabetical order, to be polite and not have you reading the same text many times, we have condensed them so that some listed above are found below.
Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate: See Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS), et al below.
Butyl Paraben: See Parabens below.
Butylene Glycol: See Propylene Glycol (PG) and Butylene Glycol below.
Cetyl Betaine: exposure to Cetyl Betaine caused severe cervical epithelial disruption and a secondary, less intense inflammatory response.
Cocamidopropyl Betaine: was voted 2004 Allergen of the Year by the American Contact Dermatitis Society. I’m not sure about you, but anything that gets allergen of the year would be off my list.
Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate: Anionic Surfactants – Anionic refers to the negative charge these surfactants have. They may be contaminated with nitrosamines, which are carcinogenic. Surfactants can pose serious health threats. They are used in 90% of personal-care products that foam.
DMDM Hydantoin: Used as a preservative; Releases formaldehyde; May be a major cause of allergic dermatitis (eczema).
Fragrances: Most made of synthetic chemicals; Can contain up to 4,000 separate ingredients, many of which are toxic or carcinogenic; Manufacturers are not required to disclose their individual ingredients as they are considered ‘trade secrets’. Fragrances can affect the central nervous system, causing depression, hyperactivity, irritability, and other behavioral changes.
Some of the symptoms caused by fragrances include headaches, dizziness, rashes, skin irritation, skin discoloration, violent coughing and vomiting.
Laureth-2: See Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS), et al below.
Magnesium Laureth Sulfate: See Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS), et al below.
Methyl Paraben: See Parabens below.
Methylchloroisothiazolinone: The isothiazolinones part of the Methylchloroisothiazolinone group are, perhaps the most potent allergens on the consumer market. The preservative was responsible for an epidemic of contact sensitivity, in some geographical areas, in the 1980s and early 1990s. There is no easy mechanism to assess quantitative exposure. Methylchloroisothiazolinone is a powerful allergen and may cause severe allergic reactions.
Methylisothiazolinone: Studies have shown MIT to be allergenic and cytotoxic. In early December of 2004, a news broadcast from WNYT in Albany, NY reported that Methylisothiazolinone had been linked to nerve cell death in scientific studies.
In 2002, there was an in vitro study of the neurotoxicity of MIT in the department of Neurobiology at the University of Pittsburgh. In that study, it was shown that a short exposure (10 min) to concentrations of MIT of 30-100 micromolar (or 4-12 parts per million) were lethal to mature neurons.
Parabens – Butyl Paraben, Ethyl Paraben, Methyl Paraben, Propyl Paraben: The EPA is very concerned about the antimicrobial preservatives called Parabens (alkyl-p-hydroxybenzoates).
The EPA states that all Parabens ― methyl, propyl, butyl ― have been proven to have endocrine-disrupting effects. It is very disturbing to learn that many of these chemicals can be found in personal care products that claim to be “natural” and “organic.” We feel that some companies who pretend to be natural and organic are among the worst of the environmental hypocrites.
What is an endocrine disruptor? Endocrine disruptors are chemical substances, primarily man-made synthetics that interfere with the function of the endocrine system.
These synthetics may be derived from petroleum or vegetable sources and are created in environmentally unfriendly industrial processes using toxic catalysts and reagents. These chemicals mimic, block or disrupt the actions of human (and animal) hormones and unexpectedly, do more damage at low levels of exposure than at high levels.
These chemicals can also work in sinister yet subtle ways by disrupting the body’s ability to produce adequate quantities of hormones or by interfering with the body’s hormonal pathways.
Endocrine disruptors are stored in a body’s fatty tissues and do not get flushed out with water, thus they accumulate over the years. It is now recognized that the dramatic increases of breast cancer, nonHodgkins lymphoma and thyroid cancer have been linked to exposure to environmental estrogens.
In the past twenty-five years in the US, alone, thyroid cancer has increased more than 45%, with more women being affected than men, and has become the number one cancer in children under age twenty, many of whom suffered from fetal endocrine disruption exposures. Repeated or prolonged exposure to the substance can produce target organs damage.
PEG-150 Distearate, PEG-80 Sorbitan Laurate, PEG-14 M: contaminated with 1,4-dioxane and ethylene oxide, which are linked to breast cancer. (also see Polyethylene Glycol[PEG] below).
Phenoxyethanol: Harmful if swallowed, inhaled or absorbed through the skin; may cause reproductive defects; severe eye and skin irritant. Several animal studies clearly demonstrate toxicity of phenoxyethanol, which causes damaging effects on the brain and the nervous system, even at moderate concentrations.
As a cosmetic ingredient, phenoxyethanol is restricted in Japan and the European Union. Even the U.S. EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) data sheets show “chromosomal changes and genetic mutation effects in testing as well as testicular atrophy and reproductive damage in mice.”
Polyethylene Glycol (PEG): a potentially carcinogenic petroleum ingredient that can alter and reduce the skin’s natural moisture factor. This could increase the appearance of aging and leave you more vulnerable to bacteria.
Used in cleansers to dissolve oil and grease, it adjusts the melting point and thickens products. It is also used in caustic spray-on oven cleaners. (See also PEG-150 Distearate, PEG-80 Sorbitan Laurate, PEG-14 M above).
Polypropylene Terephthalate: Carcinogen, linked to pancreatic cancer Contains phthalates: estrogen mimics linked to breast cancer.
Propyl Paraben: See Parabens above.
Propylene Glycol (PG) and Butylene Glycol: gaseous hydrocarbons, which in a liquid state act as surfactants (wetting agents and solvents). They easily penetrate the skin and can weaken your proteins and cellular structure.
PG is used industrially to remove barnacles from boats! Because PG penetrates the skin so quickly, the EPA warns against skin contact to prevent consequences such as brain, liver, and kidney abnormalities.
However, there isn’t even a warning label on products such as deodorant sticks, where the concentration is greater than in most industrial applications. May cause reproductive and fetal effects. Laboratory experiments have resulted in mutagenic effects. Exposure may cause central nervous system depression. Ingestion may cause lactic acidosis and possible seizures.
Sodium C14- 16- Olefin Sulfonate: EMERGENCY RESPONSE PLANNING GUIDELINES (ERPG) state that: The maximum airborne concentration below which it is believed that nearly all individuals could be exposed for up to one hour WITHOUT experiencing or developing life-threatening health effects is: in water 500 mg/m. Irreversible or other serious effects or symptoms which could impair an individual’s ability to take protective action is: other fluids 500 mg/m.
What this means is that, if you see it on a label it’s so toxic that you should wash your hands after just handling the bottle.
Sodium Laureth-11 Carboxylate: See Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS), et al below.
Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES): See Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS), et al below.
Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate: See Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS), et al below.
Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) & Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES) Or Magnesium Laureth Sulfate, TeaLauryl Sulfate, Laureth-2, Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate, Sodium Laureth-11 Carboxylate, Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate, which are the salts of Sodium Laureth Sulfate: detergents and surfactants that pose very serious health threats. They are used in car washes, garage floor cleaners, and engine degreasers – and in 90% of personal-care products that foam. Young eyes may not develop properly if exposed to SLS because the proteins in their eyes are dissolved. SLS may also damage the skin’s immune system by causing layers to separate and inflame.
When combined with other chemicals, SLS can be transformed into introsamines, a potent class of carcinogens. Your body may retain the SLS for up to five days, during which time it may enter and maintain residual levels in the heart, liver, the lungs, and the brain. It is frequently disguised in pseudo-natural cosmetics with the parenthetic explanation ‘comes from coconut’.
SLS seems to cause a dramatic decline in the hair growth cycle, prolonging the hair loss phase (normally three months) by a factor of 8. Simply removing the corrosive and irritating effects of these ingredients begins to restore the healthy function of the hair follicle and hair growth.
Tea-Lauryl Sulfate: See Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS), et al above.
Tetrasodium EDTA (ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid): It has been found to be both cytotoxic and weakly genotoxic in laboratory animals. Oral exposures have noted to cause reproductive and developmental effects. The same study by Lanigan also found that both dermal exposure to EDTA in most cosmetic formulations and inhalation exposure to EDTA in aerosolized cosmetic formulations would produce systemic effects below those seen to be toxic in oral dosing studies.
References:
1. http://msds.chem.ox.ac.uk/PH/2phenoxyethanol.html
2. http://thegreenbeautyguide.com/?p=169
3. http://www.terressentials.com/endocrine.html
4. http://www.sciencelab.com/xMSDS-Propyl_paraben-9924743
5. Zoller L, Bergman R, Weltfriend S. Preservatives sensitivity in Israel: a 10-year overview (1995-2004). Contact Dermatitis. 2006 Oct;55(4):227-9. PMID 16958921http://orgs.dermis.net/content/e05eecdrg/e05news/e686/e706/index_ger.html
6. Shen Du, BethAnn McLaughlin, Sumon Pal, Elias Aizenman (2002). In vitro neurotoxicity of Methylisothiazolinone, a commonly used industrial and household biocide, proceeds via a zinc and extracellular signal-regulated kinase mitogen-activated protein kinase-dependent pathway Journal of Neuroscience 22:7408-7416.
7. Hampton, Aubrey. Dictionary of Cosmetic Ingredients. Metarasso: Organica Press. Hampton, Aubrey. Natural Organic Hair and Skin Care. Tampa: Organica Press.Steinman, David. “Do You Use These Products?” Natural Health Magazine. September/October 1997: 54-56. Cosmetic Dermatitis”, The Lancet, Volume 333, Issue 8633, Pages314316(1989). 8www.hlcconline.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=about-hair-loss-faq&Store_Code=01
9. Lanigan RS and Yamarik TA (2002). “Final report on the safety assessment of EDTA, calcium disodium EDTA, diammonium EDTA, dipotassium EDTA, disodium EDTA, TEA-EDTA, tetrasodium EDTA, tripotassium EDTA, trisodium EDTA, HEDTA, and trisodium HEDTA”. Int J Toxicol. 21 Suppl 2: 95–142.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12396676&dopt=AbstractPlus. Retrieved on 2008-01-28.
10. theecologist.org/pages/archive_detail.asp?content_id=492
11. Toxicity, inflammation, and anti-human immunodeficiency virus type 1 activity following exposure to chemical moieties of C31G.Catalone BJ, Miller SR, Ferguson ML, Malamud D, Kish-Catalone T, Thakkar NJ, Krebs FC, Howett MK, Wigdahl B.Biomed Pharmacother. 2005 Sep;59(8):430-7.PMID: 16154721 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]
12. Fowler JF, Fowler LM, Hunter JE, Allergy to cocamidopropyl betaine may be due to amidoamine: a patch test and product use test study. Family & Occupational Dermatology, Inc., Louisville, Kentucky 40202, USA. Contact Dermatitis. 2004 Dec;37(6):276-81
13. Organic Consumers Association: Warning: What Your Shampoo’s Label Won’t Tell You
14. Chemwatch Material Safety Data Sheet, Issue Date: 15-Nov-2006 CHEMWATCH 4804-90, NA317EC
15. faceproducts-online.co.uk/ingredients_info.php?IngredientId=49
16. http://www.edennaturalproductsresource.com/?p=2564