Posted by Dr Stacey Sanchez on Apr 22nd 2020
Are You Sick From Being Clean?
You probably don’t realize that you are in a sick environment every time you’re at home. How is this so you ask?
Take a look at the ingredients that is lurking in all your personal care, body care, makeup, and cleaning products. Are they full of natural goodness or words you can’t pronounce or better yet never seen before!
Let’s get to the first villain — Sodium Lauryl Sulfate.
Sodium lauryl sulfate is a surfactant, detergent and emulsifier used in thousands of industrial cleaners and cosmetic products. It is present in nearly all shampoos, scalp treatments, hair color and bleaching agents, toothpastes, body washes and cleansers, make-up foundations, liquid hand soaps, and laundry detergents.
Although SLS originates from coconuts, the chemical is anything but natural.
SLS is mixed with sulfur trioxide or chlorosulfonic acid and then neutralized with aqueous sodium hydroxide (lye). SLS is the sodium salt of lauryl sulfate and is classified by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) Cosmetics Database as a “denaturant, surfactant cleansing agent, emulsifier and foamer,” rated “moderate hazard.”
Similar to sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) is sodium laureth sulfate (short for sodium lauryl ether sulfate, or SLES), a yellow detergent with higher foaming ability. SLES is considered to be slightly less irritating than SLS. SLS goes by other names, including:
- Sodium dodecyl sulfate
- Sulfuric acid
- monododecyl ester
- sodium salt
- Sodium salt sulfuric acid
- Monododecyl ester sodium salt sulfuric acid
Ammonium lauryl sulfate (ALS) is another variation commonly put into cosmetics and cleansers to make them foam. ALS is similar to SLS, showing similar risks.
According to the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep: Cosmetic Safety Reviews, research studies on SLS have shown links to:
Irritation of the skin and eyes, Organ toxicity, Developmental/reproductive toxicity, Neurotoxicity, endocrine disruption, ecotoxicology, and biochemical or cellular changes, Possible mutations and cancer
If you visit the SLS page on EWG’s website, you will see a very long list of health concerns and associated research studies. In fact, you will also see mention of nearly 16,000 studies in the PubMed science library (as well as their link to that list) about the toxicity of this chemical.
A number of studies report SLS being damaging to oral mucosa and skin. This is not at all surprising since SLS is actually used as a skin irritant during studies where medical treatments for skin irritation require first using an intentionally irritating agent. A study appearing in Exogenous Dermatology Confirmed SLS to be a very “corrosive irritant” to the skin—irritation which persisted in research subjects for 3 weeks. SLS exerts its damage by stripping your skin of protective oils and moisture.
SLS has also been linked to nitrosamines. Nitrosamines are potent carcinogens that cause your body to absorb nitrates, also known to be carcinogenic.
In 2008, the focus was personal care products and the findings were shocking.
Many popular brands of shampoos, body washes, lotions, and even baby products—as well as many “natural” and “organic” brands—were found to contain 1,4-dioxane.
Levels of contamination were so high that many companies have come under legal attack for poisoning consumers. Unfortunately, this phase of testing proved no lesser threat. Results suggest it’s time for these companies to clean up their acts.
Our Holistic & Wellness Products
Holistic Healer & Wellness provides you with the most natural products, for you and the environment we never use chemicals, or dyes to create any of our amazing products. From body care to laundry detergent our goal is to help keep our planet clean without all the toxins that are damaging the entire world.
Right now is a time when everyone is looking for products that sanitize without drying or damaging the skin while help support your immune system. We make and carry several different products Natural Hand Sanitizer if you're looking for a cleanser and lotion made for sanitizing that smells amazing and you can use on your whole body Happy Hands Cleanser and Happy Hands Lotion were designed to do the job.
If you are looking for other products try Clean Freak Soap Nuts for your laundry needs and keep our waters toxin free and for daily bathing try Holistic Healer Body Wash and Holistic Healer Lavish Lotion. Check out our website for all your health care needs.
Be Aware and Take Care