Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Two Dangers in Your Bathroom

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate and Sodium Laureth Sulfate

This inexpensive detergent is commonly used in cosmetic cleansers, toothpaste, hair shampoos, bath and shower gels, bubble baths, etc. - It is probably the most dangerous ingredient used in skin and hair-care products. In the cleaning industry SLS is used in garage floor cleaners, engine degreasers, car-wash soaps, etc. It is very corrosive and readily attacks greasy surfaces.

Sodium lauryl sulfate is used throughout the world for clinical testing as a primary skin irritant. Laboratories use it to irritate skin on test animals and humans so that they may then test healing agents to see how effective they are on the irritated skin.

A study at the University of Georgia Medical College, indicated that SLS penetrated into the eyes as well as brain, heart, liver, etc., and showed long-term retention in the tissues. The study also indicated that SLS penetrated young children's eyes and prevented them from developing properly and caused cataracts to develop In adults.

May cause hair loss by attacking the follicle. Classified as a drug in bubble baths because it eats away skin protection and causes rashes and infection to occur.

Is potentially harmful to skin and hair. Cleans by corrosion. Dries skin by stripping the protective lipids from the surface so it can't effectively regulate moisture.

Another extremely serious problem is the connection of SLS with nitrate contamination. SLS reacts with many types of ingredients used in skin products and forms nitrosomines (nitrates). Nitrates are potential cancer-causing carcinogenics.

Because of the alarming penetrating power of SLS, large amounts of these known carcinogens are absorbed through the skin into the body. A variation of SLS is SODIUM LAURETH SULFATE (Sodium Lauryl Ether Sulfate- SLES). It exhibits many of the same characteristics and is a higher-foaming variation of SLS.


Sodium Lauryl Sulfate from Natural Sources is not Necessarily Safe

Besides the direct harm that Linear alyl sodium sulfonates can cause to the surface of your skin other risks are associated with the use of these substances. As with many synthetic compounds, these surfactants will carry with them minute amounts of trace impurities. Sodium lauryl sulfate can be produced from palm oil, it is know as the coconut surfactant. Because of this sodium lauryl sulfate is often regarded as a safe, natural source surfactant. Unfortunately, though it is derived from plant sources, it can not be expected to be toxin free.

The manufacturing processes used to create sodium lauryl sulfate are still subject to tainting with dioxins even when they are produced from plant sources. Benzenes may also be present as impurities. These toxins are carcinogenic and are harmful to the unborn. Not only are they harmful to the person who uses the detergent that accidentally contains them, but, they are frequently leaked into the environment during the manufacturing of the surfactant. Outbreaks of dermatitis, in Scandinavia, on a couple of occasions, were traced to impurities which were present in particular improperly processed batches of sodium lauryl sulfate used to produce detergent with.


Read more: http://www.brighthub.com/environment/green-living/articles/17616.aspx#ixzz1EobcAZGb

15 comments:

  1. Sodium Lauryl Sulfate is in just about all toothpaste brands, even in those brands that advertise to be "all natural" making it easy for you to just turn a blind eye to the dangers of it. My end result was making my own, in powder form using good old fashioned baking soda as the main ingredient. It leaves my mouth just as fresh as toothpaste did, maybe even cleaner and definately more safe.

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  2. It's hard to escape this ingredient if you are going to buy your personal hygiene products. We make our own baking soda based toothpaste too. I add cinnamon for my kids, it tastes better and is is good for them.

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  3. That is great salafiummi. My current tooth powder is cinnamon flavored and na'am it adds a good taste to it.

    I did run into one kind of paste I think on Amazon that did not have any fluoride nor SLS in it and I thought I found something but it was $26 a tube! Needless to say, I did not go for that brand, lol.

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  4. $26 a tube!!!! I don't blame you,lol

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  5. wow $26 for a tube!!??? That is too much..I used to buy tooth paste based on neem leaves but masha'allah you guys gave me a good idea for a home made recipe! Will start doing my own then insha'allah . Oh and sis can I share this information with other sisters on here?

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  6. Na'am, i was going to try the neem toothpaste but didnt get a chance..it was going to be the next one i would try but i ended up making my own maa shaa allaah. Laa, i do not mind if you share this ukhti. You may share anything that i post in shaa allaah.

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  7. I've been meaning to try neem but never got around to it. I'll have to get some form wegman's. It is pricier than buying form muslims but No Muslim shops nearby sell it. Jazaka Allahu khair for bringing up neem.

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  8. I used to buy neem toothpaste in New York from Medina, that is the only place where I know they sell it and it wasn't expensive

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  9. I actual wanted to get some neem leaves for other benefits and now I have more reasons. Barak Allahu fiki!

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  10. masha'allah..let us know how it is insha'allah (smile)

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  11. That one looks good, especially the price! Jazaka Allahu khair for sharing habibati!

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  12. As Salaamu alaikum. After trying many different kinds of toothpaste, I settled with this one:

    http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&q=green+apple+toothpaste&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&biw=1024&bih=562&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=16882670556376561985&sa=X&ei=R-gaTr7eNKLZ0QG8uYSXBQ&ved=0CEcQ8gIwAw

    It taste great and most importantly, it is all natural. No SLS or Fluoride. Pretty cool huh? (smiles)

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  13. ....Oh and how can I fail to mention....check out the price of $4! I'm really lovin that.

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