"Scientist Warn Of Harmful Ingredients in Our Shampoos and Cosmetics" By David Lowel Kim

New health concerns are being raised over some ingredients in hair shampoos, skin creams, toothpastes, and other personal care products. According to researchers in the United States, Germany, Switzerland, and Japan, these ingredients may be linked to premature baldness, cataract formation, environmental cancers, contact dermatitis, and possible eye damage in young children.

SLS and Eye Damage in Young Children

The greatest concern of many scientists is sodium lauryl sulfate, a detergent found in approximately 90% of commercial shampoos. Also known as sodium dodecyl sulfate ( SDS), sodium laureth sulfate (SLES), and sodium laurel sulfate (SLS), this chemical has been shown to damage protein formation in eye tissue in young animals, raising serious concerns about the possibility of ocular tissue malformation and blindness in infants and young children. In animal studies, SLS penetration and uptake is much greater in neonatal and young animal eye tissue, compared to adult animals, and shows "penetration into the eye, as well as systematic tissues (brain, heart, liver, etc.)." SLS also showed long-term retention in tissues, up to five days after a single drop. (I)

Researcher Keith Green, Ph.D., D. Sc., of the Medical College of Georgia, also reports that SLS extends the healing time of corneal tissue by a factor of five, from the normal 2 days to 10 days or more. He also expresses concerns about cataract formation from SLS. Writing for Research to Prevent Blindness, Inc., Dr. Green states in part: "There is an immediate concern relating to the penetration of these chemicals into the eye and other tissues. This is especially important in infants... exposure to SLS results in accumulation in eye tissues, a process that could retard healing as well as potentially have long-term effects." Dr. Green concludes that exposure to sodium lauryl sulfate causes improper eye development in children, and that since SLS is absorbed systematically through the skin, it does not have to enter the eye directly.

Our own research has revealed that SLS is present as a main ingredient in most commercial shampoos. Furthermore, SLS is a main ingredient in most baby shampoos on the store shelves.

SLS Toxicity and Cancer

Another serious health concern with SLS is its tendency to react with other ingredients to form NDELA, a nitrosamine and potent carcinogen. According to a 1978 FDA report, shampooing the hair with a product contaminated with this nitrosamine can lead to its absorption into the body at levels much higher than eating nitrate. contaminated foods. (Researchers actually estimate the nitrate absorption from one shampoo is equal to eating a pound of bacon.) The FDA has recently warned shampoo manufacturers of unacceptable levels of dioxin formation in products containing SLES (dioxins are also dangerous carcinogenic compounds). Whether or not a particular bottle of shampoo is contaminated with these powerful carcinogenic compounds can only be determined though laboratory testing.

Damage to Your Skin

Researchers have known for years that SLS is a skin irritant. In fact, SLS is used as a laboratory standard for irritating skin and inducing contact dermatitis (2.3.4). SLS is useful in laboratory testing "because of its ability to penetrate and impair the skin barrier" (5). SLS damages skin barrier function (6), enhances allergic response to other toxins and allergens (7), damages and alters skin cells (8), causes substantial roughness in the skin (9), and results in severe modification of skin recombinant structure (to).

SLS

SLS is listed as toxic to skin in many studies (ll.12.13). In patients with seborrhea and eczema, SLS increases irritant reactions and susceptibility (14). SLS is indicated in the migration of Langerhans cells to regional lymph sites in contact dermatitis, explaining the inflammation of the lymph nodes in some cases. (A systematic response is clearly indicated.)