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Thu 8 Nov, 2007 08:37 am
I think I've become sensitive to Sodium Laureth Sulphate. Over the past few months I've developed a kind of rash across my breasts and sometimes on my stomach.
E45 cream seemed to make it worse..oddly.. so I thought I'd try some Elave, seen as we had a few free samples of the shampoo, body wash and intensive cream in the Pharmacy where I work.
Elave is SLS free and free of a load of other crap which is in many of the products we use on our bodies daily.
SLS is an irritant and strips the body of moisture and oils (not good for hair and scalp, especially in teens/people with generally greasy hair, the body will go "OMG! No oil! *grease!!*" and overload your hair with lovely grease.)
After three days of using the Elave shampoo and body wash, my skin (which has been very bad, worse than ever) is almost completely clear. My hair is less greasy and even my mum commented on how much healthier it looks.
SLS is also a foamer, the companies use it because it's cheap and makes your products foam and therefore seem to 'wash better'.
Does anyone know of a place where I can buy cheaper SLS free products?
And is there an alternative to SLS? Eg a foamer which doesn't irritate the skin.
I just thought I should also bring this to the attention of people with sensitive skin who find using bath products irritates their skin.
Products which leave out the SLS will sometimes use similar, but less intense products. I think a coconut product is often used as a foaming agent.
Study upon study (one out just recently) is finding irritants and known toxins in our bodies. They are introduced through many aspects of life: bedding, clothing, makeup, hair products, food...... We all have these toxins in our bodies, most of us received these toxins in our mothers' breastmilk as infants and just continue to take them in. The problem is that it is hard to quantify the damage done. Environmental pollutants (those found in one's environment, not necessarily smog, acid rain, etc) are many and can't be isolated from one another to ascertain individual effects on the human body.
The whole-food, locally grown, organic, free-range, antibiotic-free, back to basics movement is founded on such concerns.
Sort of riffing on this, but not quite, I'm going to start another thread and call it Salad Shampoo. Back with a link when I've started it.
A thread with similar subject
Seconding littlek's tip about coconut oil. I just picked up a product made in the UK by Inecto. My hair gets really dry in the winter so I bought a 100% coconut oil glossing spray but I did look at the shampoo and conditioner and I don't think they had SLS's. Avalon is a brand made in the US that is SLS free as is LiveClean a new product made here in Canada which is really nice. If you're finding the prices scary at the pharmacy you could try a big health food type shop -- if they do a large volume of business their personal care items might not be too expensive. (And of course most of us use a lot more of a product than we need to -- just a small dab is usually enough and makes those expensive products last longer!)
I've used and like Avalon products back in northern CA, but I remember them being pricey, that is, for me. Not necessarily pricey for all, re even the higher priced stuff at, say, Walgreen's.
ossobuco wrote:I've used and like Avalon products back in northern CA, but I remember them being pricey, that is, for me. Not necessarily pricey for all, re even the higher priced stuff at, say, Walgreen's.
I know what you mean. I buy it when I see it on sale and try to keep one bottle ahead so I don't ever have to panic buy at full price.
I use nature's gate - also expensive.
I used to use (and loved) Jason. I became allergic to it and had to switch brands.
http://www.jason-natural.com/products/everyday_hair_care.php
Amendment! Nature's Gate does have SLS. Maybe they put in less? Not as drying as most other shampoos.
I think I tried Nature's Gate and didn't like it. I'll have to look it up, I may be mixing it up with some other natural type brand.
edit - I'm probably maligning them wrongly.. the bottle looks way different.
The bottles seem to change weekly. Plus, NG has two different lines (at least). I was truly in love with the Jason line. Dasha can tell you. It broke my heart to become allergic to the stuff I'd been using for years.
I can imagine a new career in dispenser bottle design, if only they'd ask...
Oh, I saw Osso's "Salad Shampoo" first, just read this stuff (after having extolled a Nature's Gate product on the other thread...)
littlek wrote:
Amendment! Nature's Gate does have SLS. Maybe they put in less? Not as drying as most other shampoos.
The kind I posted on the other thread -- Henna Conditioner -- doesn't seem to have any SLS:
Quote:Water extract of lawsonia inermis (henna), cetyl alcohol, stearalkonium chloride (a nitrogen based conditioner), glycerin, safflower oil, vegetable emulsifying wax, extracts of nettle, chamomile, rosemary, horsetail, honey, comfrey, hops, burdock and cherry bark, soy protein, panthenol, methylparaben, propylparaben, diazolindinyl urea, caramel, carmine, fragrance.
http://www.kalyx.com/store/proddetail.cfm/ItemID/570169/CategoryID/10500/SubCatID/725/file.htm
It's not too expensive (~$6, but it's a BIG bottle, lasts for quite a while).
I think many conditioners don't have SLS - they shouldn't, it's not just a foaming agent, it's a degreaser.
Still, looking at my bottle of L'Oreal new pearl protein complex vive pro nutri gloss conditioner, half full, I see a list of additives too long for me to feel like typing (25 at quick count). Why do I keep paying for a plastic container of additives?
Because it's easy? Plus you don't realise how much crap really is in there.
I read a bottle of shampoo the other day, saying "Contains Organic Ingredients" I pointed this out to my boyfriend, read the back and it still contains SLS and other unpronouncable names.. BF said it 'contains' organic ingredients, but that doesn't mean ALL of the ingredients are organic.
How sly is that? They make you think you're buying something natural that's good for your hair etc, but really it's the same old chemicals just with a misleading label to make you pick it up.
eeeeew soz
is an agent that has a lot of formaldehyde in it. As a nitrifying agent its about as loaded with N/urea as melamine. (I could probably make an explosive out of this crap).
As you know, the chemicals used in **** has a "chemical half life" >The stuff breaks down by a couple of means and , one being when you mix it with water and emits formaldehyde , which cause contact dermatitis. Sodium LAurel SUlfate (same thing different pronunciation), is actually less an irritant.
I shampoo with Dial soap in the shower and then use a "berts Bees " conditioner cause my hair will make me look like some deranged clown.
Oh really?
Cool, I didn't know that.
Well, so much for Nature's Gate, then.
Back to Chemical I mean Herbal Essences.
I suggest that, when you see some names on a label that appear kinda unknown, go google the chemical name and add the phrase Material Safety Data Sheet , or MSDS. Usually itll give any severe reaction info.
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