This came to light last year when my beloved broke out, overnight, in lumps, bumps, wheals and rashes. He was covered from head to toe and his face, lips, and hands were swollen. It was a shocking sight and with no idea what it was we ended up with an emergency hospital appointment. We were calmly told it was Hives – an allergic reaction to something. We then had to find out what the allergy was and it seemed to be ‘dairy products’. So he spent 3 months extracting dairy from his diet, which was no mean feat as he loves cheese, pork pies, etc. We found milk products in soap, red wine and other places we had no idea that contained milk. We read labels, we became aware, educated, enlightened. He has converted to Soya Milk in tea and on cereals, and eats goat’s cheese and goat’s butter. The Hives went away.
He re-introduced some diary products and it occasionally
comes back, mostly on his head and back at shoulder level. His face often looks blotchy red with raised
bumps or dry skin patches. Being a
caring wife I am forever wondering what is causing it.
At random I took a bathroom product to research as having looked at foodstuffs closely and changed my own eating preferences, I am also aware of chemicals in our household items too. So here are the results of my findings of a well known dandruff shampoo that my beloved has been using:
This is what anyone using the product is putting on their
head each time they shampoo (and it runs down your body in the shower and can
enter your system through your skin).
Ingredients
Aqua = water, especially when used in the pharmaceutical industry
as a solvent (a substance in which other substances are dissolved, often a
liquid.) So I am guessing the following list is dissolved by ‘aqua’ but to me
that just means ‘broken down into mini pieces (I was a long term dissolvable aspirin
taker – dropping the tablet into a small amount of water to avoid swallowing a
tablet). Why don’t they just say
‘water’?
Sodium Lauryl Sulfate I highly
recommend you read up on these two for
Sodium Laureth
Sulfate yourself.
Well, having
researched the above two items, I now want to dash upstairs and dispose of the
product. It only took me 30 minutes to
research on-line to inform myself – this is not good! I am dreading getting to the bottom of this
list.
Glycol Disterate
– an emollient, can be seen as a cream
coloured wax in room temperature, a compound based on stearic acid which is, a
naturally occurring fatty acid; used to opacify (to cause to become opaque)
liquid soaps, lotions, creams and shampoos.
Zinc Carbonate – a mineral ore which is a water insoluable
zinc
Sodium Xylenesulfonate
- a chemical formula; a surfactant (which
is a complex naturally occurring substance made of six lipids (fats) and four proteins
that is produced in the lungs). Helps
remove dirt from skin and hair. May irritate eyes temporarily, studies show no carcogenics.
Zinc pyriyhione –
my research found benefits and reviews
for skin conditions like acne, psoriasis and rosacea. This ingredient is what helps get rid of
dandruff. However the possible side
affects convinced me that it contributes to my husband’s Hives. So check your allergies before use.
Cocamidopropyl
betaine – a synthetic surfactant that
comes from coconut oil but which has also been associated in some cases with
irritation and dermatitis.
Dimethicone – commonly referred to as silicone (which is
sometimes used in breast implants, contact lenses and explosives).
Parfum –
basically perfume!
Sodium benzoate –
An ‘E’ number – E211 a preservative. One report on www.naturalnews.com says it “promotes cancer and kills healthy cells”. Another says “it is used as an antifungal
preservative in pharmaceutical preparations and foods”. Yet another says it is “generally recognized
as safe in small doses”.
Guar
hydroxypropyltrimonium chloride – a derivative
of guar gum, an antistatic agent, natural food thickener used in everything
from ice cream to pastries.. Plant
product.
Hydrochloric acid
– anything ending in Acid always sends
shivers down my spine however we produce Gastric Acid in our stomachs
naturally. Wikipedia says it is a clear,
colourless, highly pungent solution that is a highly corrosive, strong mineral
acid with many uses – one of which includes removing rust from steel. (Please
read the whole article on-line)
Magnesium carbonate
hydroxide – often known as milk of
magnesia (aha something I recognise and don’t need to explain).
Hexyl cinnamal – is a naturally occurring and synthetic scent
ingredient, it is associated with allergic reactions. Found in the essential
oil of chamomile. Imparts a jasmine-like
scent.
Magnesium nitrate
– occurs in mines and caverns as
nitromagnesite. A naturally occurring
mineral.
Sodium
polynaphthalenesulfonate – sodium
salts, deemed safe in cosmetics by Cosmetic Ingredients Review Expert Panel.
Methylchloroisothiazolinone
– is a preservative with antibacterial
and antifungal effects.
Cl 42090 – Brilliant blue colourant E number 133.
Cl 19140 – Yellow colourant E number 102
Magnesium chloride
– extracted from sea water, used to
hydrate.
Methylisothiazolinone
– preservative possibly toxic that could
cause nerve damage.
“Cosmetic
companies defend their use of this ingredient by stating that they use very low
amounts, at around 15 ppm. They further claim that because the ingredient is in
“rinse-off” products, any dangerous or toxic effects are washed down the drain.
Meanwhile, you have a bacteria-free formula that lasts a long time on your
shelf.”
So it, along with all the other chemicals found
in just one of my household products gets into our water system. I know I am now getting paranoid and that one
person changing their shampoo is not going to make much difference to the
environment but just as I learnt about the contraceptive pill having an affect
on fish (it being wee’d out, flushed down the loo, ending up in rivers,
changing the sex of fish) is everyone’s shampoo chemicals giving us serious
health issues?
I typed the list of ingredients, then went back to research
them. I realised how little notice I take of what I have stored in bottles in
my bathroom. After typing the list (the
words were so small I had to use a magnifying glass to read them) I then asked
myself: What are these words on the
shampoo bottle? What do they mean, what
are they? I can’t even pronounce most of
them and two are just numbers. What are
the manufacturers hiding from us? Why
can’t they use words we the consumer understand? Do we need labels like our foodstuffs with
red, amber and green to indicate the good, not so good, and harmful contents?
I appreciate much research is done before products reach our
supermarkets and shops but who is making the decision that things are ok for us
to use without health hazards? Products
tested on animals may react differently in humans, surely?
I am just an ordinary consumer, not one prone to buying from
advertisements although I realise these can and do influence our choices. I am not in anyway normally interested in
science but there comes a time when my choices need to change, hopefully it is
not too late to do so. I have blindly
used things I now won’t touch, and have naively brought products for my home
without much thought to the environment, my skin and my body. But that is changing.
My summary of findings on this one product follows:
Toxic
Harmful
Irritant
Astringent
It has both benefits and side affects but, for me, the side
affects outweigh the benefits.
On the front of the bottle it claims “up to 100%* flake free anti-dandruff shampoo”
On the reverse the * after the 100% means “visible flakes from a distance of 2 feet”.
Also on the reverse it tells users
to “Shake before use.” Who does
that???? And Why??? It does give a warning to avoid contact with
your eyes.
The shampoo has a symbol on saying
“research validated by British Skin
Foundation” which deals with finding cures for skin diseases. Another time I may look at their website and
see if they are not only finding cures but actively addressing causes.
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