Hi everyone! I want to clear up some misinformation I read in a recent post regarding shampoo chemicals. Sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) and sodium laureth sulfate (SLES) are completely different substances. The first is a rather harsh surfactant detergent while the second is relatively mild.
The assertion that SLS causes cancer is a myth, debunked in 1998 as an Internet/email hoax. Please refer to the Urban Legends Reference for a complete breakdown:
http://www.snopes.com/toxins/shampoo.htm - http://www.snopes.com/toxins/shampoo.htm
This is a well-documented discussion backed up with research from the FDA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the National Toxicology Program and the International Agency for Research on Cancer, all which have rated SLS as non-carcinogenic.
Bottom line: you`d have to eat incredible amounts of SLS to produce significant damage, and you don`t eat shampoo. (At least I hope not!) Topical application of this detergent can be drying to an irritated scalp or damaged hair, but it won`t cause cancer. Most shampoos contain 70-90 percent water. The SLS is present in much smaller quantities than necessary to cause illness.
The sites that claim anything to the contrary are often the propagation of misinformed people who mean well or those selling "natural" products that do not contain sulfates. Their goal is to scare off consumers who use mainstream products in favor of their more natural-sounding ingredient lists.
Also, it`s ethylene glycol that forms antifreeze, not propylene glycol (please see http://www.ourhair.net/huhs.htm - http://www.ourhair.net/huhs.htm for more info.) Propylene glycol is an FDA-approved moisturizer that binds water to hair and skin like glycerin.
Remember to always read with a critical eye and happy new year! :-)
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Look for beauty, and you will find no intelligence. Look for intelligence and you will find both.Proud member of the Cult of All Soft
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