Personal Care Precautions – James Beuerlein, Chief Layout Editor

a healthy kick in the pants

It may come as a shock to you that many of the personal care products we use to get clean are actually filled with toxins ruining our health. Just look at the back of nearly any shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste, or cosmetic bottle – do you know what ANY of that stuff is?

While doing a comprehensive analysis of the thousands of possible ingredients in these products is well beyond my scope of knowledge, there are a few particularly nasty critters I want to draw your attention to.

PARABENS

Parabens is a preservative agent found in nearly 90% of personal care products and cosmetics. It has been found to cause skin reactions including rashes, eczema, and dermatitis. It is also found in many anti-aging lotions, though some studies have shown that it actually speeds up aging when exposed to UV light. Parabens can also mimic estrogen in the body, causing negative side-effects on sexual organs and perhaps contributing to breast cancer. Many labels of natural products will now proudly claim “Parabens-free.” This is one ingredient you do not want in or on your body at all.

PROPYLENE GLYCOL and POLYETHYLENE GLYCOL

These organic alcohols are found in many products and are used to stabilize fragrance formulas. However, these exact same compounds are also used in industrial cleaners, anti-freeze, oven-cleaner, and hydraulic fluid – partly, because of their ability to break down cellular tissue. When reacting with your skin, these ingredients are potentially cancer-causing and have been shown to be related to kidney problems, dermatitis, liver problems and weakened immunity.

SODIUM LAURYL SULFATE and SODIUM LAURETH SULFATE

These ingredients are foaming agents found in many soaps, shampoos, toothpastes, and many industrial cleaners like car wash soap. They are particularly dangerous because of their ability to denature proteins, which can have disastrous effects on cells. SLS has been linked to eye malformation in children and has been shown to produce eye damage, depression, and labored breathing in some animal studies. These compounds can also mimic estrogen, causing sexual organ side-effects such as infertility and possibly contributing to cancer. When deposited in the brain, heart, and liver tissue, these compounds become a source of the known carcinogen, nitrosamine.

FRAGRANCE

Anything listed as a “fragrance” on a personal care product is exceptionally murky to judge. This is because the FDA does not require companies to publish the ingredients that make up their fragrances. There’s no telling what sort of chemicals are included in them. It is better to go with products that tell where their fragrances come from (i.e. plants).

The next time you go to replenish your stores of hygienic delights, watch out for these ingredients and opt for something more natural. A good rule of thumb is “the fewer ingredients, the better.” A few brands out there that do a particularly good job are Jason’s, Tom’s, and Nature’s Gate – to name just a few. I personally recommend starting fresh. Go through your products and junk the ones that have these ingredients. Making this change in your lifestyle will drastically reduce your daily toxic load.

Toxic Soap On Campus – Carley Edwards, DC Student

Do you know what’s lurking in the soap dispensers?

Everyone knows that washing your hands is the best way to prevent the spread of germs, but what if you’re washing your hands with toxic chemicals? The soap dispensers on Life’s campus are filled with several cancer-causing, allergy producing chemicals. Just open up the dispenser and see for yourself. The bright pink container labeled KimCare contains ingredients such as Propylene Glycol, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Disodium EDTA, PEG-7, Fragrance, and Red 33.

Propylene Glycol (PG) is found in antifreeze, airplane de-icers, paints, enamels, engine coolants, and more. It is also found in food, medicine and cosmetics. The Material Safety Datasheet cites that PG has been related to skin, liver and kidney damage. According to The Environmental Working Groups website, Skin Deep, PG correlates with cancer, allergies, reproductive toxicity and neurotoxicity. Some claim that PG is safe in small doses, but how many chemicals do we come into contact with daily? Skin Deep declares that women use an average of 12 personal care products daily containing 168 different ingredients and men use an average of six products with 85 different ingredients.

Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLS) is an inexpensive foaming agent found in several personal care products. SLS causes skin and eye irritation in human studies. This irritant increases with concentration. Even worse, SLS is contaminated with 1,4-dioxane. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) classifies 1,4-dioxane as a carcinogen and irritant. This chemical is classified in the state of California to cause cancer. Even the FDA has urged this chemical be removed from products, yet it remains due to the fact that there is no actual law banning the chemical. Canada and the European Union have taken initiative and had this chemical banned or restricted for use. The EPA has 1,4-dioxane listed as a hazardous air pollutant under the Clean Air Act. Skin Deep lists 1,4-dioxane as a known carcinogen related to organ toxicity. It is also an immunotoxin, reproductive toxin, allergen and occupational hazard. SLS is listed as the second ingredient on the soap being dispensed in all of the bathrooms on campus. SLS is not the only ingredient in the soap that is contaminated with 1,4-dioxane. PEG -7 is as well. PEG’s are not safe for injured or damaged skin. Do you ever wash your skin with cuts on your hands?

Disodium EDTA is a neurotoxin linked to cancer and organ system toxicity. It is cytotoxic and genotoxic. EDTA is considered a persistent organic pollutant (POP) that has been used as a pesticide, has a detrimental impact on human health and the environment, and has the ability to accumulate in human tissue. POP’s have been linked to breast cancer, neurobehavioral disorders and even diabetes and death. Those who are obese tested with high levels of POP’s. EDTA may be listed under several other names including acetic acid and most things beginning with ‘disodium.’

Red 33 is a synthetic dye made from petroleum or coal-tar sources. Red 33 has also been tested positive for mutation. The FDA prohibits the use of Red 33 around the eyes. Do you wash your face in the sinks at school? How about while at the gym?

Fragrance seems like an innocent ingredient but it is really just a mask disguising an ugly chemical: phthalates. The health effects of phthalate are endless and are found in plastics, adhesives, glues, personal care products, children’s toys, paints, and pharmaceutical drugs. Children are even more vulnerable to phthalates than adults. Studies have been done linking children with allergies to those with large amounts of phthalates in the home. There may even be a link between phthalates and autism. Phthalates lead to precocious puberty in females and are endocrine disruptors that can cause birth defects. When fed to rodents, phthalates caused liver and testicular damage. The Journal of Pediatrics found that low birth weight babies are related to exposure to phthalates. Some research has even been done on the correlation between phthalates and ADHD. Former President George Bush signed The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act restricting the use of phthalates above a certain level in children’s toys.

The same soap that is being used all over campus is also being used at Bright Life, the daycare center on campus. In addition to the soap dispensers, there are hand soap dispensers from Wal-Mart containing yellow 5. Yellow 5 is banned in Norway, and was banned in Austria, and Germany. The UK called for a voluntary phase out of the chemical a few years ago due to its link with hyperactivity in children. Since 1985 The American Academy of Pediatrics stated that the side effects of Yellow 5 include allergies, tumors, and asthma.

Something else to be aware of is that Propylene glycol, SLS, PEG-7, and EDTA are all skin penetrators, meaning that they actually help other chemicals penetrate deeper into the skin.

I posted a comment on Life’s Facebook page asking about whether a particular ingredient was used in the soaps on campus and this was the response I received: “Hi Carley, although the soap on campus contains some questionable ingredients, triclosan is not one of them. Our soap provider appears to offer a Green Seal certified product that we will explore using.” Obviously the ingredients used in the soap dispensers on campus are not ‘questionable.’ They are toxic and carcinogenic and lead to long-term health problems. If there are safer alternatives available, why isn’t Life using them? It may be more costly, but what is the price on our health and that of the environment? When will change be integrated to make Life a greener campus? Until then, I will continue to bring my own soap into the bathroom.