Are you concerned about the effect on your family's health of increasing exposure to chemicals? Every day we bombard our bodies with cosmetics, shampoos and soaps that contain chemicals such as aluminium, sodium laurel sulphate and formaldehyde.

The polluted world in which we now live, the quality of the food we eat and the lifestyles we adopt, are naturally, considerable factors in the ultimate state of our health. However, it has become clear that we are significantly affecting our state of health, and ultimately our life span by our increasing contact with chemicals, which our bodies are unable to effectively manage. Not only are our foods significantly depleted of essential nutrients, we now bombard our bodies with an arsenal of unnatural elements contained in the cosmetics and personal care products we use each and every day of our lives.

The word cancer has become one of the most feared words in society today. It is believed that at this very moment, one third of us has cancer at different stages of development and in the next 20 years it is expected that this figure will rise to one in two.

Potentially harsh toxic chemical and cancer causing agents are invading our lives through the ingredients we believe are safe in daily consumable items. Many of these are often found in commonly used shampoos, conditioners, toothpastes, lotions, sun creams and bubblebaths plus everyday cleaning and household products. It is now believed that when these chemicals interact with other ingredients and substances, and enter our bodies through daily use, via the skin and mucus membranes, they can have a serious effect on our health by gradual poisoning and can create an increased risk of severe health problems.

The question is: “Why are these ingredients being used in personal care products?” Research in Germany, Japan and the US has found that many ingredients commonly used in shampoos, toothpastes, skin cream and other personal care items may be linked to liver, lung, heart and brain damage as well as premature baldness, cataract formation, cancers, contact dermatitis and possible eye damage in young children. Most of us have no idea what many of the products we use everyday in good faith, are doing to us.

In The Safe Shoppers Bible, written by Dr. Samuel Epstein MD and David Steinman, it states that in 1990 there were 38 000 cosmetic related injuries that required medical treatment in the US alone. Dr. Epstein is chairman of the Cancer Prevention Coalition and is an internationally recognised authority on the toxic and carcinogenic effects of ingredients and contaminants in consumer products, cosmetics, personal and skincare as well as household products.

Information on these damaging chemicals has been available for several years but is not widely known among the medical profession, let alone the general public. Scientific health information can take approximately 20 years to become general knowledge – much damage can be done in that time, and we need to prevent the potential damage to our health from such chemicals before ill health occurs.

So what are some of the most potentially harmful ingredients that we should be aware of? There is a great deal of debate and concern expressed by health conscious professionals about an ingredient which is found in about 90 per cent of all commercial shampoos (often top of the ingredients list!), toothpastes, body and shaving gels and bubblebaths. It is called Sodium lauryl sulphate, also known as SLS, SDS and many other names.

There is also Sodium laureth sulphate (SLES) with which dioxins can be created, these are some of the most potentially dangerous carcinogens in the world. SLS is very inexpensive and, when mixed with common salt, is used as a foaming agent. Apart from the possible carcinogenic effects of SLS, it is also highly corrosive, and in the industrial world , is used in garage floor cleaners, engine de-greasers, car wash soaps, etc.

Many studies have been undertaken highlighting the potentially damaging effects of this chemical. One such study reported in The Journal of the American College of Toxicology; Vol. 2, No. 7, 1983 indicated that SLS can damage the immune system; causing separation of skin layers and inflammation of the skin. The journal also states that SLS is routinely used in clinical studies to irritate skin tissue, it corrodes hair follicles and can impair the ability to grow hair!

Another chemical which is in many personal care products and which is just as potentially harmful is Propylene glycol (also known under many different names) called a humectant in cosmetics, it is a mineral oil and is used in hydraulic fluid and industrial anti-freeze. The manufacturer’s safety data sheets states that it is a strong skin irritant, is implicated in contact dermatitis, kidney damage and liver abnormalities; can inhibit cell growth in human tests and can damage membranes causing rashes, dry skin and surface damage, it may also cause eye irritation. Exposure can cause gastro-intestinal disturbances, nausea, headache and vomiting.

Amazingly, it is used in many skin creams and lotions including sun-protection creams and in baby wipes. Again like SLS an SLES, there have been many clinical tests to highlight the potential health risks associated with this chemical. These include one by The American Academy of Dermatologists Inc, Jan 1991 which states that ‘Propylene glycol causes significant numbers of reactions and is a primary irritant to the skin in low levels of concentrations’.

So why is it used in cosmetics? Firstly, it is very inexpensive and it has the effect of giving creams and lotion a ‘glide’ when applied to the skin. Being a mineral oil, applying a cream with Propylene glycol in it, and the above health hazards aside, could create an oily film over the skin to lock in moisture, toxins and wastes, and hinder normal skin respiration thus ageing the skin prematurely.




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