Saturday, October 31, 2009

How concerned should we be about our every day use of sodium lauryl sulphate?

Should we be seeking alternative products?
Answer:
If you are sensitive to them yes- cause weakness and rashes. Plenty of alternatives exist- Nature's Gate and Jason products.
Same with ammonia being in most shampoos and body washes and even expensive soaps!
Quite concerned if this is to go by:

MANUFACTURERS MATERIAL SAFETY DATA SHEET ON SODIUM LAURYL SULPHATE

Ingredients: SULPHURIC ACID, MONODODECYL ESTER, SODIUM SALT; (SODIUM LAURYL SULPHATE) Ingredient Sequence Number: 01

Unusual Fire And Explosion Hazards: EMITS TOXIC FUMES ON THERMAL DECOMPOSITION

Health Hazard Data

Route Of Entry - Inhalation: YES

Route Of Entry - Skin: YES

Route Of Entry - Ingestion: YES

Health Hazard Acute And Chronic: Back to Top

ACUTE: CAUSES MILD IRRITATION ON CONTACT WITH SKIN, EYES OR MUCOUS MEMBRANES. SKIN CONTACT COULD CAUSE IRRITATION OR ALLERGIC REACTION. MODERATELY TOXIC BY INGESTION.

CHRONIC: TESTS ON LAB ANIMALS INDICATE MATERIAL MAY CAUSE MUTAGENIC EFFECTS

Emergency/First Aid Procedure:

EYES: FLUSH THOROUGHLY WITH WATER FOR AT LEAST 15 MINUTES

SKIN: WASH THOROUGHLY WITH SOAP %26 WATER.

INHALATION: REMOVE TO FRESH AIR.

INGESTION: IF STILL CONSCIOUS, INDUCE VOMITING.
Not very. Provided you aren't distilling the SLS from your shampoo and setting it on fire, it's not going to harm you. And there's no ammonia in your soap, that's ammonium, and it's actually got completely different properties. There are dangerous chemicals all around us that aren't present in forms or concentrations that are harmful. Let me give you an example.

Sodium on its own is explosive in air, causes chemical burns, and is basically toxic. You have to handle it with extreme care in the laboratory.

Chlorine is a greenish gas that will burn your lungs. Also toxic, and also handled with extreme care.

When they react, you'd expect some superpoison, right? Nope. It's regular old table salt. So the fact that a product you use has a chemical in it that sounds scary just doesn't mean it's bad for you. It might just be something totally harmless.

If it bothers you, there are shampoos and soaps that don't have SLS, but they're kind of blah. SLS is what makes it lather up all nice and foamy. And I like that.

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