|
Is Your Shampoo Poisoning You and the Environment?: |
| UpdateTime:2007-6-22 14:21:48 Catalog :Environmental |
I looked at my bottle of shampoo today and my hair stood on end before I even washed it. The front label states "Vitamin E Moisture Rich Shampoo - Professional performance formula", but what I read on the back made me wonder about the volume of potential poisons I've been flushing into the environment over the last 3 decades, simply through washing my hair.Having a blackwater system now for recycling our household waste water has also made me a little more conscious about this kind of thing. If we put chemicals down our drains that upsets the good bacteria, they can't do their job properly in chewing up all the nasties. Throw it out of balance, and restoring the balance can take a long while.Here are the ingredients of my shampoo and what I discovered.Sodium Laureth Sulfate - used in clinical testing as a primary skin irritant. Tests on lab animals indicate material may cause mutagenic effects.Cocamidopropyl Betaine - potential irritant and potentially contaminated with or breaking down into chemicals linked to cancer.Ammonium Chloride - Harmful if swallowed. May be harmful by inhalation. Skin, eye and respiratory irritantTocopheryl Acetate - Vitamin ECamellia Sensis Leaf Extract - OK depending on extraction processFennel - OK depending on extraction processFruit Extract - Hrm.. depending on extraction processEpilobium Angustifolium Extract - OK depending on extraction processSunflower Extract - OK depending on extraction processHazel leaf Extract - OK depending on extraction processSweet Almond fruit extract - OK depending on extraction processPanthenol - Vitamin B5Cocodimonium Hydroxypropyl Hydrolized wheat protein - not sureQuaternium-22 - May contain harmful impurities or form toxic breakdown productsButylene Glycol - not assessed for safety by Cosmetics Ingredient Review boardPropylene Glycol - allows other chemicals to penetrate into the skin, suspected Respiratory, Skin or sense organ, Immunotoxicity and Neurotoxicity hazardsPolyquaternium-10 - a mildly irritating toxic polymerSodium Chloride - common saltTetrasodium EDTA - allows other chemicals to penetrate into the skinCitric Acid - OK depending on extraction processHexylene Glycol - neurotoxin, sensitizer and irritantTriethanolomine - may contain residual levels of nitrosamines, a carcinogenMethylchloroisothiazolinone -immune system toxin, lung sensitizer.Geraniol - not assessed for safety by Cosmetics Ingredient Review boardButylphenyl Methylpropional - not assessed for safety by Cosmetics Ingredient Review boardLinalool - not assessed for safety by Cosmetics Ingredient Review boardHexyl Cinnamal - not assessed for safety by Cosmetics Ingredient Review boardLimonene - a hydrocarbon that poses potential risks to wildlife and the environment through water contamination. Carcinogen to some animalsFragrance (I hate to think)Before I start sounding overly paranoid, I'm well aware that everything is made up of chemicals - even natural ingredients. 2 potentially nasty chemicals can also combine to make something quite safe and useful - e.g.; sodium + chloride = salt. The type and level of chemical hazard does also greatly depend on quantity and manufacturing - but the point is, they are being manufactured; in bulk - and that in itself poses huge risks for the environment. Nature may produce similar chemicals, but it's a natural process in harmony with the planet and environment.So, do I really need the above chemical shampoo cocktail to wash my hair? No. After all that, I think I'll just stick with vegetable soap until I find a more earth-friendly shampoo. I really don't need "body and bounce" anyway since I have short hair.What does your shampoo bottle say? Could you be unwittingly poisoning yourself and the environment? Research the ingredients listed on your shampoo bottle.
|
| Source:localTrue Writer:Unknown |
|
