what’s in our products? – sodium lauryl sulphate

At some point a couple of years ago, I became aware of the chemicals in our personal care products. I can’t remember how, but I got really interested in the subject, so interested in fact I spent six months researching everything to do with skin care, including talking to manufacturers about starting my own private line of natural skin care products.

Recently I rediscovered my draft 60 page eBook I wrote on natural skin care and thought I would share some of the information I gleaned from doing the research.

It’s important to know what we’re putting on our skin and in our bodies. Up to 60% of what goes onto our skin gets absorbed into our bodies (that’s why nicotine patches work)! I thought I would start with the very common ingredient: Sodium Lauryl Sulphate / Sodium Laureth Sulphate.

Sodium Lauryl Sulphate (SLS) is a surfactant (it reduces surface tension of water and tension between water and oil). It is used in cleaning and personal care products where it is necessary to remove oil stains. It makes products “foam up.”

It is commonly found in liquid soap, face wash, shampoo, toothpaste, bubble bath, baby shampoo and soap, shaving foam and anything else that has a cleaning purpose.

It is also a common ingredient in dish washing detergent, cash wash, laundry detergent, floor cleaners, engine degreasers and paint stripper.

All chemical compounds have a Material Safety Data Sheet that gives information about the chemical, safe use practices and first aid procedures. It is interesting to note that the MSDS for Sodium Lauryl Sulphate states to avoid contact with skin.

SLS is used in laboratories to test the healing and soothing properties of creams and lotions. Why? Because it is a known skin irritant. Testers first irritate the skin with SLS, before trying to sooth it with the preparation being tested.

SLS can damage the skin causing dryness and acne. It can also cause or exacerbate skin conditions such as dermatitis and eczema.

Studies by the Journal of the American College of Toxicology show that SLS can cause harm to the eyes and mucous membranes (so keep shampoo out of your eyes). 

According to the Journal of the American College of Toxicology, SLS penetrates our skin and has a degenerative effect on cell membranes. Other studies have shown residual levels in the heart, liver, lungs and brain from skin contact. It is also said to be damaging to the immune system.

SLS is not considered carcinogenic and is generally considered “safe” by the ‘powers-to-be’ in small amounts where the product is rinsed off. However, what is a small amount? And how do you know how much is in any given product? And what kind of cumulative exposure are you getting if it’s in your soap and shampoo and detergent and toothpaste…?

On a personal note, I had terrible eczema on one hand for a couple of years. It completely went away when we switched to all natural products and hasn’t come back since. I have absolutely no way of telling which ingredient was irritating my skin, only that something in these products was irritating it.

We try to avoid SLS altogether. If you have skin problems like eczema, I would definitely try switching to products that don’t contain SLS. And I would also consider carefully whether you want to use baby shampoo and soap if it has SLS in it.

Just to confuse the issue, the brand Natural/Organic Instinct (I’ve been using their shampoo because it’s the cheapest supposedly “natural” brand) has been claiming that their products are “SLS free” and listing Sodium Salt of Sulphonated Laureth 2 as their alternative “naturally derived from coconut” ingredient. They have since been busted for this by the ACCC for breaching the Trade Practices Act as their products do actually contain SLS.

It’s a jungle out there when trying to pick good (inexpensive) personal care products. I was pretty disappointed to find this info out. I’m generally fairly well informed, and yet I still got suckered into believing I was using a natural product. It just goes to show you have to really read the labels, dig deep and not just take them at face value.