[x3_saranghae]

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) is used because it is an inexpensive detergent and makes mixtures foam well.


"In its final report on the safety of sodium lauryl sulfate, the Journal of the American College of Toxicology notes that this ingredient has a "degenerative effect on the cell membranes because of its protein denaturing properties." What's more, the journal adds, "high levels of skin penetration may occur at even low use concentration."

Interestingly, sodium lauryl sulfate "is used around the world in clinical studies as a skin irritant," notes the journal. The publication expressed additional concerns:

Carcinogenic nitrosamines can form in the manufacturing of sodium lauryl sulfate or by its inter-reaction with other nitrogen-bearing ingredients within a formulation utilizing this ingredient.
Other studies have indicated that sodium lauryl sulfate enters and maintains residual levels in the heart, liver, lungs and brain from skin contact. This poses the question whether it could be a serious potential health threat from its use in shampoos, cleansers, and toothpastes.
Still other research has indicated sodium lauryl sulfate may be damaging to the immune system, especially within the skin. Skin layers may separate and inflame due to its protein denaturing properties.
Although sodium lauryl sulfate is not carcinogenic in experimental studies, it has been shown that it causes severe epidermal changes in the area it is applied, indicating a need for tumor-enhancing assays.
Additional studies have found that sodium lauryl sulfate is heavily deposited on the skin surface and in the hair follicles. Damage to the hair follicle could result from such deposition. "

Read More Here

[Christinaisweird]

i don't use it when it's in skincare products.
plus, it's better to be safe, i mean you're not getting any younger. so i would start preventing a lot of things.

so what was the whole point of this thread? cause basically a lot of people know about this chemical already.
just do your research.

St.Ives use this in their products and Philosophy too. just a lot of brands.

[plumplum]

Shampoo without SLS is too expensive, so whatever. I don't care.

[Cheri.B*]

^ That is if you used it everyday when you really don't need to shampoo your hair everyday.

Organix is around 5-6 dollars (in target) I think.

[eyeluvyew<3]

Mane n Tail has these ingredients:

Water , Sodium Lauryl Sulphate , Cocamidopropyl Betaine , Cocamide DEA , Glycol Distearate , Fragrance , Hydrolyzed Protein , Sodium Chloride , Citric Acid , DMDM Hydantoin

But its known for being a great product for shampoo. It has small amount of ingredients, but the second most amount is the sulphate.
Also, I watched a special segment on my korean sat. tv... and it was about 100% natural makeup and users who got really bad skin from it.

I don't know if it applies to hair and shampoo. but its something to consider.

[flowoftime]

^ it applies to anything... and i mean ANYTHING

-face washes
-body washes
-soaps
-shampo's ect...


im currently 100% SLS free.. my shampoo is 100% natural and so is my body wash

[Subways]

Is head and head and shoulders SLS free? I checked myself but on the bottle it only had "active ingreidients" listed and it was 1% something I can't remember but not SLS. Thats all she wrote =(

[CRUNK n' B]

Is head and head and shoulders SLS free? I checked myself but on the bottle it only had "active ingreidients" listed and it was 1% something I can't remember but not SLS. Thats all she wrote =(

ya it has it :
Inactive ingredients: water, sodium laureth sulfate, sodium lauryl sulfate, cocamide MEA, zinc carbonate, glycol distearate, dimethicone, fragrance, cetyl alcohol, guar hydroxypropyltrimonium chloride, magnesium sulfate, sodium benzoate, magnesium carbonate hydroxide, ammonium laureth sulfate, benzyl alcohol, sodium chloride, methylchloroisothiazolinone, methylisothiazolinone, sodium xylenesulfonate, blue 1, red 4

[Subways]

ya it has it :
Inactive ingredients: water, sodium laureth sulfate, sodium lauryl sulfate, cocamide MEA, zinc carbonate, glycol distearate, dimethicone, fragrance, cetyl alcohol, guar hydroxypropyltrimonium chloride, magnesium sulfate, sodium benzoate, magnesium carbonate hydroxide, ammonium laureth sulfate, benzyl alcohol, sodium chloride, methylchloroisothiazolinone, methylisothiazolinone, sodium xylenesulfonate, blue 1, red 4

Damnit I have bottles of that stuff haha

[kissez*]

That stuff makes my boobs itch.

[amity]

You know what I think? I think that all these chemicals that we use on ourselfs and all this man-made and synthetic stuff that we use causes cancer. >_> lol joking but think about it, it could be true...

And yes, SLS is unhealthy and a skin irritant...and can cause acne.

[flowoftime]

^ actually it is quite true...

the skin is highly absorbant, and when people pile on all these chemicals which they have no clue what they do to their bodies
they are unintentionally making them vulnerable for cancer as well as giving themselves cancer in some cases.. such as
why there is such a high rate of breast cancer for women due to the common use of cosmetics and beauty products with synthetic preservatives
in them found in tumors =(

i think everyone should give all natural a chance, yes most products that are 100% chemical free are more pricey, but you only have one body and
you need to be more responsible of what you put on it =P

[wingfaith]

lol i haven't seen a shampoo without SLS in it yet...

[angel_cutie]

does herbal essance have it??
i only have a mini version =PP

but yeah i've checked looootsss of "natural"
shampoos and some still have SLS >________>

[xMYOOx]

i've used organix shampoo for quite a while now cuz it doesnt have any sodiumlauryl sulfate
but it gave me dandruff.. and i NEVER had dandruff before..
ugh.. hate it

ill stick with my panteneeeee

[bombb_]

does herbal essance have it??
i only have a mini version =PP

but yeah i've checked looootsss of "natural"
shampoos and some still have SLS >________>

the herbal essence in my shower doesnt have it.
its in a tall red bottle..green top.

but the other soaps in my shower did have it.
in the herbal essence one, it had ammonium... in stead of sodium...

[boka]

Personally, I think you'd be hard-pressed to find a safer/more effective cleansing agent than SLS. The reason for its use is that it's a surfactant, and most any surfactant would have similar effects on skin. Although these effects do exist, I think they're greatly misinterpreted.

Take your common soap for example - it denatures proteins and cell linings and similarly if you leave it on yourself for a little while, it will penetrate/dehydrate/generally destroy your skin and cause irritation. In regards to dangerous chemicals present in the manufacturing process, poorly made "home-made" soaps can also contain lumps of unreacted lye (lye, also known as caustic soda, is an essential ingredient in soap and is very very bad for you). I mean you can draw parallels between SLS-free and soap-free products, which are essentially the same thing and play on the same fears.

Note that the "final report on the safety of sodium lauryl sulfate" was published in 1983 and since then SLS has pretty much made its way into everything.

At the end of the day SLS is not a carcinogen, and its effects shown on skin are more or less expected for something that's designed to remove dirt and excess oil from the skin.