SLS / SLES in Lush {Ingredient}

If you are a brand conscious and ingredient conscious consumer, you would have noticed that the solid shampoos of Lush have SLS (Sodium Lauryl Sulphate) as one of their ingredients. I was a little disappointed with this revelation as I had put hopes on Lush for being a SLS-savior on the shampoo front for me. Then, later on, in one of the sites I had read a comment by the reader. She said that she was told by the Lush sales girl that the SLS used in Lush products is natural. Now, I was boggled by that statement and did some research on that.

SLS and SLES (Sodium Laureth Sulphate) are chemical products and not vegan or organic ingredients. Though both SLS and SLES are derived from coconut or palm oils, they have to be reacted with sulphuric acid and ethylene oxide respectively. So, comparatively SLES is a gentler ingredient of the two but when ever SLES is used, you would generally find another ingredient in the list called 'Cocamidopropyl Betaine' which is used to make the SLES even more milder so as to reduce irritation due to the ingredient. (source) 

I have checked two or three products which list SLES as their ingredients and have found Betaine to be another of their ingredients. And, regarding the usage of SLS / SLES in Lush, I had sent a mail to the US office regarding my concern and this is their response:

Thank you for writing to us.  We use sodium lauryl sulfate in our solid shampoos, and we do not consider this ingredient to be a natural one. Although it does originate from coconut materials, it does undergo some changes which deem it a synthetic material by our view.

We do list our full ingredients on our website, in our stores, and in our catalogue, and we aim to be as transparent as possible so that our customers can select products they feel comfortable with. Please let me know if you have any further questions or concerns and I’d be glad to help!

So, next time you go to a Lush store and find these ingredients, please note that there is nothing natural about SLS / SLES and not all products in Lush are vegan coz they have parabens and other chemicals too. And this is not a bad thing at all.

READ MORE - SLS / SLES in Lush {Ingredient}

Make it a habit to read the skin care and hair care product ingredients to choose your products {Beauty Product}

Everyone loves to try all the new products in the block, especially, if it has been promoted with great packaging and awesome advertisements. But, many of these products are not suitable for our skin and many of the ingredients used in products are responsible for damage to our skin. So, it is always a good habit to read the product labels on the back to make sure what are the ingredients used and whether the product is good enough to be shelled money for.

Quantity of ingredients in the product: The quantity of the labels used in the product decreases in order of its listing. The list is divided on the quantity used. The first 33% of the ingredients make up the maximum of the product, the next 33% are significant in quantity and the last 33% are minimal in quantity. Thus, you can read the labels and judge for yourself which product is good enough and find out if any of the product would be allergic to you.

There are more than 5000 chemicals which are allowed to be used for skin care and hair care beauty products. Most of them are deemed harmful for the body. So, always make it a habit to choose your products after reading the ingredients.

Following is a list of ingredients you should avoid:

• Sodium Lauryl (or Laureth) Sulfate (SLS / SLES): extremely harsh on the skin, causes skin immune to disrupt and age quickly. Animals exposed to SLS or SLES experience eye damage, labored breathing, diarrhea, depression and sever skin irritation. 
  
• Parabens (Methyl, Propyl, Butyl, Ethyl): used as preservatives, allergic to the skin, hormone disruptors, found in breast cancer tumors and contribute to male sterility.
  
• Petrolatum / Petroleum Jelly / Mineral Oil: clogs up the pores and is non-biodegradable.
  
• Propylene Gycol, Butylene Glycol, Poly Ethylene Glycol(PEG) or any Alcohols (except Cetyl Alcohol, Cetearyl Alcohol, Cetostearyl Glycol): dries up and irritates the skin, high levels of Dioxins present, extremely toxic, may cause abnormalities in brain, liver and kidney. 
• Diethanolamine (DEA) / Monoethanolamine (MEA) / Triethanolamine (TEA): may be toxin for other organisms and its residues may react with other ingredients in products to form nitrosamines, which are potential carcinogens (substance that causes cancer), enters through skin and gets accumulated in the body.
• Benzophenone-2 / Avobenzone / Oxybenzone / Ethoxycinnamate / PABA: used in chemical sun screen formulations, they enter the blood stream through the skin and interfere with hormone regulation, are free radical generators and may damage DNA and lead to cancer.
• Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP) or any Phthalates: toxic to respiratory and immune systems, damage liver/kidneys, induce birth defects, reduce sperm count.
• Benzoyl Peroxide: may promote cancer and irritant to eye, skin and respiratory system.
• Tricolsan: is a pesticide and has grave risks for both human health and environment.
• Dioxin: does not appear on the ingredient list. Contained in antibacterial ingredients like triclosan, emulsifiers, PEGs and cleansers like Sodium Laureth Sulfate. Causes cancer, reduced immunity, nervous system disorders, miscarriages and birth deformity. Highly toxic to the body.
• DMDM Hydantoin & Urea (Imidazolidinyl): preservatives which release formaldehyde which may cause joint pain, cancer, skin reactions, allergies. 
• FD&C Color & Pigments: colors which are derived from heavy metal salts and deposit toxins in the body, cancerous to animals.

Following Fragrances should be avoided as they have grave health effects:

• Acetic acid / Benzyl ester
• Benzyl Alcohol
• Diethyl Phthalate
  
• Musk ketone / Musk Xylene
• 6-Octen-1-ol, 3,7-dimethyl
  
• Toluene
• 4-Vinylphenol 
• 2,6-Xylenol
• Acetone
• Benzaldehyde
  
• Benzyl Acetate
• Camphor
• Ethanol
• Ethyl Acetate
• Limolene
• Linalool:
• Methylene Chloride
• a-Pinene
• g-Terpinene
• a-Terpineol

All the above ingredients cause irritation to skin, eyes, throat, mucous membranes, respiratory system; cause severe damage to the brain, liver, kidneys, bladders; are highly toxic for the body; may cause harm to the fetus; get deposited in the blood stream and brain; causes disorder in the nervous system, may cause cancer and harmful for the environment.

Now, that you have read about the possible problems with the ingredients present in all our skin care and hair care products, hope you would choose your products more wisely.

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READ MORE - Make it a habit to read the skin care and hair care product ingredients to choose your products {Beauty Product}