You are better off to keep a spray bottle of tea tree oil or lavender oil in your car than to use those toxins! Your skin is your bodies largest organ, your body absorbs those toxins into it when using them. We encounter so many toxic substances these days, it is best to find ways to decrease the contact when we are in control.
Toxins in hand sanitizers and anti-bacterial soaps.
1. Triclosan
Here are a few more reasons to avoid products containing triclosan:
When triclosan comes in contact with your skin, it stays there for many hours.
Triclosan is similar to the pesticide Agent Orange and can cause decreased fertility, birth defects, and damage to major body organs.
Triclosan can act as an endocrine disruptor, upsetting the delicate hormone balance of animals.
Triclosan has been shown to bioaccumulate in fish and can be detected in human breast milk.
Triclosan can combine with chlorine in our tap water to make chloroform gas. The EPA classifies this gas as a probable human carcinogen.
2. Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Sodium Laureth Sulfate
Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) is a common ingredient in shampoos, liquid soaps, and toothpaste; it is in approximately 90% of personal care products that foam.
SLS is the active ingredient in garage floor cleaners, engine degreasers, and industrial strength soaps.
It can damage cell membranes and possibly cause hair loss.
It is also linked to skin and eye irritation, organ toxicity, developmental/reproductive toxicity, neurotoxicity, endocrine disruption, ecotoxicological, and biochemical or cellular changes, and possible mutations and cancer, as reported by the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep database.
3. Parabens
Parabens are in so many skin care products; they preserve other ingredients and extend a product’s shelf life. There are many types of parabens: methylparaben, butylparaben, propylparaben, etc. They are also dangerous and something I avoid completely:
Parabens have have hormone-disrupting effects.
Parabens can cause diminished muscle mass and extra fat storing.
Topical parabens have been detected in human breast tumors. This is concerning because parabens have been shown to mimic the action of the female hormone estrogen, which can encourage the growth of human breast tumors.
4. Ureas
Formerly known as Diazolidinyl Urea, Imidazolidinyl, DMDM hydantoin, sodium hydroxymethylglycinate, these chemicals are hard to pronounce and have several concerns associated with them:
Ureas can release formaldehyde and cause joint pain, heart irregularities, and a weakened immune system.
Ureas are a primary cause of contact dermatitis.
5. Synthetic Colors
Synthetic colors are made from coal tar. They contain heavy metal salts that may deposit toxins onto the skin, causing skin sensitivity and irritation. Animal studies have shown almost all of them to be carcinogenic. They will be labeled as FD&C or D&C, followed by a color and a number.
6. Diethanolamine (DEA)
Diethanolamine (DEA) is used as a wetting agent in shampoos, lotions, creams, bubble bath, and other cosmetics. It is linked to cancer, developmental/reproductive toxicity, allergies/immunotoxicity, and organ system toxicity.
7. Propylene Glycol, Propylene Oxide, Polyethylene Glycol
Propylene glycol is the main ingredient in anti freeze and is listed on the FDA government website as a known carcinogen.
It is found in hand sanitizers, moisturizers, shaving creams, deodorants, and baby products.
Propylene glycol weakens skin cells.
It is linked to cancer, developmental/reproductive toxicity, allergies/immunotoxicity, and organ system toxicity.
8. Synthetic Fragrance
Synthetic fragrances often contain phthalates, which are endocrine disrupters that mimic hormones and may alter genital development. Avoid products that list ‘fragrance‘ as an ingredient unless the label states that it’s derived from essentials oils, or look for a phthalate-free label on the packaging.
9. 1,4-Dioxane
1,4-Dioxane is considered a chemical “known to the State of California to cause cancer”, yet you won’t see it listed on an ingredient label on a product.
It is considered a ‘contaminant’ or ‘by-product’ of the ethoxylation process, rather than an ingredient.
Avoid synthetic ethoxylated ingredients, including those with myreth, oleth, laureth, ceteareth, any other “eth,” PEG, polyethylene, polyethylene glycol, polyoxyethylene, or oxynol, in their names.
10. Ethyl Alcohol (Ethanol)
Ethyl alcohol is a common ingredient in hand sanitizer. It is linked to cancer, birth defects, developmental/reproductive toxicity, and organ system toxicity.
11. Benzalkonium Chloride (BAC)
BAC is used in hand sanitizers and belongs to a group of germicides knows as “quats“. It is linked to cancer, allergies/immunotoxicity, and organ system toxicity.
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