Dirty Clean: How Clean Are Your Cleaning Products?

There was a time when I, like many of us, completely trusted that what I was buying for my body, skin, and hair care was safe.  It was on a shelf, in a store, approved by the governing agencies that regulate such things…so how bad could it be? 

I concerned myself only with price and whether the product smelled nicely. Ah sweet, innocent youth…..

It wasn’t after I had my son that I started to look into the ingredients practically all commercially prepared and sold products included….and what I found out was shocking. 

Almost everything we so eagerly buy off of shelves is nothing short of a chemical stew.  This includes products made specifically for babies.  The more I read and researched the angrier I became. Almost all of the stuff we see on commercials and the glossy pages of magazines were nothing short of toxic.

If you take a quick look at the ingredient list of most commercially prepared shampoos, conditioners, handwashes, and toothpastes, you are sure to find SLS as one of the main ingredients.

SLS (Sodium Lauryl Sulfate) is a sudsing agent that is added to personal care products in order to create a foaming action. As innocuous as it may seem, this ingredient has been classified as a moderate hazard by the Environmental Working Group’s Cosmetic Safety Database.

SLS has been linked to cancer, endocrine disruption, skin irritation, and neuro/organ toxicity.

While many companies, even some that claim to be all natural, insist that SLS is naturally derived because it is supposedly harvested from coconuts, it is mixed with toxins and chemicals during the manufacturing process.

One of these chemicals is 1,4 Dioxane and has been shown to cause negative side effects to the liver, central nervous system, and kidneys.  

A recent study at the University of Georgia’s Medical College reported that once SLS penetrated into the eyes it could cause developmental vision problems in children, and the development of cataracts in adults.

This is merely one of over 16,000 studies done on SLS and its toxicity to humans.   Some of the other effects of SLS exposure according to these studies include, but are not limited to, biochemical changes, reproductive and developmental health issues, skin irritation and cell mutation.

SLS is found in nearly every type of personal care product including makeup, sunscreen, lotions, laundry detergent, hair products, and oral care items. While the exact amount of exposure that is deemed safe or unsafe is yet to be established, there is cause for concern over the fact that SLS has been shown to accumulate in our tissues which can lead to negative long term effects.

The best recommendation is to avoid purchasing and using products that contain SLS and opt for “green” or “clean” brands or even check out some DIY recipes for healthy alternatives to soaps, detergents, etc.

We are overexposed to toxins on a daily basis, some of which are impossible to avoid, but if we can cut out those that are avoidable, it gives our bodies more of a fighting chance to stay healthy and avoid toxin overload.

While the fact that companies are allowed to create, market, and sell us products that are harmful is nothing short of infuriating, we, as consumers need to to our due diligence. We need to read labels and stop purchasing from these companies.

In essence we keep them alive with our dollars.  Find products that work with your bodies, not against them and support the companies that manufacture their goods with ethics and our well being in mind.  Sure, some of these products will cost a few extra dollars, but our health is priceless and a few more bucks spent on the front end will save us countless amounts of money in the long run.

The realization that products meant to make us “clean” can be so dirty, and ones meant to make us “beautiful” can be so ugly is a stark one…..but this knowledge is empowering. Go. Get. Truly. Clean.

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