When you pick up the bottle of body wash in your shower you will likely see one of these two ingredients: Sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) and sodium laureth sulfate (SLES), listed as at least one of the top ten. This is the cleansing ingredient that not only cleans the dirt, oil and residue off you but also gives you the pretty lather you get when you squeeze the body wash on your sponge/loofa/wash cloth, mix in some water and proceed to scrub. Awesome, right?
The lather is the fun part about body wash, bubble bath, and even shampoo. It’s the part that gives you confidence that you’re getting clean, and let’s face it’s pretty to look at. It’s just as pretty to look at when you are washing your dishes, your clothes, or even your shower walls because the cleansing agent in your shampoo is the same as the lathering agent in your toilet cleaner. That’s some pretty harsh stuff to use on your body and in your hair.
Sulfates are unhealthy for your body from head to toe. The level of cleansing that sulfates provides is high, which is great for household cleaning, but unnecessarily high for one’s body. This contributes to stripping essential oils and nutrients from your body and hair. Reports have shown that sulfates cause skin irritations and rashes, especially to individuals with fragile or sensitive skin. They can also contribute to blemishes, especially on young skin. Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacete (SLSA) is a milder, safer alternative that gives you’re the luxurious lather you desire and leave you clean, without subjecting your hair and body to a harsh irritant. While SLSA is almost a requirement for those with sensitive skin, to treat your body to the care it deserves using products that are made with SLSA versus sulfates allows everyone to preserve your skin’s health.
Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacete is commonly confused with both Sodium Lauryl Sulfate and Sodium Laureth Sulfate. When reading your labels it is important to note the difference in the name, as there is a drastic difference in the ingredients.
How safe is your skin? Take a look around your bathroom and take a peek at some of your favorites and see what you find.
I’ve been asking you to read your product labels and be more aware of what you put on your body, because it doesn’t just sit on the surface, it enters your bloodstream, your muscles, your bones, your organs. I’ve talked plenty about what you should be looking for that is good for your body. But I haven’t said much about what you should be avoiding. So I’ll be devoting a series of posts to giving you an overview of what you should be looking for to keep it away from your body. We’ll start with parabens. Parabens are quite the controversial ingredient and have recently been under review by the Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS). To start from the beginning, parabens (methylparaben, propylparaben, ethylparaben, or butylparaben) are a group of preservatives commonly found in cosmetic and personal care products. Read the back of your shampoo, body wash, or deodorant labels and you will see at least one, if not a few parabens listed.
So wants all the fuss about? Well, parabens have been scientifically found to mimic hormones in the body which in turns causes our body to think we’ve produced too much estrogen. High estrogen levels are widely known to be highly linked to breast cancer. The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) states that all parabens have been proven to have endocrine-disrupting effects. Elevated estrogen can lead to depression, weight gain, and breast cancer. There are numerous reports on parabens being found in cancerous breast tissue. On the flip side, there are some claims that these reports are founded on faulty, misleading, and/or misinterpreted data.
My personal stance is these claims: Do I want to take the chance that the claims that this information is being blown out of proportion? Do I want to continue to expose myself to an increase risk of breast cancer? In a world where cancer is ravaging women, whether there is a family history or not, do I want to endanger myself?
Preservatives are a necessity in any product to guarantee that it doesn’t go rancid. Plain and simple, if you didn’t make it yourself and store it in your refrigerator and use it up quickly, it must have a preservative for your personal safety. The question is, are there alternatives to parabens, alternatives that do not have a link to breast cancer? The answer is absolutely! From rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary oil extract) tocopherol (Vitamin E ) rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary oil extract) alternatives are out there.
Be conscious when you’re making the choice in your beauty products. Factor in your short and long terms goals…cost vs health vs ease of access vs quality of life. Take a peek at the label on your favorite skin and/or hair treatment and see what you find. Leave a comment and let us know what you find and what you think.
Manufacturers are increasingly boosting their promotion of their products inclusion of the ‘good stuff’ they include in their products with an attempt to give the public warm and fuzzy feelings…distracting the, from the ‘bad stuff’ that they’ve failed or declined to eliminate from the same product. Above all else, my number one mission in life is to promote and encourage healthy skin and hair care practices. Ok ok, maybe ‘in life’ is a little strong, but it sincerely is a passion to educate and enlighten the public on this subject, creating more of an awareness of the importance of carefully selecting their personal care products.
The “care” in personal care should mean that products contain ingredients that provide your body sustenance, nourishment, and are overall advantageous to one’s physical and mental health and wellness. These product should also not contain ingredients are not linked to illness, are not harsh or abrasive, are not pore clogging, are useful without being mere fillers, and are overall skin and hair loving elements. Products that meet these criteria are not impossible, they can and do exist.
In 2010 it will be my focus to continue this mission by educating you on the good, as well as the not so good ingredients to be on the lookout for when shopping for your personal care products. In order to pamper yourself effectively, it’s important to know what’s in the products you choose to pamper yourself with. After all, truly pampering yourself is a not only a physical act, but is a mentally comforting experience. Knowing that the products you’re treating yourself to are good for your overall well being is the ultimate contribution to a fulfilling spahhhhh experience.
Wishes of much love and many blessings in 2010 and beyond!
Happy Friday everyone! I know Jamie and I have both been MIA this week. For that I do apologize. We’ve both been around, just scattered amoung a few other projects. Lot sto hget done between now and Thanksgiving. So since we haven’t given you any great reads from our own mouth, I decided to share with you all some of the best blog posts that everyone else has been working on this week. I present to you the top five posts that I’ve Loved this week (you know I had to work Love in there somewhere LOL)
You’ll notice the Essential U Blog makes more than one appearance – I can’t live without Kayla and her insight. She’s an industry “mother” as I like to think of her and I would not be able to bring you the quality gifts and favors that I do without her and a few other “mothers”.
Enjoy the posts and Jamie and I will be back next week.
I had the same conversation within about an hour’s time today about caring and styling natural hair. Styling is not my expertise, I don’t take the time to style my own, nor do I take the time to pamper myself and go see a stylist (with nuptials rapidly approaching I will need to make sometime soon though) However, hair care and health is in my realm of knowledge so I will take a moment to say a few things:
Color – There will always be a line between those who believe coloring natural hair makes it no longer natural. I stand on the side of the line that coloring does not take away from my natural state. Coloring is a chemical; I will not deny that and with that chemical can come damage. That damage can be prevented with proper care. Moisture is key to hair care, no matter what state it is in, but chemically altered hair requires adequate, consistent moisture in order to prevent breakage. Please take this into consideration when deciding if you want to change your look and add a little spice with color.
Bondage – There is no simple route with hair. People with natural hair at times feel limited by what they can do to add some variety to their hairstyle and at some point, we wear a style that binds our hair in one form or another: weaves, braids, knots, twists, etc. These add variety but can also cause breakage if not maintained properly. Hair needs to breathe and have a break from that bondage from time to time in order to ensure it gets the healthy supplements it needs. I will reiterate: moisture is key, so give your hair a break every few weeks from bondage for at least a week to let it breathe and get a break from the strain of styles that bind.
Conditioning – Conditioning and moisture go hand in hand. Your hair needs to be nourished and moisture regularly and that is exactly what conditioning does. It provides those nutrients and supplements to keep it strong and beautiful. Read your labels and aim for products that have few to zero harsh chemicals. There are ingredients in your kitchen that provide more nourishment to your hair than a $60 bottle of conditioner.
Attention – Along the lines of reading labels, pay attention to what products and ingredients your hair does and doesn’t respond well to. For every woman whose hair love thrives off butter based products, there are plenty of others who hair doesn’t absorb it and it settles and builds up and weighs it down. Try out one product at a time and see what your hair responds to favorable and what it doesn’t before you begin piling on three and four at a time. Find what works for you and build your hair care regimen slowly.
Beautiful, stylish, healthy hair is every woman’s desire. Your hair is your hair and it isn’t like anyone else’s on the planet. Love the hair you were born with and give it the attention it deserves, no one else is going to Love your hair is much as you do.
