Why should cancer in mice make you throw out your skin care products?
You may have heard about Sodium Lauryl Sulphate. There has been some publicity lately about the use of Sodium Lauryl Sulphate in personal products such as soaps and shampoos. But what is less well known is that Sodium Lauryl Sulphate, what is otherwise known as SLS, is also found in many moisturisers.
A study has been published which might make you a little wary of using some mainstream moisturisers.
This was a study on mice. Each of the mice had a moisturiser applied to the skin 5 times a day for 17 weeks. Each of the moisturisers contained Sodium Lauryl Sulphate.
To the surprise of the scientists it was discovered that the use of these moisturisers led to an increase in the rate of skin cancer in the mice and in particular that this use of these moisturisers “increased the total number of histologically characterized tumors by 69%”.
The moisturisers used on the mice were Dermovan, Dermabase, Eucerin, and Vanicream.
As the intention of the study was not to find out the effects of moisturisers containing Sodium Lauryl Sulphate the scientists were a little surprised by the result. And because of this result they decided to run another test. They then applied moisturisers did not contain Sodium Lauryl Sulphate to the mice and found that the use of these moisturisers caused no statistical increase in the rate of skin cancer in the mice. Scary stuff.
One of the best resources for finding out more information about the use of potentially dangerous chemicals in personal products is the Cosmetic Safety Database. There you are able to search individual chemical names as well as the names of products to see whether there are any health concerns linked to that particular search.
Here is the search at the Cosmetic Safety Database for Sodium Lauryl Sulphate. (Note the US spelling of Sulfate). You will see from the search that this particular chemical is linked to cancer, developmental reproductive toxicity, neurotoxicity, endocrine disruption, cellular level changes and much more.
As far back as 1983 it was known that there were potential health risks attached to the use of Sodium Lauryl Sulphate. In volume 2, number 7 a report in the Journal of the American College of Toxicology observed that a 10% concentration of SLS cause damage to the eyes of rabbits and that doses of from half a percent to 10 percent cause severe skin irritation.
And at a 15 percent concentration around 20 percent of the animals tested died.
Perhaps now you’re beginning to see some powerful reasons why you should be considering throwing away any big name products including skin care products that contain Sodium Lauryl Sulphate and opting for safer and more effective natural skin care products.
There is a wide range of natural ingredients used in natural skin care products which do not subject you potential health problems and many of which are extremely effective as natural moisturisers. Avocado oil, for example, has been used for centuries for its moisturising properties. Obviously avocados are safe, as they have been eaten for centuries as well.
Macadamia oil is also an excellent natural moisturiser and has been shown to help protect the skin cells from ageing. It is readily absorbed into your skin and does not leave an oily residue on the surface of the skin or block the pores.
Natural skin care products making use of safe and effective ingredients such as these, and much more, moisturise extremely effectively and protect your skin without subjecting you to any of the risks inherent in so many of the chemical ingredients found in modern skin care products. Read the rest of this entry
Written by All Natural Skin Care