Sodium Laureth Sulfate-What do you think?

[De-lovely]

So first off I love KISS MY FACE Peaceful Patchouli body wash and the hand soaps a LOT! But it all contains sodium laureth sulfate and I just dont know about it. So I went to Wikipedia and Snopes.com both and they are saying the cancer-causing myth is exactly that- a myth. Here is a link:

http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/household/shampoo.asp

So do you use it in your products? Why or why not? Do you believe the hype? What do you use if you stay away from it all together?

[nora--not a llama]

I just found this information at www.greenridgeherbals.com

SODIUM LAURYL SULFATE (SLS) & SODIUM LAURETH SULFATE (SLES). Possibly the most dangerous of all ingredients in personal care today, these compounds can be found in car wash soaps, garage floor cleaners and engine degreasers. Research has implicated SLS in damaging the immune system, especially within the skin. Skin layers may separate and inflame due to its protein denaturing properties, staying in the body for up to five days. Other studies have indicated that SLS easily penetrates through the skin and enters and maintains residual levels in the heart, the liver, the lungs and the brain.

[nora--not a llama]

By the way, there are plenty of products out there that don't contain SLS. ZUM at www.indigowild.com is one of my favorites!!! SLS can also be found in toothpastes, so I use Weleda b/c they don't use SLS. My fav toothpaste from them is the pink toothpaste.

[velcromom]

Whatever the research does or doesn't say, my body just doesn't like it. If I use shampoo with SLS, my scalp breaks out. Good enough evidence for me!

[aweynsayl]

i tend to believe all hype... if only because i'm so freaking sensitive.

we use dr b's or burts bees or honey for all personal washing type activities. my skin has been much less reactive since we switched.

[calebsmama03]

I believe the hype I've refused to use it for many years now and my skin is happier for it! NOt only is there question about cancer but it's also an iritant and is comedogenic.

[Lisa Lubner]

SLS is harsh stuff. I used to suffer from chronic canker sores until I switched to an SLS free toothpaste. They have completely gone away since I switched, and the difference was immediate.

[sphinxie]

Even if something doesn't cause cancer, it can have other bad effects. While snopes is generally reliable, I know there have been a couple things I disagreed with there--they don't always stick to the clear-cut issues. Can't remember what they were though.

I don't panic about SLS, but I prefer not to use it regularly. I no-poo (which I prefer for many reasons) and use hard soaps that I believe have mild ingredients and are locally made or something. I do keep a little bottled soap which I think has SLS in it, for the rare occasion when I want liquid soap for something.

[celestialdreamer]

I have horrible reactions to SLS, so I do think there may be something to it. I think it is really irritating to alot of people. I don't know if its necessarily a carcinogen, but I definitely don't use it at my home.

[Marlet]

We try to avoid it sinply because it causes breakouts. Once I started getting hair stuff without it didn't happen!

[Spastica]

You guys aren't making the distinction between SLS and SLES. The thread poster mentioned Sodium Laureth Sulfate, not Sodium Lauryl Sulfate. SLES is much gentler than SLS. One step further down the chain is coco betaine.

[De-lovely]

Originally Posted by Spastica

You guys aren't making the distinction between SLS and SLES. The thread poster mentioned Sodium Laureth Sulfate, not Sodium Lauryl Sulfate. SLES is much gentler than SLS. One step further down the chain is coco betaine.

So which is which? SLS? SLES?

[nora--not a llama]

Originally Posted by Spastica

You guys aren't making the distinction between SLS and SLES. The thread poster mentioned Sodium Laureth Sulfate, not Sodium Lauryl Sulfate. SLES is much gentler than SLS. One step further down the chain is coco betaine.

My post above talks about both SLS and SLES.

[donttrustthesystem]

I wish there would be a more clear explanation out there either way. The Snopes article did not convince me at all. But while I lean toward being very skeptical of SLS ans SLES I wish there was a more detailed explanation than the one from greenridgeherbals...like more specific about what research.

[cafechi]

Originally Posted by velcromom

Whatever the research does or doesn't say, my body just doesn't like it. If I use shampoo with SLS, my scalp breaks out. Good enough evidence for me!

velcromom, i'm right there with you!

all the shampoos i've used forever have SLS and my scalp always itched badly!

i tried everything! even anti-itch and scalp shampoos.

i switched to giovanni's (no SLS, or SLES) months back and no more badly itching scalp. sure i have the occasion random itch but nothing like i have fleas.

then when i ran out of giovanni a week ago, i bought tresemme off the shelve and boy, do i regret it. my neck and hairline itched like the very devil and broke out in small bumps. went and got desert essence's shampoo (again no SLS or SLES) and the itching stopped.

so it may also be a personal preference but i certainly don' miss those ingredients in my shampoos or anything else.

[Robert Goodman]

Originally Posted by Spastica

You guys aren't making the distinction between SLS and SLES. The thread poster mentioned Sodium Laureth Sulfate, not Sodium Lauryl Sulfate. SLES is much gentler than SLS. One step further down the chain is coco betaine.

Even farther down that "chain" are sulfosuccinates, but there are lots of others that could be mentioned. Maybe we need a thread on surfactants.

[maxwill129]

Originally Posted by Robert Goodman

Even farther down that "chain" are sulfosuccinates, but there are lots of others that could be mentioned. Maybe we need a thread on surfactants.

I'm bumping this because I haven't seen a thread on surfactants. Care to start one so I can lurk? :

[Robert Goodman]

Originally Posted by maxwill129

I'm bumping this because I haven't seen a thread on surfactants. Care to start one so I can lurk? :

Might as well make it this one.

The essential question nobody is asking is, "Compared to what?" And no fair comparing to something completely different, it has to be something in the same functional category. Apples vs. oranges, OK, they're both fruit, they can sub for each other in fruit salad. Apples vs. paper clips makes no sense.

You can get some idea of the terminology of surfactants and some related substances by looking at this page I wrote some time ago -- http://users.bestweb.net/~robgood/suds/terminol.html . Some of the links from it are no longer good. The Surfactants Virtual Library might still exist in the Google cache.

Laureth sulfate is short for lauryl ether sulfate, or to be more precise, lauryl ethyl ether sulfate, and is one of a class of surfactants called alkyl ether sulfates or ether sulfates. They're milder & more soluble than the corresponding alcohol sulfates (alkyl sulfates, unethoxylated), such as lauryl sulfate. You start with alcohols, which may be either fatty or petroleum-derived. You then either react them with ethylene oxide (ethoxylation) or don't. Then you take what you get & sulfonate it by reacting with sulfuric acid and neutralizing it, and you have either an alkyl sulfate (if you didn't ethoxylate) or an ether sulfate (if you did).

Robert

[Ruthla]

Ok, so we have Sodium Lauryl Sulfate and Sodium Laureth Sulfate, which are abbreviated SLS and SLES. Unfortunately, I'm not sure which one is which (SLS is lauryl or laureth?)

I try to avoid either one. I brush my teeth with dr bronner's peppermint castille bar soap. I wash my body with an all natural bar of soap- usually Trader Joe's tea tree oil soap. I wash my hair with either liquid castille soap or baking soda- I find that baking soda gives a better result but the liquid castille soap is easier to use in the shower.

I'm not particularly certain what's in my dish or laundry detergent, and it's less concerning to me because I dont' use them on my body. I use 7th generation for both, as I trust that brand, and the smell doesn't make me ill when I use them, but I haven't analyzed the ingredients in either product.

[Robert Goodman]

Originally Posted by Ruthla

Ok, so we have Sodium Lauryl Sulfate and Sodium Laureth Sulfate, which are abbreviated SLS and SLES. Unfortunately, I'm not sure which one is which (SLS is lauryl or laureth?)

The "E" is for "ether". So is the "eth".

I try to avoid either one. I brush my teeth with dr bronner's peppermint castille bar soap. I wash my body with an all natural bar of soap- usually Trader Joe's tea tree oil soap.

Which contains sodium laurate, as well as other sodium alkyl carboxylates. If bar soaps were labeled by the same conventions as SLS & SLES, you'd see ingredients like:

• sodium laurate
• sodium myristate
• sodium palmitate
• sodium stearate
• sodium oleate

I wash my hair with either liquid castille soap

Same, but write "potassium" instead of "sodium" above.

I'm not particularly certain what's in my dish or laundry detergent, and it's less concerning to me because I dont' use them on my body.

You don't do any cleaning by hand using them? Or hands are sacrificial?

I use 7th generation for both, as I trust that brand,

How did the brand win your trust?

Robert