From The Spring 2004 Issue of Natural Grocery Buyer

Prepare Yourself for Label Concerns

Customers in a lather over hot-button HABA ingredients

Vicky Uhland

It’s easy to understand why a shopper might buy organic produce. She’s concerned about her health and doesn’t want to ingest chemical additives. But why should the same shopper care whether her personal care products are natural? She’s not likely to eat her lotion or shampoo, after all. She’ll simply lather, rinse and repeat, and any harmful ingredients will wash down the drain.

Right?

Not according to a growing number of studies and expert opinions. Consider this:

• A 2003 study conducted at England’s University of Reading found that paraben, a type of personal care preservative linked to cancer, can enter the body through the skin.


• According to the Good Housekeeping Institute, 60 percent of products that are put on the skin are absorbed into the bloodstream.


• A 1999 Stanford University study found that an effective dose of a vaccine can be absorbed through hair follicles in one shampooing, and that rubbing a vaccine onto the skin of laboratory mice is just as effective as injecting it into a muscle.

Elizabeth Smith, M.D., researcher with the Ovarian Cyst Education Web site, writes, “Anything absorbed by the skin is directly absorbed. In other words, anything absorbed through the skin may be as high as 10 times the concentration of an oral dose.”

As these findings are publicized, shoppers are getting nervous. They’re hearing about certain personal care ingredients that might be dangerous. Here are some of the hot-button ingredients that are receiving attention:

Parabens. Methyl-, propyl- and butylparaben are the most common forms of these widely used preservatives. Because they generally make up less than 1 percent of a total product formulation, parabens are considered safe by most manufacturers and ingredients specialists. However, the University of Reading study published in the January 2004 Journal of Applied Toxicology found that 18 of 20 breast tumors studied contained significant concentrations of parabens.

An increasing number of natural personal care companies are moving away from parabens. Jason Natural Cosmetics is swapping sodium benzoate, potassium sorbate and grapefruit seed extract (all food-grade preservatives) for parabens in all its products. Kiss My Face’s Obsessively Organic Face Care line relies solely on the preservative properties of essential oils and vitamin E, a sanitary manufacturing process, a complicated pH balancing formula, and packaging with flip-top lids designed to keep bacteria, yeast and mold from contaminating the products.

Sodium laureth sulfate and sodium lauryl sulfate. These salt and alcohol-based surfactants are what make shampoos, soaps and toothpastes lather or foam. There’s a debate as to which is better: Some say sodium lauryl sulfate causes eye irritation, skin rashes, hair loss, allergic reactions and scalp problems similar to dandruff. Others say sodium lauryl sulfate is fine; it’s sodium laureth sulfate that’s too alkaline and harsh on the skin and hair. “Any ingredient ending in –eth, like sodium laureth and steareth, carries very powerful irritant detergents,” says Samuel Epstein, M.D., chairman of the Cancer Prevention Coalition and professor emeritus of environmental medicine at the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health.

However, many reference works, including A Consumer’s Dictionary of Cosmetic Ingredients by Ruth Winter (Three Rivers Press, 1999) and Product of Misinformation by Michael Rutledge (Tapestry Press, 2001) rate both sodium laureth sulfate and sodium lauryl sulfate as safe.

Milder, but sometimes less effective, surfactants include the coconut oil-based olefin sulfate and the fatty acid-based sodium cocoyl glutamate.

Fluoride. Fluoride is a mineral that has been found in numerous studies to reduce demineralization of tooth enamel and help prevent tooth decay. However, Tom’s of Maine spokeswoman Kathleen Taggersall points out that in its pure form, fluoride is toxic. The Food and Drug Administration requires toothpastes that contain fluoride to carry a label warning against ingestion. While it’s unlikely that anyone will swallow a fatal dose of fluoride, some manufacturers warn children and those with low body weights to be particularly careful not to swallow fluoridated toothpastes.

Vicky Uhland is a Denver-based free-lance writer and editor.