In the last few years, there has been a growing movement of people rejecting chemical-laden commercial beauty products such as shampoo, shower gel and toothpaste. There are many reasons for wanting to eliminate the use of chemicals on the body, including personal health, the environment and ethics. Having taken the radical step of abandoning the products I’ve come to depend on, I’m now on my sixth day without using any commercial shower gel, shampoo or toothpaste and want to share my experience so far.
Commercial shampoos have been found to contain ingredients which have been associated with various health issues. In addition, shampoo upsets your body’s natural balance by stripping your scalp and hair of its natural oils, causing it to overcompensate and become greasy more quickly, requiring frequent washing. This can only benefit the rich cosmetics companies which profit from this constant cycle of wash – grease – wash. There is also a great environmental impact of shampoos containing synthetic chemicals, which run off into waste water and enter the water supply. While we as a society have started to recognise the impact of cleaning chemicals entering the water supply, leading to the increase in popularity of eco-friendly brands such as Ecover, we haven’t reached the same level of understanding with regards to the ecological impacts of our personal care products.
Looking at the major commercial shampoo brand I was previously using, there are many ingredients which have been found to be toxic or harmful either to myself or the environment. The Skin Deep cosmetics database gathers information from thousands of peer-reviewed studies alongside guidance from the cosmetics industry and health authorities. It made me realise just how little attention I have been paying to the ingredients labels of products I use on my body. For example, the shampoo I have been using for several years contains:
- Sodium laureth sulfate & sodium lauryl sulfate, which are foaming agents ‘classified as expected to be toxic or harmful’ and have been found to be irritant to eyes, skin and lungs. In addition, they are ‘expected to be an environmental toxin’.
- Dimethicone, a conditioning agent which is ‘suspected to be an environmental toxin and be persistent or bioaccumulative’. It carries a moderate concern of organ system toxicity.
- Sodium benzoate, which is a preservative that research has found is linked to sense organ toxicity.
- Tetrasodium EDTA, which is an ingredient added to bind other chemicals together. It is ‘classified as expected to be toxic or harmful’ and has been found to be toxic to the eyes – which is especially alarming since shampoo may run onto the face and eyes.
- Hexyl Cinnamal, which is a fragrance ingredient which is a known allergen. It is classed as a ‘possible human immune system toxicant or allergen’ by the EU.
- Methylchloroisothiazolinone, which is a preservative which studies have shown to be a ‘human skin toxicant or allergen’. It is also skin irritant and may be toxic to wildlife and the environment.
- Methylisothiazolinone, which is also a preservative which may have toxic or allergenic effects on the skin. Lab studies also suggest that it may be a neurotoxin in other mammals.
For the past six days I have used only warm water to wash my hair on a daily basis, and on one occasion each I have used black tea and bicarbonate of soda to wash my hair. My main concern during this transition stage is that my hair will look very greasy, however after not washing it for three days, I haven’t found it to be unmanageable. From now on I am going to go cold turkey for as long as I can between washes to let my scalp ‘recalibrate’ and get my hair used to not being washed every day. There are many approaches to going ‘no poo’ and it’s a matter of finding out what works best for you, but a good starting point is here.
My next post will look at the health, environmental and ethical concerns related to toothpaste, soaps and shower gels, as well as provide an update on my no-poo experiment. In the mean time, I’m excited at the thought of being kind to the planet and kind to my body, whilst no longer lining the pockets of unethical commercial cosmetics companies.
Written by Joe Fisher.
The Happiness Collective 