Su
Shampoo and the planet
Is your shampoo poisoning the
environment?
Ammonium Chloride - Harmful if swallowed. May be
harmful by inhalation. Skin, eye and respiratory irritant
Tocopheryl Acetate - Vitamin E
Camellia Sensis Leaf Extract - OK depending on extraction process
Fennel - OK depending on extraction process
I used to be a hair products sort of guy back in the
day. Expensive shampoos, conditioners, gel, mousse
- everything. Priorities and perceptions change, so
most of the hair products went by the wayside until
all I was left with was shampoo.
Good for me, I was doing my bit for the environment
and saving cash to boot. But I took a close look at
the brand of shampoo I was using at the time and my
hair stood on end. The front label stated "Vitamin E
Moisture Rich Shampoo - Professional performance
formula", but what I read on the back made me wonder about the volume of potential environmental toxins I had been washing down the drain over the last
3 decades plus, simply through washing my hair.
Having a blackwater system at the time for recycling
household waste water also made me a little more
conscious about this kind of thing. By sending chemicals down the drains that upset the good bacteria,
they couldn't do their job properly in chewing up all
the nasties. Throw it out of balance, and restoring the
balance can take a long while.
Here were the ingredients of my shampoo and what
I discovered about them:
Sodium Laureth Sulfate - used in clinical testing as a
primary skin irritant. Tests on lab animals indicate
material may cause mutagenic effects.
Cocamidopropyl Betaine - potential irritant and potentially contaminated with or breaking down into
chemicals linked to cancer,
12 SmokinUnderground.com
Fruit Extract - Hrm.. depending on extraction process
Epilobium Angustifolium Extract - OK depending
on extraction process
Sunflower Extract - OK depending on extraction
process
Hazel leaf Extract - OK depending on extraction
process
Sweet Almond fruit extract - OK FWV