What are Sulfates In Shampoo | EverEscents

What are Sulfates?

Did you know that putting chemicals on your skin or scalp may actually be worse than eating them? When you eat something, the enzymes in your saliva and stomach help to break the chemicals down and flush them out of your body. When you put them directly onto your scalp, they are absorbed straight into your bloodstream without filtering of any kind and going directly into your organs.

The EverEscents Blog topic this week is SULFATES.

What are Sulfates?

Sulfates are surfactants, detergents and emulsifiers. They are found in most industrial and home cleaning products such as:

* Shampoos                                        * Moisturizers
* Soaps                                               * Floor cleaners
* Car wash soaps                                * Body Washes
* Laundry detergents                          * Liquid Hand Soaps

They are esters of sulphuric acid. The most common one is Sodium Laurel Sulfate and is found in many mainstream shampoos. This is exactly the same ingredient that you would find in an engine degreaser! Not really what you want to be putting on your scalp!

How do you tell if your shampoo contains Sulfates?

There are many types of Sulfates and some of the common ones are; Alkylbenzene sulfonate, Ammonium laureth or lauryl sulfate, Ammonium or Sodium Xylenesulfonate, Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate, Sodium cocoyl sarcosinate, Sodium laureth sulfate, Sodium myreth sulfate, Sodium lauryl sulfate, Sodium lauryl sulfoacetate, TEA- dodecylbenzenesulfonate, Ethyl PEG-15 cocamine sulfate, and Dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate.
If your shampoo has any of the above then it has Sulfates. If it states that it is “Sulfate free”, then it doesn’t contain Sulfates. There are many great Sulfate-free alternatives currently available.
Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) and Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES) have over 150 different names so it can be very difficult to determine whether your shampoo contains Sulfates. Here is a list of some of the different names used:

• Sodium dodecyl Sulfate
• Sulphuric Acid
• Sodium salt sulfuric acid
• Sodium salt

Here at EverEscents Organic Hair Care, we have NEVER used Sulfates.

What are some of the problems associated with Sulfates?

Some common reactions people have to Sulfates shampoos are:-

• Scalp irritations eg; eczema, dandruff, psoriasis
• Drying out the hair
• Breaking brittle hair
• Split ends

But even worse, once absorbed into the skin or scalp, one of the main effects is to mimic the activity of the hormone oestrogen. This may well be responsible for the increasing female cancers such as breast cancer, but it has also shown links to:-

• Irritation of the skin and eyes
• Organ toxicity
• Developmental/reproductive toxicity
• Endocrine disruption

Given the lack of adequate long term research regarding these ingredients, no-one really knows what the gradual cumulative effects of long term repeated exposure will be. Are you willing to put your health at risk?

Put your mind at ease by choosing a Sulfate free product such as EverEscents Organic Hair Care

SOURCE:
www.drmercola.com
www.dontolmaninternational.com

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