Hi,
I decided to go directly to the source to see what it's all about.
This is the actual quote from the Organic Consumers Association ...
"Dioxane- Found in compounds known as PEG, Polysorbates,
Laureth, ethoxylated alcohols. Common in a wide range of
personal care products. The compounds are usually contaminated
with high concentrations of highly volatile 1,4-dioxane, easily
absorbed through the skin."
http://www.organicconsumers.org/article ... e_9039.cfm
Of course, this is an "association" and companies do help to
sponsor them, so I wanted to read a little more ... I really don't
feel as though this information has been made up without any
reason. They describe themselves as "an online and grassroots non-profit
public interest organization campaigning for health, justice, and
sustainability .... deals with crucial issues of food safety, industrial
agriculture, genetic engineering, children's health, corporate accountability,
Fair Trade, environmental sustainability and other key topics."
So, now, I start reading a little more about SLS ... personally I am
not using over-the-counter shampoos anymore! I am truly
finding this topic very interesting.
I thought I would see what is written about it here:
http://www.safecosmetics.org/article.php?id=288,
and find this interesting in that SLS is put through a
process to make it milder and ends up as Sodium Laureth ...
again, finding this similar information about ethoxylation ...
"Most commonly, 1,4-dioxane is found in products that create suds, like shampoo, liquid soap and bubble bath."
"Besides sodium laureth sulfate, other common ingredients that may be contaminated by 1,4-dioxane include PEG compounds and chemicals that include the clauses xynol, ceteareth and oleth."
"1,4-dioxane is generated through a process called ethoxylation, in which ethylene oxide, a known breast carcinogen, is added to other chemicals to make them less harsh. This process creates 1,4-dioxane. For example, sodium laurel sulfate, a chemical that is harsh on the skin, is often converted to the less-harsh chemical sodium laureth sulfate (the “eth” denotes ethoxylation), which can contaminate this ingredient with 1,4-dioxane."
"It is highly unlikely that any one product containing 1,4-dioxane will cause harm on its own. However, repeated exposures from many different products add up. The same baby could be exposed to 1,4-dioxane from baby shampoo, bath bubbles and body wash in a single bath, as well as from other contaminated personal care products today, tomorrow and the next day. Repeated exposures to a single carcinogen, synergistic effects from exposures to multiple carcinogenic and mutagenic ingredients, and concerns about exposures at key points in development (such as pregnancy, infancy and puberty) are cause for concern even though little risk is evident from a single small exposure."
~~~~
I tend to agree ... it's not about using these ingredients for
a short amount of time ... it's about using them for an entire
lifetime ... do they accumulate in our bodies? I guess, for
me, that is the question.
Kathy
P.S. - (Sort of off topic) - In regard to Polysorbates ... the note above
seems to generalize these ... I believe Poly 20 may be much milder and safer than the higher numbers.