Green Living
Dear Community,
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
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Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Shampoo requirements
OK so I am on the hunt for earth friendly shampoos. Other than looking for sulfate free, what else should I be concerned with ingredient-wise? Parabens?
Also, what is the issue with sulfates?
Re: Shampoo requirements
Parabens and Phthalates (sp?) should also be avoided.
I have a couple great blog posts about this:
http://grasso-isms.blogspot.com/2010/02/green-beauty.html
http://grasso-isms.blogspot.com/2010/03/green-beauty-article.html
Regarding the sulfates:
SLS and SLES - Sodium Lauryl Sulfate and Sodium Laureth Sulfate are commonly used in many soaps, shampoos, detergents, toothpastes and other products. They are essentially added as surfactants, which for those of us who don't know what that means are the things that make the cleaners sudsy and foam up - a sign many people look to an interpret to mean that the cleaners are actually working. Doesn't sound too bad yet right? Well, SLS is an irritant. Many people are actually allergic to it and this allergic reaction or irritation can present itself in many ways even as concentrations as low as 0.5%. Some of these 'irritations' include eye irritation, scalp irritation, tangled hair, swollen body parts, rashes, and puffiness. I remember reading on someones blog that their husband was losing his hair and switched to an SLS free shampoo only to find that his hair grew back - the SLS actually had caused his hair to fall out! SLES is considered the more dangerous of the two though. It cannot be metabolised by the live and therefore its effect are much longer-lasting. Some studies seem to indicate that this can lead to cancer since SLES is commonly contaminated with dioxane, a known carcinogen. So why are these chemicals in cleaners and other products you ask if them cause so much damage? Well, the answer is simple economics - it's cheap and works well at dissolving oils. Here's a good site to read more: http://www.natural-health-information-centre.com/sodium-lauryl-sulfate.html
no parabens, pthalates, SLS/SLES and not tested on animals.
There's a lot said about SLS/SLES, and I don't need to know if the cancer fears and such are true because bottom line is, its harsh and strips your hair (and skin) of natural moisture. It seems ridiculous to pay companies to use cheap products that dry out my body, and then buy conditioner and lotion to counter it.
Since switching to SLS/SLES free products, my hair especially has been SO much softer and easier to manage.
That was my DH. He was going bald and his mouth hurt, his doctor had no explanation. He researched it online, found that both are common reactions to SLS/SLES, and we switched all our products immediately. His mouth stopped hurting within a day or two, and his hair has grown back.
Here's some great info that mrspdxbride posted awhile back:
I've always understood that parabens were in there as a preservative. That being said, I don't really know if that's the reason why. A quick search on EWG's website provides the following information on SLS and Parabens:
Parabens are widely used synthetic preservatives found in the most of the nearly 25,000 cosmetics and personal care products in Skin Deep. Parabens can disrupt the hormone (endocrine) system, and were found in the breast cancer tumors of 19 of 20 women studied. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) tested urine from 100 adults and found parabens in nearly all.
http://www.ewg.org/chemindex/term/563
?SLS? can actually refer to two different, but similar-sounding chemicals?one of which is merely irritating and the other of which may be linked to cancer. Both are a type of surfactant, which are what allow shampoos and other detergents to suds up and clean really well, explains Sean Gray, senior analyst for the Environmental Working Group. For years, the most common surfactant was sodium laurel sulfate, or SLS. Unfortunately, it irritates lots of people?s skin, so companies started looking for ways to improve it. They started putting sodium laurel sulfate through a marvelous process whereby it becomes sodium laureth sulfate, which does the same job, but without irritating skin. That?s great, right?