The two products that I chose to look up in the EWG's cosmetic database were: 1) Head and Shoulders 2 in 1 dandruff shampoo and 2) Dr. Bronner's 18 in 1 pure castile soap. I have been using the Head and Shoulders shampoo consistently for years and it is probably one of my favorite shampoos. I recently starting using the Dr. Bronner's soap just because my friend that works at the Dr. Bronner's facility gave me the bottle for free.
After looking at both ratings, I was not shocked that the Dr. Bronner's soap has such a low rating because it was one of the first soaps that I heard had a healthy "reputation." However, I was surprised that my favorite shampoo, Head and Shoulders, had a moderately hazardous rating. I looked at the reasons as to why it had such a high rating and the they were shocking. It was shocking to see that a lot of the ingredients have "use restrictions", "cancer", and "allergies and immunotoxicity" concerns deemed by other countries regulatory agencies like the European SCCS. On the other hand, it was nice to see that the ingredients in the Dr. Bronner's soap had no "use restrictions" or "allergies and immunotoxicity" concerns.
Given the findings from the two products, I would like to believe that I will be more conscientious when buying future soaps and shampoos. It is shocking that such a popular shampoo like Head and Shoulders would have such hazardous ingredients in their product. To think that the new administration is striving to reduce regulations is troubling, especially when common household products that are considered hazardous are freely allowed on the market. It would be in the governments best interest to increase the oversight on these manufacturers and prevent them from using known hazardous ingredients. I believe it would be beneficial for all consumers to know the hazards and risks that are in their everyday daily care products and it would be the manufacturer and governments duty to at least provide the information.
I was also surprised that Head and Shoulders shampoo has ingredients with scores in the high hazard category. My husband uses this shampoo on a daily basis. He likes the itchy sensation on the scalp. I just told him all the risks associated with this product and he was shocked too. In the database, the fragrance ingredient had the highest hazardous rating. I think fragrances could be one of the most dangerous exposures since we don’t know all the ingredients used in them. Companies are not required to disclose the ingredients in their labels. So, we don’t really know what we are putting on our bodies. Many of those fragrance ingredients are contaminants, and there are not safety studies to evaluate their possible effects on humans. The Dr. Bronner’s soap appears to be a healthy product.
ReplyDeleteI use Head and Shoulders on a daily basis, it's my favorite shampoo. I'm pretty shocked to know the high risks of using this product due the ingredients. My favorite part of the shampoo is the mint like smell; the fragrance. The fragrance in the Head and Shoulders shampoo and many other products have a high hazard score. It's pretty alarming to know that companies do not state what the fragrance is made of. I also use Old Spice body wash daily and after learning the ingredients it made of and the hazard scores those ingredients received; it's good to know what type of soap I can use instead.
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