Most hygiene products, both for adults and children, contain sulfates. The ingredients of the “sulfate” family are massively used, in thousands of different products, with a concentration of 0.01 to 50 %. Their foaming power and low cost particularly attract manufacturers. However, it is a family of molecules to avoid absolutely for the well-being of your children's skin.
How to recognize sulfated ingredients?
The ingredients of the "sulfate" family are relatively simple to spot, they all end with the word "sulfate". In hygiene products, four of them are widely used:
- sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS)
- Ammonium lauryl sulfate (ALS)
- Sodium Laureth Sulfate (Sles)
What are the misdeeds on children's skin?
Ultra irritating
The best known are sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) and its twin the lauryl sulfate ammonium (ALS), from laboratories. They are considered irritating agents. 2 % of SLS alone is enough to irritate the skin of a child. For several years, more than 16,000 scientific research has already demonstrated their misdeeds (1-5). All molecules in the sulfate family have the particularity of destroying the structure of the protein from the skin. This amounts to paying acid on his skin, but slower and slower. Fortunately, our skin is able to quickly make new proteins. This is why you do not see your skin "burn" under the effect of sulfates. However, their harmful effect on long -term skin has been proven. A German study (6) was conducted on this subject, applying 20 minutes a day for 8 days an aqueous solution made up of 7.5 % of SLS on the skin of the candidates. At the end of the study, their skin had literally "chemically burned".
Polluting
Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES) is obtained by an ultra polluting and toxic chemical procedure. Unfortunately, you will find many Sles in so -called "sweet" products, "0 %", "for children", "for sensitive skin" in supermarkets.
Can we avoid sulfates by buying "organic"?
Unfortunately, NO ! SLS, ALS and SCS are all authorized in organic certified products. “Organic” products are therefore not a guarantee for children's skin safety. The only sulfate that is not present in "organic" products is the SLES, due to its ultra polluting synthesis process, as mentioned above. Sodium Coco Sulfate (SCS) is a solid -shaped cleaner agent. It quickly became an essential ingredient in natural solid cosmetics (solid soaps or shampoos), coconut evoking a healthy and soft material. But where does the SCS come from exactly?
It is synthesized from coconut oil which is a natural mixture of lauric acid (50 %) and myistic acid (20 %). In reality, SCS is a mixture of sodium lauryl sulfate (50 %) and myristyl sulfate sodium (20 %). Admittedly, SCS is an ingredient of natural origin, but it is still too aggressive to be used in children's products. But why does the "organic" cosmetics industry allow SCS in its formulas?
This is of course for a question of price since this type of sulfate costs approximately 8 times less than families of natural and soft cleaners, but it also benefits manufacturers by pushing parents to buy even more products to fight against their devastating effects on the skin.
Did you think that buying "organic" could preserve you from the SLS, very irritating to the skin and hair? Surprise !! The next time you see the word "sulfate" on the label of a children's care product, run away!
If you have any questions, do not hesitate to send a message on our site or to contact us by email at cowcou@lilikiwi.fr. We will be happy to answer you quickly!
Sources:
1. Human & Environmental Risk Assessment On Ingredients of European Household Cleaning Products (Hera), Alcohol Sulphates, Human Health Risk Assessment, 2002.
2. Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR), Annual Review of Cosmetic Ingredient Safety Assessments-2002/2003, 2005. 24 Suppl 1: 1-102.
3. Madsen, T. et al., Environmental and Health Assessment of Substances in Household Detergents and Cosmetic Detergent Products. Environmental Project No. 615, Danish Environmental Protection Agency, 2001.
4. Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR), Final Report on the Safety Assessment of Sodium Lauryl Sulfate and Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate, December 1, 1983 1983. 2 (7): 127-181.
5. Bondi, C.A. et al., Human and Environmental Toxicity of Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS): Evidence for Safe Use in Household Cleaning Products. About Health Insights, 2015. 9: 27-32.
6. Wilhelm, K.P. et al., Surfactant-Induced Skin Irritation and Skin Repair: Evaluation of A Cumulative Human Irritation Model by Noninvasive Techniques. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 1994. 31 (6): 981-7.