Do the scary chemicals effect your buying habits?

[Robert45]

I do not concern myself about "scary" chemicals. Of course massive amounts of anything (even water) can be harmful.

Nature has equipt the human body with a massive filter, called the liver, and several ways of excreting (such as sweat, urine, breath and so on) chemicals the body doesn't need, can't use or are harmful.

 

[hotreds]

no

 

[packersfan117]

The only one I really worry about is Quaternary Salts, which are seen often as Polyquaternium followed by a number (5,7,10, and 14 are the most common ones I run across). I'm allergic to it. I get blisters on the affected areas and they peel, so it looks like I have a bunch of first-degree burns on whatever part of me has come in contact with it. It's not pleasant at all.

 

[inspiringK]

Backing this up with appropriate links and or the scientific research that led you to believe this would be very much appreciated. I do appreciate your comment, and would love to know more. I can't be the only one with this concern, so posting your findings here would be greatly appreciated.

Meh. I doubt a link to a peer reviewed scientific article would bring all the differing opinions on this topic together. I certainly don't need to read a scientific article in order to believe that there is enough reason to avoid certain chemicals while enduring others. It is, for instance, really easy to avoid shaving soaps with SLS in, so I do so because I believe that there may be a risk connected to this chemical. On the other hand, there is some debate about what fluoride does to us, but I still drink and use our city's water, because it is tough not to.

I have seen a few of these threads now regarding chemicals. Some of us point out our opinion, others offer a differing one, I have yet to see someone crossing the floor. We all have some foundation for our choices, though this particular topic offers the same opportunities as one asking what the best religion is.

(I find value in peer reviewed studies, but am not swayed by one on its own. Science and research is not finished, that's why they are still conducting research and publishing new papers. I am not convinced by paranoia born out of fairy dust, but I also don't turn to Cell, Nature, or The New England Journal of Medicine as how to guides for living well.)

(The Correct Answer)

 

[LegionPrime]

I'll listen to warnings about "scary chemicals" but only if they are backed up by clinical studies whose independently verifiable results show a causal relationship that have been published in an internationally peer reviewed scientific journal. To date I have yet to meet a single fearmonger who could produce any such evidence.
An friends Ex who was really into whole & natural foods brought to my attention the "danger" of boiling fluoridated water in Aluminum pans as it created poisonous aluminum fluoride. Well, not actually. The "scientists" webpage she sent me to did show figures illustrating elevated levels of Al in water boiled in Al pans, however what was glaringly missing was any proof or explanation of how a chemical reaction occurred nor was there any evidence showing the presence or formation of aluminum fluoride. Of course my word meant nothing as it didn't tie in with her anticorporate conspiracy theories or the mindless propaganda that fell like the proverbial effluvium from her cokehead friends methmouths. It never ceased to amaze me how someone so concerned with their health and organic living could run that much cocaine, LSD, marijuana etc etc ad nauseum through their body.
Israel and England banned the use of pthalates in plastics because of unfounded idiocy like this and both rescinded those bans as people started getting injured from the plastics breaking and shattering due to the brittleness resulting from not using pthalates. Well, that and the fact that it was brought to their attention that there was absolutely no evidence whatsoever to the rumor mills claims that it caused cancer.
Here is a word from Patrick Moore (Yes, the one that helped found Greenpeace) on why he left greenpeace. I still don't agree with all his views, but I feel it illustrates my point.
http://www.churchofglobalwarming.com/2010/06/greenpeace-founder-explains-why-he-left/

ETA: It's "affect" not "effect" Sorry, I know it's picking nits but . . .

 

[Lamb Root]

I've done my research too, and come to the conclusion that there is nothing in any of soaps, creams, unguents or balms to worry about. And that's not my conclusion, it's the scientific one.

Thank you for posting that. Now I have one thing less to worry about.

 

[mdunn]

It is, for instance, really easy to avoid shaving soaps with SLS in, so I do so because I believe that there may be a risk connected to this chemical,

What is the risk?

given you don't believe individual studies (which is fair enough), show me the scientific, peer reviewed concensus that they are to be avoided in shaving products.

 

[BallisticBurrito]

Where I work is WAY more dangerous than anything I can possibly slather across my face except for maybe flesh-dissolving acid(almost got crushed between 2 1,000lbs chunks of steel thanks to a FNG forklift driver on Monday).

Besides, damn near everything is linked to cancer these days. Especially in California. I'm surprised commercials for tourism in California don't carry a warning saying that California itself may cause cancer~

For the record..haven't had it myself but I've lost an aunt and a neighbor to it. Almost lost another relative to it as well.

 

[sparco]

It doesnt directly affect my buying habits, but thinking it trough I am more drawn too products that advertise "Natural/Paraben free/ Environmental friendly".
So in conclusion the answer is both yes and no

 

[njpaddy]

Never think about it or even look at ingredients when I buy soaps or creams. I'm healthy and in my 60's and I'm sure I've used far worse products in getting there. If I wanted to worry about scary chemicals, I'd be more concerned with the air I breathe and food I eat. Last on my list of things to worry about would be some preservative in a soap or cream that's on my face for 5 or 10 minutes.

 

[jkingrph]

This seems like a nice compromise. Similar to the annoyance I feel when I have to go to both the organic food section in the grocery store and the regular section in order to compare products, I would be annoyed if I had to go to two different sections of the forum to compare two soaps. A separate section is great for those who only buy one type of product, but for those of us who are interested in comparing all products a separate section would ultimately mean more hassle.

I don't know about Canada but here in the US there is no real legal definition for "organic" as far as foods and cosmetic products are concerned. Some "organic" things are highly toxic, ie, Poison Ivy.

As a pharmacist all I can say is that most of the ingredients folks here seem to be concerned about have been used in the cosmetic industry for many decades, with no known harmful effects. Personally I have been exposed to some, most of them, in my work in concentratins far higher than most of the public, and as an older man have not had any problems.

I am not going to sit here and say that some individual may not have or may not develop an allergy to a specific ingredient, but honestly that is very very rare, but it does happen. For most of us simply use them and if no problems and we like it, continue to use it.

 

[Foyle]

The only thing I deliberately to avoid is Sodium Lauryl Sulfate because it irritates my skin. That goes for hand soap and shampoo as well. Beyond that I could care less. No one has ever gotten sick because of their shaving cream of after shave. Personally, I think there's a lot of "a little knowledge is a dangerous thing" syndrome about shaving product ingredients. It's good to know the ingredients so that people can avoid ingredients to which they are allergic or have known sensitivities. Soda is far more deadly than shaving cream.

 

[luvmysuper]

Also, i would support the vegan soap section for sure. I don't have anything against tallow based soaps but it would be nice to have a place to go if thats what i was looking for without having to sift through 10 pages of threads.

To save myself some time, I'll post links to some of the articles I found:
Propylene Glycol
Triethalolamine - This one has environmental concerns.
Sodium Lauryl Sulfate - This one has enviromental concerns and its used to degrease car engines....
I think methylparaben is fairly obvious with all the paraben - free stuff. It's linked to cancer if you didnt know.

I make no claims to the validity of the articles above. But if your curious, I'd suggest a google search. these are just samples of a very large compilation of articles about the concerns of ingredients in modern soaps and creams.

Backing this up with appropriate links and or the scientific research that led you to believe this would be very much appreciated. I do appreciate your comment, and would love to know more. I can't be the only one with this concern, so posting your findings here would be greatly appreciated.

These two posts are counter-arguments to each other.

You want him to post a scientific paper on his opinion, and yet you post opinions and links to sites that are notorious for fear mongering and expect it to stand?

Please don't spread false rumors about anything. There's enough to be afraid of in real life without worrying about ludicrous and unsubstantiated cancer links to a major ingredient in blueberries, or the blatantly false info about propylene glycol.

Everyone has a right to refuse to purchase any product they don't want to purchase.

No one has the right to come in here and spread false rumors and fear monger.

It won't be tolerated.

 

[Buster Casey]

Not concerned about ingredients. Especially when you can be 1 of 12 shot dead at a movie screening for the Dark Knight.

 

[jollyr]

Do the scary chemicals scare me? Check out my avatar and my signature.

In all honesty, no, I'm not concerned in the slightest. There are WAY nastier things in every breath you take. And the water you drink. And the food you eat. Sorry if that seems harsh. But in the grand scheme of things, worrying about minor ingredients in the soap that's on your face for less than 1% of your day seems like straining out gnats.

This ^

The affect any chemical has on a body varies from person to person. There are numerous factors that come into play - genetic predisposition; degree of exposure (how much and how often, as quoted above); other chemicals one is also exposed to (for example, cigarette smokers exposed to Asbestos are extremely likely to get cancer, while those that do not smoke, and have the same exposure, are very less likely to get it); etc.

Now that being said, I definitely empathize with the OP about his concerns and in no way am I trying to downplay them - am just trying to provide an objective perspective here.

One should not hide under a rock out of fear of the unknown but given a choice, one should aim to err on the side of conservancy and limit what one is exposed to.

JR

 

[ackvil]

Since I have been DE and wet shaving for 50+ years using whatever products were available and with chemicals, I could not care less.

 

[Mick]

Since I have been DE and wet shaving for 50+ years using whatever products were available and with chemicals, I could not care less.

+1

If it ain't already kild me, it ain't a gonna

 

[ridnovir]

I do try to avoid the bad chemicals hence my preference of artisan soaps and creams.

 

[Quintar]

I don't worry about the "unpronouncables", particularly in products that are so prevalent that the majority of the population uses them regularly without ill effects.

I am convinced that more than simply "a chemical" or even a collection of chemicals is responsible for most cancer forms.

Grandpa died at 63 of lung cancer
Grandma at 105.
They were both chain smokers... she never had any signs of cancer (though her last 5 years she was bedridden and her last 15 she was on an O2 bottle... not pleasant, but not cancer).

Obviously, there are SOME chemicals that are particularly nasty and can cause specific types of cancer through very limited exposures, but for the most part, if you take a random group of 10,000 people and can accurately assess their chemical exposures (which in itself is extremely difficult because people DON'T know what they are exposed to on a daily basis)... you will likely find very small differences in exposures between the cancer-free groups and the survivor/patient groups.

smoking has absolutely been shown to cause cancer...just because one person smoked and didn't get cancer from it does not mean that smoking is safe or doesn't cause cancer. cancer is a complex process and there are many safeguards in your cells to prevent cancer from happening. in all cases of cancer its an odds game. chemicals and radiation, etc. are constantly causing damage to your cells and your cells are constantly fixing themselves...eventually a cell won't be able to fix itself and cancer can happen...if you live long enough you will get cancer eventually. some chemicals cause so much genetic damage that they cause cancer very rapidly with one exposure, others cause low amounts of damage so take repeated exposures over a long period to see cancer develop because your body can repair itself from low level damage. if you removed the body's repair mechanisms things like smoking would give cancer to everyone right away. thankfully we have them in place but they aren't 100% effective...that's why i am concerned about things like parabens in products. sure i could probably use paraben containing products every day for the rest of my life and never suffer any consequences, but each use is another exposure and another chance that any damage they might possibly cause might not be repaired correctly and then i'm in trouble...so for me I'd rather not roll the dice at all. besides there are plenty of products that don't have them and work great so why bother.
its funny that they are preservatives and are only necessary to keep bacteria out of your soap, cream or balm, and everyone for parabens says i don't care they won't hurt me...but take them out and now these same people are so worried about bacteria hurting them?

 

[cryhavoc]

Smoking has not been shown to absolutely cause cancer. It causes cancer is some people and not others, therefore it is not an absolute. Anyway, do what makes you happy in your search for the right soap/cream and enjoy your journey.