by Carrie A. Corson, from the October 2001 Newsletter

Since I became the buyer of personal care products about three years ago, I have been made aware of the Sodium Laurel (& Laureth) controversy. For those of you not familiar, sodium laurel (& laureth) or SLS is a surfactant used in shampoos, toothpastes and liquid soaps (including "all natural" products, as it comes from a natural source). Basically it is a foaming and cleaning agent. Its controversy stems from the belief by some that it is highly toxic, highly irritating and carcinogenic. In their concern over this ingredient, some suggest that the Co-op not carry any products that contain SLS.

I have studied this issue from every side I can think of, talking to chemists, manufacturers and other "in the know" personal care people, and the only thing I know for sure is that there is disagreement on the issue. While there are some people who feel that SLS is unsafe, there are just as many who think that while in pure form it may be somewhat unsafe (mostly as a strong irritant), that it is absolutely safe to use in health and beauty formulations.

In searching for further information I turned to the Internet. I did find articles stating that SLS is highly toxic. I found just as many articles that contradicted that information (sometimes on the same Web site). I took this quote from one such article. "In recent months [this article was published in December 1999] there has been a myth making its way around the net, that sodium laurel sulfate causes cancer. At some level this is probably true. It is also true that if you poke yourself in the eye everyday with a bratwurst, after 20 or 30 years the affected area will become cancerous."

One article I found blamed the natural products industry with starting this "myth" in order to scare people into buying all natural, SLS free products. Another article blamed it on companies who make what they called "grocery store level" shampoos in order to regain business lost to consumers who are buying "salon" quality products in order to avoid some of the potentially dangerous ingredients found in less expensive products. Apparently in some of these shampoos a much less expensive ingredient called ammonium laurel sulfate is used instead of SLS. In the opinion stated in one article, SLS is infinitely safer than ALS. However, as you might guess, I found another article that sung the praises of ALS as being much safer because molecularly it is too large to penetrate skin and it is much less of an irritant.

So the truth is, I don't know what to think about the potential danger of SLS. To me it is similar to the fluoride toothpaste controversy. Many people feel that fluoride is toxic and that we are exposed to way too much of it. However, there are probably just as many (actually probably a lot more) who feel fine about fluoride and are willing to risk possible toxicity in exchange for what they see as the health benefit to teeth. So it comes down to choices. I choose to buy organic products, both food and personal care, whenever possible. I choose to use fluoride free toothpaste. Do I choose to use products that include SLS? The answer is sometimes. I have to admit that I like my toothpaste foamy and until very recently I hadn't found one without SLS that I liked. That has changed since Nature's Gate and Jason have both introduced SLS free toothpastes that are yummy.

Am I willing to discontinue all of the products I carry that contain SLS? The answer is no. But for those of you who want to avoid it there is good news. I would estimate that about half of the body care products we carry are SLS free. Great products like the Giovanni line of hair care, Weleda toothpastes, Avalon Organics, the Nature's Gate Organic line, Dr. Bronners, Sun Dog, and Jason products, are all SLS free. So, who uses SLS? Tom's of Maine, Earth Science, Kiss My Face, Dessert Essence, Pure and Basic, Nature's Gate, Shikai and King Fisher.

Who uses the fewest "natural" chemical ingredients? Hands down, at least in this store, it's Aubrey Organics. This is the line I recommend for folks who want only the purest products. The company philosophy is "if you can't put it in your mouth, you shouldn't put it on your skin." But cleanliness within a product is not without a price. And consequently Aubrey Organics products are more expensive (significantly in some cases) than other natural products.

Perhaps more and more companies will discontinue using SLS if the controversy over its use continues to build. I don't think that would be a bad thing as long as it is not replaced by something that has more toxicity but we just won't know it. If you are one of those who have been convinced of the health dangers of SLS, make a choice not to buy products that contain it. Your choice can help turn the tide.

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