What do we mean by Sulfate Free Soaps?
Sulfates are widely available in nature and also easily synthesized in industries. Therefore, this chemical compound has applications in a wide variety of instances of which is in detergents, emulsifiers, and foaming agents.Sulfate compounds are found in many personal care products such as toothpaste, body sprays, lotions, make-up, soaps, shampoos etc.
The hazards and health effects most likely depend on each sulphate. However, some of the popular ones are:
- As for the effects on humans, it can cause dryness of skin, ruin hair cuticle, and they usually leave the hair with a negative charge.
- Naturally, sulfates can occur as microscopic particles (aerosols) which is a result of fossil fuel and biomass combustion. This can lead to an increase in the acidity of the atmosphere and formation of acid rain.
SLS, or sodium lauryl sulfate,is a common ingredient in beauty products, washes, toothpastes and even cleaning products.Sodium lauryl sulfate is a surfactant; As we know, oil and water don't mix, so something is required to keep the ingredients together.That something is called a surfactant.
Our skin's outermost layer is specially designed to keep harmful stuff out, and this is where a surfactant can cause problems. Using a chemical that weakens this defence mechanism can potentially cause our skin harm.
SLS has the ability to penetrate the skin.
Researchers from Germany tested1,600 patients for SLS irritancy and found.668 (41.8%) had an irritant reaction to SLS which exceeded 2+ in only 41 patients. Seasonal variation was statistically significant, showing reduced SLS reactivity in summer vs. winter.
SLS is so known to cause irritation, it's used as a positive control in dermatological testing.That is, new products being tested to see how irritating they might be to human skin are compared to SLS - something we know definitely to be irritating (for hyper-reactive skins)
If a person is sensitive to SLS, they might find the area that has been in contact is red, dry, scaly, itchy or sore.
Generally, with consumer products such as washes that contain SLS, it's assumed they won't be on the skin for very long, meaning the chance of your skin being affected is pretty low.
So authorities don't ban its use, but instead cap the maximum percentage at which it can be used in products.This cap varies based on how long the product is likely to be in contact with the skin.
People with a history of sensitive skin, hyperirritable skin and patients suffering from skin conditions such as atopic dermatitis (eczema), rosacea and psoriasis are best to avoid products containing SLS.
Sodium laureth sulfate (sodium lauryl ether sulfate) (SLES) is another sulfate surfactant used in cleaning products and can act as a foaming agent,has also been shown to cause eye or skin irritation in experiments conducted on animals and humans.
Some products containing SLES contain traces (up to 300 ppm) of 1,4,Dioxane which is formed as a by-product during the ethoxylation step of its production. 1,4-Dioxane is classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as a Group 2B carcinogen: possibly carcinogenic to humans. The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends that these levels be monitored, and encourages manufacturers to remove 1,4-dioxane, though it is not required by federal law
Source:
https://byjus.com/jee/sulphate/
https://theconversation.com/what-is-sodium-lauryl-sulfate-and-is-it-safe-to-use-125129
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1034/j.1600-0536.2003.480209.x
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_laureth_sulfate