Is your hair giving you cancer? If you use common hair care products the chances are that it is.
Aluminum has been shown to increase the possibility of getting breast cancer. It can be found in most hair coloring. Unfortunately it is not the only thing in hair dye that causes cancer. When it is put on your hair it comes in contact with your scalp and is immediately drawn into your body and into your blood stream. 87% of breast cancer patients have used hair color long term. A natural alternative to going darker or coloring grey is tea. Yes, you heard me right; Earl Grey may end up being your best friend. For those with light hair you might try a chamomile tea, or even pure lemon juice.
People instinctively know that formaldehyde is not good for the human body, but do we realize that it is in our hair care products? Usually it is in a form called Sodium Hydroxymethylglycinate. This can be listed in the ingredients as Glycine, N- (Hydroxymethyl) - Monosodium Salt; Glycine, N- (Hydroxymethyl) -, Sodium Salt; N-(Hydeoxymethyl) Glycine, or Sodium Salt.
Another chemical to look for in your shampoo or soap is cocamide diethanolamine (cocamide DEA). It is considered a known carcinogen. Something is called a carcinogen when it is known to CAUSE cancer. In fact this one is so bad that it has been banned by the state of California.
It doesn’t stop there. Sodium Laureth Sulphate or SLES is a cousin of Sodium Lauryl Sulphate or SLS, but this one is a bad cousin. It is used to make shampoos and soaps foam. In addition to its own effects of being potentially toxic or harmful to human health and causing skin and eye irritant it is regularly contaminated with Ethylene Dioxide and/or 1-4 Dioxane, both of which are extremely hazardous. They may cause cancer and reproductive problems and are toxic to most body systems.
DEA/TEA is another chemical that is known to be hazardous to our health. Though they haven’t proven that is causes cancer it has many strong indicators that it does. It is known to lower the immune system and is considered toxic to your organs. In addition it is regularly contaminated with nitrosamines, which is a known carcinogen.
Does your shampoo or conditioner smell really good? That means it probably contains one or more of 38 chemicals that cause hormone disruption that have been linked with cancer. Among them are Phthalates, which is absolutely known to cause cancer as well as decrease sperm counts, increase birth defects and cause liver and kidney damage. The fun part is that don’t have to be listed on the labels. The scary part is that because the fragrance lingers they may affect those you encounter throughout the day.
There are natural shampoos, conditioners, and even hair colors. You just have to know to look for them. We can’t be complacent and follow the crowd when it comes to our health.