Is Your Shampoo Bar Destroying The Environment? If It Has These 3 Properties, It Just Might!
Do you know what your shampoo bar is made of? I’m not talking about the advertised ingredients — seven minerals and organic nutrients aren’t the only things in there!
Many other ingredients are added to give your bar it’s characteristic, shape, smell, and even influences how much it lathers when it comes into contact with water.
These ingredients constitute a majority of the soap’s ingredients but your shampoo brand would never tell you this because sodium coco sulfate is not an ingredient that they can market!
While many shampoo bars contain similar properties a combination of different compounds used to make the soap give different results. Some shampoo bars will have a greater degree of harmful ingredients in exchange for good performance while the inverse is true of others.
The best way to preserve the environment is to look out for the following ingredients and take measures to avoid using bars that have them. It also helps if we encourage our family and friends to do the same.
- Sulfates
Sulfates are the most popular ingredient in shampoos. It is very effective in cleansing the hair but it strips your hair of sheen and essential nutrients. Additionally, when leaked into waterways, it becomes poisonous for the animals living in the water. This ingredient should be avoided as often as possible.
- Fragrances
Unless the ingredients identify a natural source for the fragrances — such as a natural oil or a blend of natural ingredients — it is bad news! In fact, the term “fragrances” is a cover for a multitude of harmful ingredients that have been packed into the product. This can cause various types of pollution and should be avoided at all costs.
- Triclosan
This is a preservative that is commonly used in shampoos. Triclosan is thought to be a disruptor of the body’s feedback loop or Endocrine System and has also been linked to immune system problems, and cancer. Avoiding triclosan should be a joint effort as it involves the limiting of the number of hair and skin products that can be used because many of them have it. A good alternative would be to create your own shampoo bar.
Used in conjunction with other steps, avoiding these substances can help to preserve the environment. If you need to get high-quality all-natural chemical-free shampoo bars then Pacific Spirit bars are a viable option. They come without the harmful elements discussed above and help to preserve the environment.
