"Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) is a very harsh detergent found in almost all shampoos and more than a few toothpastes. Pick up a cross section of these products next time you visit the supermarket and you will find Sodium Lauryl Sulfate SLS or Sodium Lauryth Sulfate (SLES) in pride of place under the ingredients label. Sodium Lauryl Sulfate started its career as an industrial degreasant and garage floor cleaner. When applied to human skin it has the effect of stripping off the oil layer and then irritating and eroding the skin, leaving it rough and pitted. Studies (Judi Vance, Beauty To Die For, Promotion Publishing, 1998) have shown that:"

"Shampoos with SLS could retard healing and keep children's eyes from developing properly. Children under six years old are especially vulnerable to improper eye development. (Summary of Report of Research to Prevent Blindness, Inc. conference."

"Sodium Lauryl Sulfate can cause cataracts in adults and delays the healing of wounds in the surface of the cornea."

"Sodium Lauryl Sulfate has a low molecular weight and so is easily absorbed by the body. It builds up in the heart, liver and brain and can cause major problems in these areas."

"Sodium Lauryl Sulfate causes skin to flake and to separate and causes roughness on the skin."

"Sodium Lauryl Sulfate causes dysfunction of the biological systems of the skin."

"Sodium Lauryl Sulfate is such a caustic cleanser that it actually corrodes the hair follicle and impairs the ability to grow hair."

"Sodium Lauryl Sulfate is routinely used in clinical studies deliberately to irritate the skin so that the effects of other substances can be tested." (Study cited by the Wall St Journal, 1st November 1998)

Ethoxylation: Ethoxylation is the process that makes degreasing agents such as Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) less abrasive and gives them enhanced foaming properties. When SLS is ethoxylated, it forms Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES), a compound used in many shampoos, toothpastes, bath gels, bubble baths, and industrial degreasants. The problem is, the extremely harmful compound 1,4-dioxane may be created during the ethoxylation process, contaminating the product. 1,4-dioxane was one of the principal components of the chemical defoliant Agent Orange used to great effect by the Americans during the Vietnam War to strip off the jungle canopy to reveal their enemy. 1,4-dioxane is a hormonal disrupter believed to be the chief agent implicated in the host of cancers suffered by Vietnam military personnel after the war. It is also an oestrogen mimic thought to increase the chances of breast cancer and endometrial cancer, stress related illnesses and lower sperm counts.