Good or bad ingredients?

[Charlize]

I found an ecological shampoo which contains the following ingredients:

International list of ingredients (INCI): Aqua, aloe barbadensis gel*, cocamidopropyl betaine, coco-glucoside, sodium coca-sulfate, glycerin, sodium cocoyl glutamate, hydroxypropyl guar hydroxypropyltrimonium chloride, citric acid, melissa officinalis extract*, mentha piperita extract*, citrus aurantium dulcis oil* (aroma, geraniol, linalool, limonene (* = from organic farming, = from essential oil).

100% of the total of the ingredients are of natural origin. 10% of the total of the ingredients proceed from Organic Agriculture. Natural and Organic Cosmetics. Certified by ECOCERT SAS - BP 47- F-32600 Lisle Jourdain

But I don't have enough knowledge of these ingredients to know of they're good or bad. Do any of you know?

[Madame J]

If you want to look at their studied safety, check out this (http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/index.php?nothanks=1) website from the Environmental Working Group. It's probably the most complete database of ingredients and products out there. If you can't find the specific product, you can also search for information about individual ingredients. Some people are concerned that they are overly cautious in rating products, but it's a good place to start.

[Charlize]

Thanks I'll definitely try that ;-)

[marialena]

Ok.. This shampoo is not SLS free because Sodium Laureth Sulfate and Sodium Cocoa Sulfate are the same thing.

I found a very interesting mail list ( perhaps a forum discussion ) were they talk about this substance.

The quotes are from this:
http://community.livejournal.com/longhair/2356788.html

( other longhairs :eyebrows:)


I've often read that Sodium Coco Sulfate is a gentler alternative to Sodium
Lauryl Sulfate because it is derived from coconuts. I'm rather skeptical of
this claim, since Sodium Lauryl Sulfate is also derived from coconut.

I did some digging (a LOT of digging, there's almost no unbiased
information on sodium coco sulfate), and I found that the two also have the
same CAS number of 151-21-3. I'm no chemist, but I've always understood that
if the CAS number is the same, the chemical is the same.

Why are the cosmetic companies lying and trying to mislead us with sodium
coco sulfate? Is it because of the bad rap that SLS has? Or am I missing
something here about sodium coco sulfate?


And another of the posts here..


Great question. With a little help from the CTFA's Dictionary of International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients I found the answer.

The difference is really one of purification. Coconut oil is made up of a wide range of fatty acids. They can have as few as 8 carbon atoms and as many as 20. The majority of the fatty acids are of the 12 carbon variety. That means 45-50% of coconut oil is a fatty acid containing 12 carbons.

When manufacturers make their sulfate detergents they can take pure coconut oil and run the "sulfating" reaction to produce Sodium Coco-sulfate.

However, this material doesn't foam as well and will vary depending on the quality of the coconut crops harvested that year.

Sodium Lauryl sulfate is really just a purified version of the same material. In this case they take the coconut oil and remove most of the non-12 carbon fatty acids. Their starting material is then about 80% C-12 instead of 45-50% C-12.

Ultimately, both products are primarily C-12 or Sodium Lauryl Sulfate so they get the same CAS number. However, pure SLS is more efficient and of more reliable quality so most manufacturers use this.

Very astute question. You must have some background in chemistry.

So if you want to stay SLS free try a different product. This seems to have SLS with another name.

[Charlize]

Ok.. This shampoo is not SLS free because Sodium Laureth Sulfate and Sodium Cocoa Sulfate are the same thing.

I found a very interesting mail list ( perhaps a forum discussion ) were they talk about this substance.

The quotes are from this:
http://community.livejournal.com/longhair/2356788.html

( other longhairs :eyebrows:)



And another of the posts here..



So if you want to stay SLS free try a different product. This seems to have SLS with another name.

Good point! I will have to find another brand then.