In the last year or so, I’ve been experiencing strange hives and swelling. Often it happens first thing in the morning before I’ve eaten. It may be a rash on my thighs, or my wrists, but often it’s a swelling on my face around my lips. I can feel it starting and then within a couple of hours I look like Angelina Jolie after an injection.
To make a long story short, I’ve been searching all over the internet, and have possibly narrowed down my sensitivity to Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, which, it appears, is in PRACTICALLY EVERYTHING.
Yesterday, I hadn’t eaten anything when my lip started to swell but I had brushed my teeth. Yup, it’s in toothpaste. According to the Crest website, it’s in ALL Crest toothpaste. I thought I had identified ibuprofen as the culprit, and yes, it’s in Advil. It’s also in Tylenol, which I haven’t been able to take for decades, as it immediately makes my eyelids swell. And it’s also in the 81 mg aspirin that I take every day.
So today I’m on a quest to replace these products wherever possible with products that do not contain SLS. A friend recommended Biotene toothpaste as he has also experienced mouth sensitivity with mainstream brands. (Right before the lip swelling of yesterday, my tongue had been feeling irritated for a few days, too.) I’m off to Walgreen’s to read labels and look for baby aspirin without SLS.
Any discussion of this topic would be welcome, i.e., additives in common products that you developed/discovered a sensitivity to and had to replace. Also, suggestions for SLS-free products? (I’ll also look for a list on the internet, but I like to ask Dopers first, as they tend to be so smart/well-informed.) Thanks.
There’s a ‘normal’ toothpaste (other then Biotene) that any store would have that’s SLS free. Can’t remember which one it is off hand though. It’s meant for people who are prone to canker sores.
Rembrandt makes an sls free toothpaste as well. It’s the one that I prefer. I used to be very prone to canker sores and now I rarely get them since I switched toothpastes. My sensitivity is only in the inside of my mouth so I haven’t explored non sls items in other products but it’s in virtually all shampoos as well.
Luckily sulfate free shampoo’s are on the rise for other reasons. The L’Oreal Everpure is a great option that’s available in most grocery stores and pharmacys. Burt’s Bees also makes a nice pomegranate scented one that you might need to search around a little more to find.
I am allergic to aloe vera, so that makes finding any kind of hygiene product a challenge. The other day after mowing the lawn I developed a lovely itchy rash on my arms and, sure enough, they put aloe in my sunscreen.
I wouldn’t mind it so much if I didn’t have middle-aged eyes. Reading those ingredient lists is a pain.
I believe they have discontinued it. My husband has this same sensitivity and we bought all the Rembrandt canker sore formula we could find, and now it is all gone. His dentist gave him Biotene and so far he has been doing OK.
I get canker sores too (as do my mom and sister), and last I checked, Sensodyne had at least one SLS-free formula.
Side note: sodium lauryl sulfate and sodium laureth sulfate are not the same chemical. You may well have issues with one but not the other. Sodium laureth sulfate is a gentle cleanser typically derived from coconuts; sodium lauryl sulfate is very irritating compared to many skin/hair care chemicals. Check beautypedia.com for their dictionary of beauty ingredients.
If this helps, here’s the unacceptable ingredients list from Whole Foods. This is for food, but they’re careful about what’s in the body care products they carry, too. I switched to Dr. Bronner’s soaps (sorta pricey for liquid bottles, but they last a very long time, like a large bottle has lasted 18 months or so) and to the WF 365 brand of shampoo ($5 for a 32oz bottle!) and haven’t been rashy in several years since the switch. I used to either get all over hives (Lever 2000, I’m looking at you) or just a patchy rash on my upper arms after showering, which I learned to tolerate over the years, but it’s been nice that stopped happening after changing to less harsh soaps. I tried no-poo for a year, but the baking soda stripped the bottle color from my hair and dried it out. I found the switch to WF acceptable.
FYI - SLS is a foaming agent that generally doesn’t do anything specific in getting things clean (ie, toothpaste, shampoo, etc) except make people think ‘its working’.
So, general rule - if it foams upon use, chances are it has SLS, unless it specifically says it is sulfate free.
I had to switch to a totally SLS and flouride-free toothpaste after trial and error showed me that they were causing the corners of my mouth to crack and bleed, plus I was getting cold sores all the time. I think the brand I’m using is called Squiggle and it’s pretty good.
I’m cheap and SLS free stuff is pretty spendy, so I DIY it. The big problem with that is any website you go to that talks about DIY personal products is usually “Arrgh, chemicals baaaad!” and that’s just annoying. So I use baking soda to brush my teeth, but then I make sure to rinse really well with ACT with fluoride. I also no-poo my hair (deets) and “wash” my face with oil. Oh, and I have my own soap at work. I’m –> this <– close to bringing my own soap around with me like Howard Hughes. It’s the wave of the future.
Baby shampoo of any brand, even the cheaper ones, often has the other major cleaning agent (" surfactant") in it, cocamidopropyl betaine. Cpb It is easier on the eyes and not that much more expensive. When I still made my own cosmetics, I learnt a lot about the ingredients and that made reading a label far more understandable.
Here are some of the cleaning agents for sale. If you want, you can use them as is. Or add helping ingredients like water to make it less concentrated, thickening agent to make it feel less watery and be able to handle it better, and a conservant to keep it from going bad because of the water you added. Perfumes, creams, all can be added or left out as you want. It is great fun and comes out a lot cheaper in the long run to make your own cosmetics. When I did it, all I needed was a baking thermometer, some jars, and the mixer and bowl I already had for making cake batter. A love for chemistry helps.
I use a half and half mix of castor and olive oil. Lately I’ve been adding a little liquid lanolin too. What I do is right after I put the baking soda on my hair squirt about a nickel sized amount of oil onto my hand and then rub it into my face with my finger tips. Then I get on with the rest of my shower, and at the end I rinse my face under the shower head and rub the oil off gently. I figured out that I was actually rubbing off too much oil and drying my skin too much–you want to stop before it feels like you rubbed off enough. It takes a few tries to hit the sweet spot. Then after the shower you don’t need to moisturize because the extra oil soaks in.
I gotta tell you, I thought this was nutballs when I first heard about it, but I was willing to try anything to stop having crazy acne at 30. I used to have a really oily face, but now it’s just soft and supple and feels nice all day, and though I still have occasional zits they aren’t nearly to the extent they were before.
Perfumes, creams, all can be added or left out as you want. It is great fun and comes out a lot cheaper in the long run to make your own cosmetics. When I did it, all I needed was a baking thermometer, some jars, and the mixer and bowl I already had for making cake batter. A love for chemistry helps.