- Benzisothiazolinone – used as a preservative, it can cause irritation and is a moderate risk to aquatic life due to its toxicity.
- Cocamide DEA – a sudsing agent and a pH adjuster. known to cause mild skin irritations and may be linked to cancer. It is known to be toxic to aquatic life and bioaccumulates.
- Paraben – Used as a preservative, further research needs to be completed to determine if parabens are a carcinogenic, although they may be linked to breast cancer. As far as the environment, from what I was able to decipher from the science jargon, they are not good. They have the ability to adhere themselves to organic matter and are a b!@#h to biodegrade, essentially a hazard to some organisms.
- Sodium Alkyl Aryl Sulfonate (SAS) – acts as a detergent, they can be an irritant and is toxic to freshwater fish.
- Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES) – used as a foaming agent, are an irritant that have been linked to 1,4-dioxane, which in turn may be a probable carcinogen although this is yet to be scientifically proven. While we’re on it, 1,4 dioxane is difficult to degrade and therefore hangs around in the environment (not where it belongs) for a long time after use.
- Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) – is a synthetic organic compound that is linked to irritation of the skin and eyes.
- Titanium Dixoide (TiO2 ) – used in toothpaste to make it white, also used in sunscreen as it helps to protect the skin from UV light. There does not seem to be enough data to reliably determine if TiO2 is a carcinogen. There is also concern that it may adversely modify soil health and ecosystem functions, although again, more research is required.
myenvironmentalaudit.com 