Toxic Beauty Products
79MSG... in my shampoo?
Can someone tell me what MSG is doing in my shampoo? Or why an ingredient that is listed on the CDC's list of toxic substances is in my body lotion?
I am in the habit of reading labels. As someone who must eat "gluten free", reading labels is a pre-requisite before purchasing anything to eat. It wasn't until last night that I realized I must read the labels on EVERYTHING.
Last night, my sister happened to notice "glutamic acid" on her shampoo bottle. (As she is eating "gluten free" also she takes it a step further to rid herself of ALL gluten.) She did a little research and found that it was simply another name for MSG (mono-sodium glutamate). Now, first of all, our bodies are able to produce its own glutamic acid. We have no need to ingest it in any form. And unless you have lived in a cave the last 30 years, you have surely been made aware of the dangers of MSG (learning disabilities, neurological disorders, various allergic reactions,obesity, brain lesions). Since the skin absorbs 60% of what is put on in, how does it make any sense to blindly continue to use shampoos that have glutamic acid in them?? Or body lotions for that matter?
After the MSG in the shampoo discovery, further label reading showed that my FAVORITE body lotion contains sodium hydroxide. The ASTDR (Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry) lists sodium hydroxide as a toxic substance. Here is a quote from the ASTDR report on sodium hydroxide: "Sodium hydroxide is used to manufacture soaps, rayon, paper, explosives, dyestuffs, and petroleum products...Sodium hydroxide is very corrosive and can cause severe burns in all tissues that come in contact with it...Ingestion of solid or liquid sodium hydroxide can cause spontaneous vomiting, chest and abdominal pain, and difficulty swallowing...Skin contact with sodium hydroxide can cause severe burns with deep ulcerations...Products containing sodium hydroxide should be stored out of the reach of children." For the sake of space I will stop there but trust me, there is much more. If you would like to research it yourself check out http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/tfacts178.html.
So the question is... what are we doing to ourselves? Or what are we letting be done TO us?? Is a "little" contamination ok? If we expose ourselves to small amounts of toxic substances is that ok? Even if that were true... a little here and a little there certainly adds up to overload in our systems. If you have a little MSG absorbing into your skin from your shampoo; if you are ingesting it at some point daily in your processed foods; if you would not rub a liquid drain cleaner (a popular product containing sodium hydroxide) all over your skin for fear of what it might do, are you sure you want to chance it with a moisturizer?
So what are our choices? Do we live in a cocoon? Do we avoid ALL things out of fear of SOME things? Even if we wanted to, we can't.
I, for one, would like to see some responsibility on the part of manufacturers and advertisers. Is it too hard to throw a little olive oil in a product for moisturizing, as opposed to sodium hydroxide? If it is for exfoliation is it too difficult for us to use a washcloth or a skin brush?
Now I'm rambling... so what is my point? My point is.... why do we need sodium hydroxide and other toxic substances in our beauty products? What good is a moisturizer for our skin if our livers are so overloaded with toxins that they can't function, leading us to disease?
I close with the question I opened with... Can someone tell me what MSG is doing in my shampoo?
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thats what things are turning into now days.. all these artificial and alternative ways to make things cheaper and easier to produce. I'll have to start reading the labels a lot more carefully also, thanks for this.
MSG?!? sodium hydroxide?!?! Wow!!! I am obsessed about reading packaged food labels...but never thought to check out labels on other products that come into contact with my skin, other organs. thanks for the info!!! And welcome to hubpages!
I love your question! I actually was reading the label on a lotion I have had laying around for awhile and googled the question and found this post! I now make my own cosmetics, and was wondering why in the world we would need to put a caustic soda into our lotions! (aka Sodium Hydroxide!) But I must say something, to be able to produce a natural Soap, Lye or Sodium Hydroxide is needed. No soap without it! But No Lye remains in the soap after saponification! So you are NOT putting Sodium Hydroxide on your skin if using a natural soap, which are the best soaps to be using! Most bars and gels in the stores are only detergents, full of Crude oil by procuts, alcohols, and other stuff that just strips your skin. You can go to my website and read about Handcrafted Soaps! But you are so right. We need to be aware of what we are putting on our skin!
beth, thankyou for the explanation on how that works... what about liquid soaps? don;t see too many negatives there... any thoughts? and what about sodium hydroxide in baby lotion?
I was about to post everything Beth said before I read her post! I make and sell bath and beauty products, and have hated the word lye for many years! In answer about the liquid soaps... You still need an alkali (lye) to mix with the oils/butters (coconut, palm, shea, etc) make a soap whether it is liquid or solid bar. For liquid soaps, people either use grated solid bars (or grated scraps) which would contain the sodium hydroxide, or they use potassium hydroxide (also a lye) as the alkali. Potassium hydroxide is a little more soluble, which makes it better for liquid soaps, body washes, etc. This is why the hard bars are grated when they are used, so they melt better. The chemical reaction to the oils and the lye is called saponification, and it leaves no actual lye in the product. Unfortunately, you can't make soap without it. Some bars labeled as beauty bars, deoderant bars, etc. use SLS and detergents, but are not true soaps (which is why they don't claim to be on the label). The FDA regulates the big boys as well as little ole handcrafters like me. As for the lotion, it is still an oil/alkali mix, so the lye is not in the finished product.
I live in the outskirts of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. I have stumled onto you hub as I researched for sodium hydroxide of which a salonis was recomendin for my bald scalp that has a fungal infection! Now I kno and i am not going back there. We particulay Africans are at a big risk because we are not in the habit od reading labels
I have been label reading for a while and finally found a company who truly has completely non-toxic products. Check it out.
WWW.NONTOXICBELLE.com where ALL products' ingredients are listed and rank a ZERO on the EWG cosmeticdatabase. (www.cosmeticsdatabase.com
:If you think this is bad, how about your tape water.
or your toxic drugs that kills a million patients a yr.
I have a book that lists all most all toxins used in our
Food,and our beauty produces. I say most because more
are added each day It is hard to keep up.
We must read all cans, tubes, and bottles. The fda can not protect you or me. Be aware at all times.
I am terribly allergic to MSG and found it in my shampoo, make up and even my deodorant! Wow, why are they using this stuff? (please everyone, remember to look for MSG under it's other names that they use to hide it, hydrolyzed and autolyzed.. among others.)
This is so shocking. I was recently able to locate the only product in the entire world that is honest to God “Chemical Free” I am repulsed that I have been poisioning myself, and my babies and was blind to the truth and fooled by marketing execs who can basically use gasoline in skin cream without ever having to tell me the consumer they are doing it. I am using I am using Made from Earth Organic Aloe Therapy and Vitamin Enhanced Face Firming Serum.
I am proud of today !And my skin looks and feels amazing !
I am also interested in doing things the natural way with beauty products and my food. I have been reading labels for about a year now. I just went to the website mentioned above: WWW.NONTOXICBELLE.com, and found that several of their products are made with hydrolyzed vegetable protein: aka MSG. Even in products that say they are "natural" or "organic" you have to be so careful. MSG is considered natural. The free glutamic acid is one of the most naturally occurring non-essential amino acids. And the FDA has classified as safe. We can't trust "natural" or "organic" labels on anything. You need to know what's in the product and how it's made. Try calling the company, and ask the level of glutamic acid in the product. If you ask about MSG they can tell you it's not in their product because it's hidden in a different ingredient. :(
Small amounts of NaOH (Sodium Hydroxide) are used in lotions (and other products) to lower the acidity levels of the other acids (citric or lye) in many products. It is used to balance the Acid to oil mix in the lotion. Otherwise you will have a mess. I just use pure coconut oil or jojoba oil. smells devine.
dsletten 3 years ago
Very interesting article. I had no idea MSG was in beauty products. I will be sure to read the labels more carefully too. Thanks.