Rawb's Profile

At one time, I looked into joining Melaleuca since I was told they were "safe" products to use in the home. At the same time, I was also researching a company called Neways, another company with supposedly safer alternatives to the mainstream products we are subjected to on daily basis.

After much reading and research, I didn't join Melaleuca based on some discrepancies in their products. Predominantly, ingredients such as fluoride, propylene glycol, sodium lauryl sulfate/Ammonium lauryl sulfate, parabens (Methyl, ethyl, propyl etc) to name a few familiar ones. I feel that a company who proclaims itself to be a "Health and Wellness" company should not be using ingredients which are considered "questionable". Fluoride is a highly controversial subject and in my opinion, considering its source, is an outright toxic substance which has no place in our society.

While Neways was considered a better alternative since they didn't use recognizable petro-chemicals, I personally feel that synthetic ingredients shouldn't be used by consumers considering that anything we put on our skin is absorbed through the skin and then into our bloodstream. One other thing to consider is the fact that of the 80,000 petro-chemicals used in personal care and cleaning products today, very few of them have been properly tested for human safety. Therefore, why are they permitted to enter products and sit on shelves where people presume them to be safe?

My experience when researching Neways introduced me to Dr. Samuel Epstein, an internationally recognized authority on the causes and prevention of cancer. In his book titled, Unreasonable Risk, he lists some 40 chemicals which he lists as "frank carcinogens". Fluoride is amongst the list as quoted on page 33 of his second edition in addition to Diethanolamine (DEA), Formaldehyde, Triethanolamine (TEA) Silica (crystalline), talc, and titanium dioxide to list a few. On page 34 he lists "hidden carcinogens" of which Quaternium 15 and Quaterniums in general are a couple of more familiar chemicals listed.

Of those carcinogens which may cause cancer, many of them according to Epstein, also can cause genetic damage. This is precisely why it is so important, particularly for women, to be aware of the various chemicals in use. It can save much grief if they happen to be pregnant as well. My wife and I have a child who was born with genetic damage which we attribute to her exposure to pesticides and cleaning solutions while pregnant. A few of the "genotoxic carcinogens" Epstein mentions on page 35 are as follows:

"Aflatoxin, Arsenic, 1,4-Dioxane, Ethylene Oxide, Formaldehyde, Lead, Nitrosodiethanolamine....
...Formaldehyde-Releasers: Non-carcinogenic ingredients which break down in the product or on skin to release the 'frank' carcinogen formaldehyde. Even less well recognized 'hidden' carcinogenic ingredients are those in fragrances, scents and perfumes, also present in many household products, for which there are no requirements for any ingredient listing."

I would recommend Epstein as a valuable resource for those who wish to expand their research and arm themselves with the knowledge required to protect one's self and family.

Enter another company called Sunrider into the fray and high priced products. They claimed to be superior to certified organic, although they had no 3rd party organization evaluating their products. I still have the laundry detergent bottle. We ended up dumping it out due to the fragrance contained in the formula. Here is the ingredients list:

Sunrider Sunbright Laundry Superclean -
Water, triethanolamine dodecyl benzene sulfonate, sodium methyl 2- sulfonate, ethanol denatured 95%, cocamide dea, citric acid, nonylphenol ethoxylate, propylene glycol butyl ether, fragrance, sodium citrate, octoxynol-9, benzoin extract, lemon grass extract, lemon grass oil, tea tree oil, disodium distyrylbiphenyl derivative, protease enzyme.

Whew! As anyone can easily observe, the herbal extracts are closer to the bottom of the formula. It looks like chemicals rule this product as well.

I am happy to report however, that I did manage to find a company which is dedicated to 100% natural products devoid of any petro-chemicals and use only certified organic ingredients in their personal care line. It has been two years since I began purchasing from them and am happy with their products. Laundry detergent isn't amongst their current product line so we were purchasing Nature Clean until recently when Costco came out with another alternative liquid laundry detergent called "ECOS". Again, it fails to list the ingredients so I need to phone their customer service line and inquire about the contents. Sometimes, I have run into a few companies which require you to name the specific ingredients/chemicals you wish to avoid and they simply answer with yes or no. Talk about not wishing to divulge any information willingly LOL.

We learned the hard way in some respect. We at one time blindly believed that every product in a health food store was "safe" just because it was in the health food store. Now that I am cognizant of various chemicals, I read many labels in the health food store and am abhorred by what I see in some of the products. In many aspects, it appears as if the companies in question tend to think if they throw a few herbal extracts in with the alkylamine group chemicals, SLS, Propylene glycol and three types of Parabens, they can justify charging the populace $12 per bottle of shampoo. Sure we can think they are only doing it to sell en masse, however, I think they should stick to keeping as green as possible.

What people need is companies dedicated to 100% natural, petro-chemical free products. If we can purchase hair wax or special hair care products from a salon for $30 per bottle containing outright propane as one of their ingredients, we can support the
companies who truly endeavor to supply people with a safe alternative to the mainstream kiss of death.

I hope this helps.