I confess, I was clueless to the dangers of synthetic fragrances, until my
favorite cousin, Tina, told me she had been diagnosed with COPD. "What's
that?" I asked.
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a disorder in which the lung's
airway tubes are partially obstructed, making it difficult to get air in and
out. "Cigarette smoking is the most common cause of COPD. Most people with
COPD are smokers or former smokers. Breathing in other kinds of lung
irritants, like pollution, dust, or chemicals, over a long period of time may
also cause or contribute to COPD." National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
Tina had been a smoker for years. Still, I didn't fully grasp the seriousness
of her condition until my husband and I stayed with her and her husband for a
week. Tina and I took long walks (she puts in up to six miles a day to
maintain the health of her existing lung capacity!) down country roads with
gentle rises and dips. Occasionally she became short of breath, but I wasn't
all that worried as I puffed to keep up with her! My husband and I had left
our cologne and perfume home, knowing we didn't dare use them in Tina's home,
but we thought we were on safe ground with our bathing products. After all,
they weren't overly scented, we thought, and the "smell" would wash down the
drain when we rinsed, right?
One evening I stepped from the bathroom, having just finished my hot shower by
using a lavender-scented cream rinse (with my long hair, it was a must!), and
cousin Tina asked, "What's that smell?"
"Lavender," I said. "I think it's very relaxing."
"I don't," she said, so bluntly that it startled me into silence. Okay, so not
everybody likes lavender, I thought, somewhat offended...and completely
missing the point. Not everybody likes lavender in the sense that not
everybody likes roses or lilacs. (For the record, the fragrance of real
lavender, which grows wild on my cousin's property, does indeed have a
soothing, healing effect, and does not irritate her ability to breath.) As the
evening progressed, Tina's breathing became more labored - wheezing and
coughing. I blamed it on the nearby field burning that had been going on all
day. Finally, she muttered goodnight and staggered off to bed.
The next morning we had a talk. I asked her if she was feeling better. She
was, thankfully, but when I suggested my field burning theory, she told me it
was my cream rinse. I made all the feeble arguments that clueless people make:
but it's a "natural" scent, I rinsed it out, I barely smell it, blah, blah,
blah... Then I offered to go wash it out.
The smell had dissipated enough that it was no longer a problem, she assured
me. I felt awful that I had been the cause of such physical distress to
someone I loved dearly. "I won't use it anymore," I stated.
"But you need it!" she said, always putting her guests' comfort before her own.
"I don't need it that bad," I told her. "It'll just take me a little longer to
brush out my hair; no big deal." And it wasn't a big deal. All it took for us
to enjoy the rest of our time together was for me to admit that my cream rinse
wasn't as innocent as I wanted to believe and to pack it away. When my husband
and I got home a few days later, I started researching the ingredients in all
the bath products we'd been using. If they were that harmful to someone with a
diagnosed breathing condition, what were they doing to us? Here is just a
small taste of what I discovered:
"Fragrance" on a commercial product label can represent hundreds of separate
ingredients, many of which are synthetic compounds derived from petroleum. A
product labeled "unscented" may still contain fragrance chemicals.
Manufacturers often add masking chemicals to cover the scent of other
chemicals, resulting in a product that does not produce a detectable scent but
is still toxic.
The commercial definition of "natural" is any ingredient derived from a
natural substance. Long chemical names followed by the words "derived from
coconut oil," for example, are "natural." To create cocamide DEA (often used
to adjust the pH in cosmetics) from coconut oil, requires the use of a
carcinogenic synthetic chemical (diethanolamine - DEA). Dr. Samuel Epstein,
Professor of Environmental Health at the University of Illinois, says that
"repeated skin applications . . . of DEA-based detergents resulted in a major
increase in the incidence of liver and kidney cancer."
The commercial definition of organic is "any compound containing carbon."
Carbon is found in anything that has ever lived. The commonly used
petrochemical preservative methylparaben is "organic" because it was formed by
leaves that rotted thousands of years ago to become the crude oil used to make
it. Parabens are preservatives added to personal care products for extending
shelf life. They may alter hormone levels, possibly increasing risks for
certain types of cancer, impaired fertility, or alteration of the development
of a fetus or young child.
An increasing number of people are discovering they suffer from fragrance and
skin allergies: Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS), Chronic Obstructive
Pulmonary Disease (COPD), Environmental Illness (EI), and other breathing
problems or skin sensitivities. Symptoms may include dry mouth, headaches,
dizziness, eye irritation, rashes, respiratory distress, nausea and abdominal
pain. Clinical observation proves fragrances can affect the central nervous
system, causing depression, hyperactivity, and irritability.
These unsettling statistics prompted me to search for healthier, non-toxic
body care for my family. When my search led me to Dakota Free, I knew I'd
found exactly what I was looking for. I've been washing my long, fine hair in the
Pure Prairie bar soap for some time now.
It doesn't leave my hair feeling greasy, and brushing has never been easier.
To your health,
Cindy
|
|