The True Cost of Staying Clean: Carcinogens in Soap

The amount of soap you use every day could affect how much longer you live. Soap is everywhere; hand soaps, shampoo, bar soaps, dish soap, dishwasher and washing machine detergent are just a few of the products that everyone uses on a daily basis. With the sheer volume of products on the market, it would make sense to have an effective and comprehensive regulatory system in place to protect consumers. Unfortunately, our government has never done well with “common” sense.

According to the US Food & Drug Administration, soap is considered a cosmetic product if “…it is intended for purposes such as moisturizing the skin, making the user smell nice, or deodorizing the user’s body…”. As a cosmetic product, the soap that you and your family lather up with on a daily basis is almost entirely unregulated.

Small ingredients can lead to big dangers

Most soap, especially liquid soap like shampoo, contains the pure white compound titanium dioxide as a thickening and coloring agent. Titanium dioxide has a few troubling problems; in its pure form, the compound contains varying percentage of nanoparticles. Titanium oxide nanoparticles can penetrate into your body and be absorbed by your soft tissues. There is scientific evidence that this can damage genetic material, leading to some men becoming infertile. Some types also react with sunlight – an “odd” response, since titanium oxide nanoparticles can also be found in sunscreen.

More troublesome is the family of chemicals known as polyethylene glycols, or PEGs. Depending on how concentrated the formula is, PEGs have different effects when added to soap, and referred to by different names on ingredient lists. Anticaking agents, binders, humectants, and emulsion stabilizers are all various forms of PEGs, and that represents a major threat to your family’s health.

Why? Because PEGs have shown some carcinogenic effects when used on broken skin, which enables them to enter the bloodstream more easily. Manufacturers often use them together with a chemical called ethylene oxide (a carcinogen recognized in contributing to breast cancer). The problem is that, thanks to chemistry, when PEGs mixed with ethylene oxide, a chemical called 1,4-dioxane contaminates the conversion process, and 1,4-dioxane is extremely dangerous. The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics lists the dangers associated with the compound as “known or suspected to cause cancer or birth defects.” Pregnant women, infants and teenagers are listed among the most vulnerable populations.

These chemicals aren’t just in your shampoo and bar soap. They are in dishwasher detergents, laundry detergents, soaps for your cars; 1,4-dioxane is everywhere, increasing your risk of developing a deadly cancer despite your best efforts to keep your family healthy and happy.

An unexpected cancer diagnosis can be the result of consistent use of the same product of the course of years. If your loved was unexpectedly diagnosed with cancer, you may be entitled to compensation. The aggressive South Carolina carcinogenic product attorneys at McGowan, Hood, Felder & Phillips LLC can evaluate your case and get you the compensation you deserve. Call 803-327-7800 or contact us today for a free consultation.