Sodium Laurel/ Laureth Sulfate Blues

As a child, I remember having to go to my 6-month dental checkups and crying all the way there. Ridden with fear, I just knew the dentist was going to find a mouthful of new cavities that needed drilling. I suppose my diet wasn't the best at that age, and it didn't help that nobody really taught me good oral hygiene. My mom had always made sure I brushed, but HOW I brushed was where I went wrong. Later, I would be yelled at by sadistic dental hygienists that I wasn't brushing properly, but I still didn't learn the right techniques.

Finally, I got so fed up with all of this that at age 27 I took it upon myself to find out what I was doing wrong. I did some research online. A friend also recommended I use a waterpik-like tool called the Viajet. I found a website called OraMedia (http://oramedia.com/) that teaches Dental Self Sufficiency. It is full of great information on how cavities come about and what you can do to keep your mouth healthy (or return it to that state if you are having problems.) They even have recipes for making your own tooth powder. Between the Viajet that flushed all sorts of food particles out- even after a thorough brushing, and my new battery of information, I began to take radical responsibility for my own mouth.

A while before that I had dealt with a serious case of bleeding gums. (This is one of the things I was always reprimanded for when I visited the dental office- they said it was my fault and that I needed to massage the gums with a soft toothbrush.) I again went online to look for a solution. I discovered that an ingredient in toothpaste called Sodium Lauryl (or Laureth) Sulfate, or SLS, was responsible for my painful, bleeding gums. It is known to be an irritant, yet it is a common ingredient in all kinds of toiletry items, including body washes, soaps, conditioners, face washes, laundry detergent, and toothpaste. (This, I can't figure out, why companies would want to put such an ingredient in a product in the first place. It seems it just functions to make the mixture more bubbly.) After changing to one of the 10 or so brands of non-SLS toothpastes, the problem went away for good. And I endured that treatment at the dentist's for nothing!

Years went by, and suddenly I broke out in a severe acne-looking problem on my back. It came at the same time I put my hair in dreadlocks, so I thought it may have been an indirect result of this. None of the other dreadheads I knew had heard of this problem. I spent an entire year trying to determine the cause of my painful skin irritation. I attacked it from an energetic standpoint, doing some EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique, or tapping on energy meridians to clear energy blockages.), diet (eliminating my favorite cheese from my diet), taking Chinese herbs, taking other supplements like B vitamins, lathering myself in aloe vera gel, but nothing really helped.

Once, it went away for a month or so, and then returned full force. My self esteem went down, and I couldn't wear a lot of my clothes for fear of looking disgusting with such an ugly skin condition. Finally, I remembered what happened with the toothpaste. A light bulb went on above my head and I understood- SLS was again the culprit!!! After changing to different soaps, lotions and detergents, the acne went away and my skin has been healing. One other thing I found helpful for clearing the scars is Vitamin E oil. (You can get it cheap at Trader Joe's.)

This was the start of my mission to replace my cosmetic products and toiletries with earth-friendly, and more importantly, human-friendly ones. I also began to pay more attention to the chemicals and heavy metals that may be entering my body through other ways, like the pans I use to cook with, the water I shower with and the foods I eat. It seems my body is very sensitive, so I am taking on the responsibility of learning how to live as non-toxically as possible. As it turns out, toxic buildup in the body accounts for many other problems, such as extra weight that is hard to lose, the nasal congestion I often have, and even brain fog.