Bathing Soap - Cleaning Agent or Toxic Champions?.

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Bathing Soap – Cleaning Agent or Toxic Champions?

By Shri. Mallinath Hemadi, Assistant Professor, Dairy Science College, Kalaburagi

Germs are Not Gems -Thought for the Day

There is a well-known proverb in all our regional languages which means “fence eating the crop”. I remember this every time when I see advertisement of liquid hand wash which comes like – a kid use the soap for this the other kid asks don’t you use liquid hand wash as the germs of the person who used this soap previously resides on the soap and when next person uses that same soap the germs on the soap comes and cause problem to second person. Now my open question to all the soap users is that if germs can stay live on the soap which we use, how it can kill the germs on our hand and body?

What’s Cooking Inside Soap?

Many soaps claim they contain milk, they contain aloe Vera etc, we should think deeply that when they are readily available at home or in kitchen garden why buy from market in a processed form. Most commercial soaps available today are actually detergents, which are made with petroleum by-products. Since these "soaps" are detergents, by law cannot be called soap. Chances are that when you see a soap called a "body bar," it is not soap at all.

Hygiene or Health Disorder?

Soaps are used for being clean, as part of hygiene, as disinfectant. But the objective should be met without any side effects or side effects should be lesser than that of these advantages. Normal healthy skin has potential of hydrogen (pH) range of 5.4-5.9 and a normal bacterial flora. Use of soap with high pH causes an increase in skin pH, which in turn causes an increase in dehydrative effect, irritability and alteration in bacterial flora. The majority of soaps and shampoos available in the market do not disclose their pH . When one experience the above effects they are forced to use moisturizers which again you may end up buying and results in some side effects. Some soaps cause allergies, they are harmful to environment which is utmost important for healthy living. These soaps also remove essential oils from the skin. So many of the products we use to get clean—soaps, facial cleansers and body washes—might actually be doing us more harm than good.

Transdermal Skin –Your Intake Determines the Outcome!

One of the main ways your body acquires nutrients other than eating is transdermal— through the skin. Your skin is your largest organ—22 square feet on average—and 60 percent of the substances you put on it are eventually absorbed into the bloodstream. This semi-permeable membrane allows us to absorb vitamins and minerals, but, unfortunately, it absorbs harmful chemicals we put on it, too. Chemicals in common soaps are no joke. They can disrupt our hormones, promote allergies, lead to reproductive issues and increase risk of some cancers. With serious side effects like these, we need to be particular about what we put on our skin.

Four Asuras that Make Up Soaps Attractive

1. Fragrance

Bottom line: “Fragrance” could actually be a cocktail of chemicals and you’d never know it. The FDA doesn’t require companies to disclose the breakdown of a fragrance’s ingredients to consumers because the chemicals that produce fragrance are considered “trade secrets.” Most of the time, synthetic chemicals and cancer-causing toxins (like phthalates, used to make fragrances last longer) are hiding under that one sneaky term. 

2. Parabens

 These ingredients are estrogen mimickers—meaning that once applied to the skin, they enter the bloodstream, and the body mistakes them for estrogen. When the body thinks there is an abnormally high amount of estrogen present in the bloodstream due to the presence of these hormone disrupters, it reacts in various ways: decreasing muscle mass, increasing fat deposits, causing early onset of puberty and spurring reproductive difficulties in both men and women.

3. Sulfates

 Used to produce lather and bubbles in soap. Some common sulfates are SLS (Sodium Lauryl Sulfate) and SLES (sodium laureth sulfate). Sulfates strip the skin of its natural oils and increase penetration of the skin’s surface. They are also irritants for people with sensitive skin or eczema. According to Natural Essentials, SLS bonds with other common soap ingredients, resulting in a carcinogenic nitrosamine, one of the chemicals also featured in California’s Proposition 65 List of Carcinogens.

4. Triclosan

This chemical is most often found in antibacterial soap. Recent studies have found that triclosan actually promotes the emergence and growth of bacteria resistant to antibiotic cleansers. It also creates dioxin, a carcinogen that has been found in high levels in human breast milk. Dioxins have disruptive effects on the endocrine system and negatively affect thyroid functions. And here’s a fun fact: dioxin is the primary toxic component of Agent Orange!

Time to Think Beyond!

Think about it. If we are washing our bodies with soap that contains harmful ingredients every single day, this adds up over a lifetime to wreak havoc on our health. Ureas like, Diazolidinyl Urea, are known to release the chemical formaldehyde. Formaldehyde, with a high hazard rating of 10, is a known human carcinogen, human respiratory toxicant, skin irritant and an environmental toxin. With a chemical as toxic as these, I’d look twice at that soap label next time

Make the Switch – Choice is Yours

With minimal government testing on these chemicals, it becomes up to us, as smart consumers, to make informed decisions as to what does and doesn’t go on our skin.Improve your overall health by choosing high-quality soap and body wash free of these four hormone-disrupting toxic additives. Make the switch and both your skin and your body will be thanking you.

Are we Truly Environment Friendly - Air, Soil and Water Pollution

These soaps don’t just harm us they also harm the environment and many animals Because, in an effort to stave off bacteria, soap manufacturers have included a host of potentially harmful chemicals that not only kill bacteria, but they may also cause nerve damage. The primary ingredient used in antibacterial soap is known as MIT or methylisothiazolinone. This supposed-antibacterial ingredient is chemically similar to Agent Orange, which was a nerve agent used in Vietnam. While MIT is not identical to Agent Orange, the chemical structure and molecular composition is very similar. When you imagine that millions of people use soap each and every day there’s a lot of toxic chemical build up being washed into our waterways.

Swachh Bharat and Soap Manufactures - Hidden Relationship

Despite knowing all the chemicals that make up soaps are highly harmful we are being cleverly used by soap manufactures unknowingly or knowingly create an industry which is more than 4800 crore and all in the name of Swachh Bharat.It is a sad irony we fail to realize that soap industry under the umbrella of promoting “Swachh Bharat” create more waste by means of chemicals ,packaging materials and release of toxins to water bodies will result in large scale destruction to environment .Once we realize the above effects we make some conscious decisions and again end up in searching for new brands which might be herbal or some branded soap which will cause the same problem with different parameters and criteria.

Be to Solution to Environmental Pollution

Two choices before us whether to be part of the solution or problem? I would recommend all of you reading this article to try the solution so that we live this place a better one for us and the generations to come . The best solution that comes to my mind which nature gifts us is “ Go Natural” . Time to make materials at home with your own hands to save you and your family from the disaster that is awaiting the man kind .

Alternates to Chemical Soap - Choices before Us and Food for Others

What would be alternatives to soap – there are many like people use chick pea atta, soap nut powder, milk, aloe Vera, orange peel dried one, neem leaves powder, cow dung based soaps without any chemical ingredients, atta of many pulses along with neem leaves, sessamum powder also for some time, use lavancha grass scrubber,and all such materials will not only do good to your body but also to environment, they not just stop harming water body and animals in it but some acts as food to aquatic animals.

Future is Safe with Alternates - possible if we act now

1. Imagine this whole of soap amount 4800 crore is spent on these natural products, what all changes happen in society. First you keep you healthy, you keep environment clean for animals and your future generations, trees cut for making packing materials will not be cut, thereby you save trees, no need to manufacture soaps so power consumption will be reduced, so again we help in environment protection. No need of transportation of soaps so fuel consumption is minimised and pollution caused by this transportation is also reduced.

2. Imagine if this amount is spent on natural items mentioned like gomaya, neem leaves, soapnut powder etc value of these items increases more and more people come forward to plant trees, save cows etc. this all a big cycle of changes start happening with a small step we take.

Act Now to Save Environment

Considering all the above facts let us take a decision today on “World Soil Day” that we stop using soap from market and start using natural ones at home or else “Cow Based Soaps” ( Gomaya soaps ) which are available at the nearest goshalas or in your vicinity.

About Team GoPals

The vision of Team GoPals is to integrate back the Desi Cows and Bulls back to the life of the farmer and the common Indian. GoPals believes that the best home for the cattle is in the home of a farmer, or a family in the city or a village. Through the activities mentioned above its volunteers, who are not full timers but professionals, are working with passion to make this dream a success. Team GoPals is of the firm belief that the solution to our country’s problems, be it lifestyle or agriculture, lies in the upliftment of the native Indian Cow breeds and placing them in the position they once were. if you are the one who wanted to volunteer with us , write to us @info@gopals.com

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