Product Safety at Brown Barn

This post is an update of our previous post labeled "Dangerous Bubbles" (8/2011), written almost 3 years ago but still read often, we wanted to make sure the information our customers receive is relevant and current ~ cu

I was recently asked by a customer, “What makes your product better than everyone else’s?”  I wanted to say, “Because it is, trust me” but that would not have answered the real question which was "Why us?"  Pretty packaging, fun scents, spa quality craftsmanship, customer service and enthusiasm aside I think the real reason to use The Brown Barn Bath Company’s products is safety.  We try our very best to bring you products that you can feel safe and confident using. 

When we design recipes we consult a number of research databases to determine the safety of each ingredient in the recipe.  Most databases rate ingredients on a 0-10 basis with 10 being the worst for carcinogens, skin irritants, metabolic disruption, allergens and more.  For products we make “from scratch” we use ingredients with a rating of 5 or less unless we absolutely cannot help it. And then we work hard to locate and reformulate that ingredient out of our mix as quickly as possible.

When we first entered this business we struggled between being 100% all natural and simply providing the best alternative to our customers as we can for products we know our customers want. I'm so glad we opted for providing healthy alternatives as the longer I'm in business the more I see that people want what people want...for example I want my Chocolate but I also know I can get healthy and not-so-healthy chocolate. So I opt for the healthiest version of chocolate I can find. We want Brown Barn to be your go-to for the healthiest possible version of what you want and a learning source to guide you to even healthier decisions and options you love.

Over the years we've found there are products our customers just beg for, such as bubble bath. We know our customers will go elsewhere to purchase these items unless we carry it. However we also know that you cannot have a fantastic, bubbles to the sky bubble bath without using SLS. We also know SLS is not a good ingredient. What do we do? 

Our philosophy on products such as this is if you absolutely have to have your Bubble to the Sky bubble bath scented in Woolly Mammoth fragrance oil then let us provide it to you using the best possible base using the healthiest possible ingredients we can locate. We'd much rather have you purchase your Woolly Mammoth fragrance scented lotion and bubble bath from us with a touch of SLS than to go to Bubble Baths R Us and get something laden in chemicals and unhealthy preservatives and colorants. 

And of course we then also offer an SLS free super safe bubble bath option which will put bubbles in your tub (not to the sky) scented in beautiful all natural essential oil combinations as well. We also inform our customers of the difference between the two products. Finally...we keep working on developing a formula that will solve the problem. 

We also use pre-made bases in some of our products. The reason we used to use bases (back in 2011 when this blog was originally written) was because we could not produce as fine a product from scratch at as reasonable a price as the base maker, who makes barrels of the base and can bring ingredients in at the lower bulk cost, thus passing the savings on to us and our customers. Another reason we used bases was because we were too small a company to provide the man hours and space to properly produce all of the items we eventually planned to make from scratch. It is so exciting to revise this blog and say that we now use only a few bases! We have really grown over these years!

Now we use bases from other companies for products that are patented or for which we cannot determine the recipe. Our foaming bath butter is a good example of this. 

Occasionally we find that a base may use a tiny amount of an ingredient with a 6 or 7 safety rating, usually as part of its preservative. In this case we may choose to use the base while we search for a better alternative. The decision to use the base in this case is determined by how much exposure the customer would have to the questionable ingredient and if the benefit/demand for the product is high. If we feel the exposure is minimal and will not be enough to accumulate into a health risk, we choose to use the base. If you would like more information on which products use such ingredients please ask and we'll be happy to provide that for you. Off the top of my head I believe the only product currently is the foaming bath butter because of its preservative system.

Sometimes our commitment to providing a healthy product gets in the way of our ability to produce a quality product for the consumer. In that case we may offer a healthy alternative or we may offer the product in the less desirable (but more effective) formula but also offer a healthy alternative on the shelf right next to it. A good example of this is our Bubble Bath. I feel it is impossible to make a high foaming liquid bubble bath that can compete in the marketplace without the use of the high foaming detergent, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS). We have been (and still are!!) working on developing a solid bubble bath to use as an alternative. 

So why fight using Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) and just make a bubble bath?  Because SLS is a known carcinogen with a host of other issues. There are a wide variety of opinions out there about exactly how bad SLS is and what it can or cannot do to your body if you use it.  Some experts say it is fine to use this ingredient even though there is so much risk because the amount used is so small.  This may be true, a little bit won’t hurt you but SLS is used in SO MANY products!!

Right now, please go to your bathroom. Get your non-Brown Barn toothpaste, shampoo, liquid soap, face wash, bubble bath, body scrub, face scrub, foaming sugar scrub.  Then go to your kitchen sink and get your dish soap. Go to your kids bathroom and get the liquid hand soap, shampoo, toothpaste they use. Get your cleaning agents. Go to the garage and get the floor cleaner. I’m sure there’s more that I’m missing.

Have you gathered all of your products up? Look at all of their labels for the ingredients Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) and/or Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES). And because there is more than one way to skin a cat, (in other words re-name an ingredient) also look for these: Sodium dodecyl sulfate; the combination of the words Sulfuric acid, monododecyl ester, and sodium salt; Sodium salt sulfuric acid; Monodedecyl ester sodium salt sulfuric acid; A13-00356; Akyposal SDS; Aquarex MD; Aquarex methyl. 

How many of them have one or more of these ingredients? I’m betting A LOT. I once read an article that stated that SLS can cause mouth ulcers. I then went to my grocery store to change my toothpaste but was stunned to find that SLS was found in EVERY toothpaste on the shelf of my local grocer except Sensodyne. I've been using Sensodyne now since I originally wrote this blog in 2011 so would have to back and conduct this survey again. I will do so soon and report back if things have changed.

So no, a little might not hurt, but there is no way to know how much exposure a single person may have in the course of a day, week or year to SLS when it is found in so many products. Then think about your child. A five year old child uses shampoo, hand wash, bubble bath, etc. but weighs much much less than an adult resulting in a much higher ratio of SLS in their system versus their weight.

Need more information?  The following is a compilation of information about SLS that I found in 2011 in one brief Google search, I'm sure much more information is available now in 2014 and invite you to search on your own:

-     Both Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES) and its close relative Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) are commonly used in many soaps, shampoos, detergents, toothpastes and other products that we expect to "foam up". Both chemicals are very effective foaming agents, chemically known as surfactants.

-     Unfortunately, both Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES) and Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) are very dangerous, highly irritating chemicals. Far from giving "healthy shining hair" and "beautiful skin", soaps and shampoos containing sodium laureth sulfate can lead to direct damage to the hair follicle, skin damage, permanent eye damage in children and even liver toxicity.

-     A report published in the Journal of The American College of Toxicology in 1983 showed that concentrations of SLS as low as 0.5% could cause irritation and concentrations of 10-30% caused skin corrosion and severe irritation.

-     National Institutes of Health "Household Products Directory" of chemical ingredients lists over 80 products that contain SLS and SLES. Some soaps have concentrations of up to 30%, which the ACT report called "highly irritating and dangerous".

-     Shampoos are among the most frequently reported products to the FDA. Reports include eye irritation, scalp irritation, tangled hair, swelling of the hands, face and arms and split and fuzzy hair. This is highly characteristic of sodium laureth sulfate and almost definitely directly related to its use.

-    Both SLS and SLES are known to have many effects that can potentially be detrimental to health. Among the possible dangers are the following

·         Skin irritation / skin corrosion

·         Hormone Imbalance

·         Eye irritation / eye deformities in children

·         Protein Denaturing

·         Carcenogenicity (potential to cause cancer)

-    Another report states that "Other studies have indicated that Sodium Lauryl Sulfate enters and maintains residual levels in the heart, the liver, the lungs and the brain from skin contact. This poses question of it being a serious potential health threat to its use in shampoos, cleansers, and tooth pastes."

“But it must be safe!!  The FDA would never allow this!!” you cry. The FDA says SLS and SLES are safe…IN SMALL CONCENTRATIONS. Once again…how many times does the average Mom use products with SLS or SLES in the course of a day of cleaning, washing, etc.? I have been unable to find any studies showing the results of long-term usage of multiple products containing SLS by an average person. And also, consider that this is just ONE type of known problem-causing ingredient found in the cosmetics industry. Now add in your SLS and SLES to all of the other ingredients in your products and their potential to cause harm. 

The Brown Barn Bath Company has made a commitment to offer the safest alternatives we can locate and to work diligently to continually decrease the amounts of any ingredient that has even the slightest hazard potential. We use an all natural alternative to SLS called SLSa. It has a perfect safety record. We are happy to answer your questions about ingredients and to work with you to produce custom made products that do not use specific ingredients you know you are allergic to.  Please ask!

Have a great weekend and look for our new store in Medford, Wisconsin opening soon!  Chris