Old Spice Body Wash Toxicity

I decided to examine Proctor and Gamble’s Old Spice Red Zone Body Wash, to determine the toxicity of one of my frequently used personal care products. The ingredients listed on the bottle are, in order, water, sodium laureth sulfate, sodium sulfate, cocamidopropyl betaine, fragrance, sodium lauroamphoacetate, citric acid, sodium benzoate, polyquaternium-10, disodium edta, methylchloroisothiazolinone, methylisothiazolinone, green 3, green 5, and red 33. Half of which I cannot pronounce, and almost all foreign to me, giving me little insight into what actually is in the body wash.
After looking at the Environmental Working Group’s online database I found that more than half of these ingredients were found to have many toxic concerns for humans (see attached list). It was both daunting and concerning to see that the fragrance ingredient in the product is the most toxic. The smell of the body wash was what drew me into purchasing it over the other alternatives, however I found that the fragrance used in the product actually rates 8 out of 10 (10 being the most hazardous) on a scale of hazard to human health, and is highly concerning to experts. The fragrance has a 100% data gap as well, showing that we have not nearly assessed the safety or studied the toxicity of the ingredient thoroughly. This is very alarming since the ingredient already has such a huge potential for risk. The concerns found from studying it so far are the ingredient has “moderate evidence of human neurotoxicity, known human immune system toxicants, and is not assessed for safety in cosmetics by an industry panel.” What is most disturbing though is that the ingredient is not fully labeled and its identity is unknown, yet people still feel comfortable rubbing it all over their body on a daily basis.
Other toxic ingredients in the body wash, primarily scored mediocre on the hazard scale, and brought up concerns for cancer, development/reproduction toxicity’s, violations of restrictions, neurotoxicity’s, endocrine disruption, immune system toxicity’s, organ system toxicity’s, skin irritation, and other miscellaneous apprehensions. It is scary to know that something I purchased from a trustworthy brand, and use almost every day, has many toxin in it that are potentially highly hazardous to my health. Due to these findings this product can, I will, be easily eliminated or replaced in my personal care ritual.
Although I do need to stay clean and wash body there are many different soaps and non-toxic products that could efficiently get the job done, be healthier to use, and probably even make me smell good at the same time. All-natural, organic, and less complex soaps and body washes often have very little toxins and are as low as 0 on the same hazardous scale that was used to rate the Old Spice body wash. It is also important to try to find a wash with organic scents or not scented because almost all other fragrances used in body washes are found to be very toxic and often have an unknown makeup. Nothing Nasty Organic naturally scented Castile Soaps, Healing Scents Body Washes, and Videlina Natura Purifying Gel are all great examples of alternatives to toxic body washes such as Old Spice’s, and ones I will be looking to purchase in the future to replace my current body wash.

In order to reduce the amount of toxics I come encounter with I feel that it is important to understand what ingredients go into the products I use. I know that it would be hard to have this knowledge about everything I touch or use, however when making my purchases I will be much more likely to base my decision on my health concerns rather than the appearance of the product and other aesthetic attributes such as its smell. I will start by purchasing a new non-toxic body wash, and continue to examine the ingredients in other personal care products that I use, finding healthy alternatives to the ones I find to be toxic and hazardous to my health.