Poisonous shampoo?-Fiction

Shampoo Containing "SLS" is a Cancer Hazard-Fiction!

Summary of eRumor:
This email warns that a substance called "Sodium Laureth Sulfate" in many shampoos causes cancer. The email claims that in the 1980's one person in 8,000 got cancer while today the figure is one in three.

THE TRUTH:
According to the American Cancer Society, sodium Laureth Sulfate is not a carcinogen. It is used in many cleaning products because of its wetting and detergent properties. It is also found in some toothpastes and mouthwashes. Also, according to the ACA, the cancer rates in the 1980's were not one in 8,000, but about one in three. The cancer rates for women are about the same now and for men are one in two although the survivability rates have improved since the 1980's. Additionally, the person from the University of Pennsylvania named at the end of the email says she's not the author of the story and knows nothing about it.

A real example of the story as it has been circulated:

Shampoo - Please be alert.

Please read the message carefully.

Go home and check your shampoo.

Change it before it's too late...

Check the ingredients listed on your shampoo bottle, and see they have a substance by the name of Sodium Laureth Sulfate, or simply SLS.

This substance is found in most shampoos, and the manufacturers use it because it produces a lot of foam and it is cheap. BUT the fact is that SLS is used to scrub garage floors, and it is very strong!!!

It is also proven that it can cause cancer in the long run, and this is no joke. I went home and checked my shampoo (Vidal Sasoon); it doesn't contain it; however, others such as Vo5, Palmolive, Paul Michell, the new Hemp Shampoo from Body Shop etc ... contain this substance.

The first ingredient listed (which means it is the single most prevalent ingredient) in Clairol's Herbal Essences is Sodium Laureth Sulfate. So I called one company, and I told them their product contains a substance that will cause people to have cancer. They said, Yeah we knew about it but there is nothing we can do about it because we need that substance to produce foam. By the way Colgate toothpaste also contains the same substance to produce the "bubbles". They said they are going to send me some information.

Research has shown that in the 1980s, the chance of getting cancer is 1 out of 8000 and now, in the 1990s, the chances of getting cancer is 1 out of 3, which is very serious.

So I hope that you will take this seriously and pass this on to all the people you know, and hopefully, we can stop "giving" ourselves the cancer virus. This is serious, after you have read this, pass it on to as many people as possible, this is not a chain letter, but it concerns our health.

Michelle Hailey Executive Secretary University of Pennsylvania Health System Office of Legal Affairs (215) 662-2546