L’ORÉAL Paris: Vive Pro (Glossy Volume Body Boosting Shampoo).

One of my most frequently used personal care products is, of course, shampoo. I use shampoo on almost a daily basis, and I’m sure many others do as well, so why not check to see what exactly I am massaging into my hair and scalp regularly? The shampoo I am currently using is L’ORÉAL Paris: Vive Pro (Glossy Volume Body Boosting Shampoo).

Ingredients:
Water , Sodium Laureth Sulfate , PPG-5-Ceteth-20 , Cocamide MIPA , Disodium Cocoamphodipropionate , Cocamidopropyl Betaine , Sodium Chloride , Fragrance , Octylacrylamide , Acrylates , Butylaminomethyl Methacrylate Copolymer , Methylparaben , Polyquaternium-10 , DMDM Hydantoin , Lecithin , Hexyl Cinnamal , Methyl Cocoate , Benzyl Salicylate , Butylphenyl Methylpropional , Linalool , Sodium Cocoate , Hydroxycitronellal , Limonene , Citric Acid

I went onto http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/, and the overall rating my product received was a 6 out of 10, meaning it is a moderate hazard on a scale of 0-10, with 10 being of the highest concern. I was not necessarily surprised because within the last week of this class, I have already learned so many horrible things about human consumption, and my consumption alone. It is definitely something to be concerned about, though, because now it is verified that something I am putting on my head regularly is a moderate hazard! I was glad to see that the ingredients in this product are not linked to cancer or developmental/reproductive toxicity, but not so pleased with the fact that they are linked to allergies/immunotoxicity, and other concerns such as neurotoxicity, and organ system toxicity.

To see the full results, you can click on this link: http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/product/159834/L%27Or%26%23233%3Bal_Vive_Pro_Glossy_Volume_Shampoo%2C_Normal_Hair/

I picked one of the ingredients that had one of the higher hazard scores and that was DMDM Hydantoin. It had a hazard score of 7 (on a scale of 0-10, 10 being the highest) and the concerns included allergies/immunotoxicity, irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs), contamination concerns (FORMALDEHYDE), and use restrictions. I did further research on this ingredient on the website and found that it is an antimicrobial formaldehyde releaser preservative and that people exposed to it may develop a formaldehyde allergy or an allergy to the ingredient itself and decomposition products. It is a known human immune system toxicant and a human skin toxicant. So this ingredient definitely should be a concern if you have sensitive skin or even holds the possibility of developing a new allergy. But I wanted to look into the ingredients a little more, so I chose Limonene (perfuming), which had a rating of 6. It had a lot of the same concerns as the other, but also has a link to cancer, which definitely opened my eyes. It also is a wildlife and environmental toxicity, and with how things are going on our planet right now, we definitely do not need anything more to add to environmental problems.

After learning more about something I use so frequently on myself, I do not think I will be purchasing this product again. I definitely could not eliminate shampoo from my personal care ritual, but I can have my hair-cleansing needs met by a different shampoo product. This opened my eyes to something I never really thought too much about before, and I think I might be paying more attention to the ingredients in some of my personal care products.