WHAT IS ORGANIC PET SHAMPOO?

A groomer on the groomer.org BBS writes:
BBird, Please explain! I have a new client who wants only organinc. She is concerned about sodium laurell sulfate and the shampoos I have Sodium laureth sulfate in them. she claims this is toxic. I am not clear what the difference is. I called the company and they said they are all natural and that organic contains more chemicals. Will you please explain this.

BBird responds:
You find yourself in the middle between a misinformed client and a misinformed company rep. The client has swallowed misinformation about “dangerous ingredients” in shampoos and is confronting you. The company rep is responding with his/her “talking points”, and giving you very little real information, only marketing hype and false reassurance.

There is no such thing as an “organic” shampoo. The term “organic” does not apply to formulated products. It refers to the growing of crops without chemical pesticides. It is an agricultural term, not a cosmetics term. It has been co-opted, used, exploited, however, by marketing types who wish to sell products to concerned consumers. Many of these concerned consumers have been created by rigorous fear mongering tactics geared to make consumers suspicious of mainstream products.

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) has become the iconic symbol for "dangerous shampoo ingredient". One the most vigorous fear mongering campaign was successfully mounted on the Internet against this once popular shampoo ingredient. There is no scientific information that concludes that Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) is toxic as used in shampoos. It is, however, one of the most harsh surfactants, and can cause skin irritation and serious eye damage. The extent of the danger depends on the formulation, the concentration, and the contact time. SLS has been hammered so hard by marketers of alternative products that it is no longer a viable ingredient in top shelf human products, although it is still used. SLS used to be the most common surfactant in pet shampoos. Many companies still use this ingredient, although it is most often combined with other, less harsh surfactants, such as Sodium Laureth Sulfate. It is found in many degreasing formulas, clarifying shampoos, whiteners, and “dirty dog” formulas. Laube’s Wild Animal and Kelco brand shampoos use SLS as a primary surfactant. Kenic Shampoos use Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate (ALS), which is essentially the same thing without the bad rap. Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES) is cousin of SLS but is not the same ingredient.

Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES) is much less harsh, as the sufactant molecules have been made larger by the addition of an oxygen molecule. This is done through an additional process of “ethoxylation.” Because of that extra process, SLES might be regarded by some to be more “chemical.” There are other downsides to ethoxylation, but the big advantage is a milder surfactant that still cleans very well.

What is a “chemical”? Glad you asked… Chemical compounds are simply the combination of two or more chemical elements, such as Hydrogen and Oxygen. Water, H20, is the same whether is comes from a river or a lab. H20 is H20. It is a naturally occurring chemical compound, as is sodium chloride, salt. All cleansing surfactants, whether they are the most simple soaps, or sophisticated detergents, are chemical compounds. ALL!

Soaps are made by the action of caustic soda (potash/lye) on fats or oils. The process is called “saponification”. Therefore, all soaps are chemicals. You could get technical and remind me of the soapwort plant, but I don’t think we want to go all the way back to scrubbing ourselves with plants while standing in the stream. Well, maybe you do. Soaps are a little less chemically manipulated than detergents, but tend to be very alkaline in pH and leave hair dry, rough and deposit soap scum. Hello! The reason detergents were developed and evolved was that humans needed better products . Basic soaps may be fine for skin, but for hair or fabric, they do not perform well.

Detergent surfactants are created by a process called “sulfonation”, and sometimes the additional process of “ethoxylation”. Sodium Lauryl Sulfate is the sodium salt of sulfated lauryl alcohol. Similar surfactants are Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate (ALS) and TEA Lauryl Sulfate. EZ Groom uses a lot of TEA Lauryl Sulfate, which has the cleaning power of SLS without the bad reputation. Lauryl Alcohol, a basic ingredient of these surfactants, is derived from coconut oil or palm kernel oil. This natural source is used by some companies to justify calling their product “natural” or “naturally derived”. You’ve probably seen some labels that say “cleaning ingredients from natural coconut oil”. Well, that could be SLS, or any of the above.

There is no definition in human cosmetics or in the pet industry for the use of the term “natural.” Any company can call any product “natural”. There are no rules, no criteria, no requirements. It is a marketing term that is becoming a huge fad. Many companies use the term very loosely, based on the assumption that there is some relationship to nature amongst the compounds that make up their formulas. To make it more obvious, they throw in some plant extracts or botanicals. Often these additives are present in such minute amounts to barely be present in the finished product. Your company rep who said that “organic shampoos contain more chemicals” has a point. The more plant extracts, botanical ingredients, and real food ingredients (such as oats), the more preservatives are required. Preservatives are some of the most strong and scary ingredients in water based cosmetics. Formulators try to use the minimum amount to insure safety, but the more alive the ingredients, the more they are food for bacteria, fungi, etc.

Conclusion: Company reps are most often answering questions from “talking points” that have been handed down to them by company formulators. Customers are asking questions from “talking points” that have been handed to them by agents who have a vested interest in making them fear mainstream products. Both are misinformed. You cannot, however, tell a customer that they are wrong. It just doesn’t work. They believe what they believe. The best approach is to say that you share their concern about safe ingredients. You can have something on hand for these people, such as Show Season Naturals products, or other products that are formulated to be less synthetic and more naturally based, or you can offer to use their product if they wish to bring you something. You can, however, let company reps that the same old, same old line about “our products are all natural” is getting old, really, and that you require specific ingredient information.

The uncomfortable position of groomers being caught between a rock and a hard place – companies who stonewall us about ingredients and expect us to simply trust them, and customers who want specific reassurances about ingredients- is not going to go away. Get used to it. Until our industry shifts into a mode of more truth and transparency and away from the status quo of secrecy and spin, we are going to be increasingly embarrassed by clients who are being “educated” by the natural movement.