Something you should read about this Bath Time Treat
A Typical list of Ingredients in a RADOX HERBAL BATH
INGREDIENTS in this Radox Herbal Bath
Aqua, sodium laureth sulphate, sodium chloride, cocamidopropyl betaine, parfum, Juniperus communis, ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate, tetrasodium EDTA, ethoxydiglycol, dipropylene glycol, citric acid, sodium lactate, butylene glycol, butylphenyl methylpropional, alphaisomethyl ionone, benzyl salicylate, coumarin, limonene, linalool, sodium benzoate, methylchloroisothiazolinone, methylisothiazolinone,
CI 47005, CI 42090, CI 15985
See the purpose and affects of these ingredients below
Radox is arguably the best known, and most trusted, of UK bath additives. The range is a subsidiary of the giant US corporation Sara Lee, which also owns Sanex and Badedas. In the UK, the bathing market, which includes bath additives, shower gels and soaps, is worth £665m a year and counting; bath additives account for approximately £150m of this. We buy more bottles of Radox than any other bath additive.
But what do we get for our money? Radox Herbal Bath Relax contains harsh skin irritants, potential carcinogens and reproductive toxins, hormone and central nervous system (CNS) disrupters. Several of its ingredients are penetration enhancers: chemicals that alter skin structure, allowing other chemicals to penetrate more deeply into the skin and the bloodstream.
The whole Radox range has recently been reformulated and expanded using aromatherapy as the selling point. While Radox Herbal Bath Relax does contain natural juniper extract, it is largely based on synthetic perfumes, which cannot claim the same therapeutic effects as natural essential oils and may even be harmful.
In addition to ‘parfum’ (industry code for a compound comprised of several unnamed perfume ingredients), the mixture contains five individual perfume ingredients which can be strongly irritant and have been shown to cause a range of health problems in other
animals. Amazingly, this product also contains a sunscreen – to protect the product, not the person. It’s hard to see how anyone could ‘relax’ while soaking in a mixture like this.
ALTERNATIVES
You can’t make a bubble bath without harsh synthetics, so natural alternatives are scarce.
BATH SALTS
Epsom salts or sea salt can be therapeutic and skin-conditioning. But beware of artificial colours and perfumes in commercial brands.
INGREDIENTS, PURPOSE AND ADVERSE EFFECTS
Sodium laureth sulphate
Detergent.
Skin dryness; eye irritation; penetration enhancer; laureth compounds can be contaminated with 1,4 dioxane, a carcinogen linked to breast cancer.
Cocamidopropyl betaine
Detergent.
Skin and eye irritation; penetration enhancer; can be contaminated with diethanolamine, which, when combined with formaldehyde released by other ingredients during storage, produces carcinogenic nitrosamines.
Parfum
Fragrance compound.
Allergen; triggers asthmatic reactions; skin irritation; CNS disruption; common components like artifi cial musks and phthalates are hormone disrupting.
Ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate
Sunscreen; may preserve the product’s smell and colour. Hormone disrupter; penetration enhancer.
Tetrasodium EDTA Preservative. Skin and eye irritation; contact dermatitis; penetration enhancer;
environmentally persistent, binding with heavy metals in lakes and streams, aiding their re-entry into the food chain.
Butylene glycol
Promotes moisture; solvent; fragrance fixative.
Respiratory tract, skin and eye irritation; formaldehyde former; penetration enhancer; widely used even though it has been linked to reproductive and mutagenic effects in animals.
Butylphenyl
methylpropional
Synthetic fragrance. Skin irritant; use is restricted due to powerful sensitisation potential; in animals, skin applications at high concentrations caused sperm damage and CNS effects.
Alpha-isomethyl ionone
Synthetic fragrance. Skin sensitisation; CNS disruption.
Benzyl salicylate Synthetic fragrance; fixative.
Skin sensitisation.
Coumarin
Naturally derived fragrance.
A common skin sensitiser. Several types of courmarin have already been banned in the EU. In animals it causes lung and liver cancer and is damaging to the kidneys. According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer, coumarin is ‘rapidly and extensively absorbed after topical or oral administration to human subjects’.
Limonene Synthetic
fragrance.
Skin and eye irritation; may trigger asthma attacks; tumours, reproductive abnormalities and delayed growth in some animals.
Sodium benzoate
Preservative.
Skin and respiratory irritant.
Methylchlorois othiazolinone, methylisothiazolinone
Preservatives.
Strong allergens; they bind quickly to the skin, remaining there long after use; nerve damage; potential mutagen; a suspected carcinogen due to its corrosive action on the skin.
