Safety Check: Avalon Organic Botanicals Lemon Clarifying Shampoo

Product: Avalon Organic Botanicals Lemon Clarifying Shampoo
Skin Deep Rating: N/A (not listed in the database)

This is a product used by two out of the three members of my household on a regular basis, as well as by at least two other extended family members. We've had it in the bathroom for at least two years now ... thought it was time to check out the ingredients and do a bit of a reality check here.

Based on the ingredients listed on the Avalon web site, what follows is a rating on an ingredient-by-ingredient basis following an itemized search on the Skin Deep database.

Ingredient List:
1. Purified water
Skin Deep Rating: N/A

2. cocamidopropyl betaine
Skin Deep Rating: 5/10 (moderate hazard)
Ouch ...

3. disodium cocoamphodiacetate
Skin Deep Rating: 1/10 (low hazard)

4. sodium cocoyl sarcosinate
Skin Deep Rating: 2/10 (low hazard)

5. coconut acid
Skin Deep Rating: 0/10

6. babassuamidopropalkonium chloride
Skin Deep Rating: 0/10 (low hazard)

7. organic citrus limonum (lemon) peel)
Skin Deep Rating: 0/10 (low hazard)*
NOTE: The rating for this is based on the listing for "CITRUS MEDICA LIMONUM (LEMON) PEEL"

8. calendula officinalis (calendula) flower extract
Skin Deep Rating: 1/10 (low hazard)
NOTE: The main hazard rating for this one is a link to Cancer. Damn!

9. chamomilla recutita (chamomile) flower extract
Skin Deep Rating: 1/10 (low hazard)*
NOTE: The rating for this ingredient is based on the listing for "CHAMOMILLA RECUTITA (MATRICARIA) FLOWER EXTRACT" since there wasn't an exact match in the SD database.

10. butyrospermum parkii (shea butter)
Skin Deep Rating: 0/10 (low hazard)

11. vegetable glycerin
Skin Deep Rating: 1/10 (low hazard)

12. bisabolol (chamomile)
Skin Deep Rating: 1/10 (low hazard)

13. ethylhexylglycerin
Skin Deep Rating: 1/10 (low hazard)

14. arginine (amino acid)
Skin Deep Rating: 3/10 (moderate hazard)
Concerns: Cancer, Developmental/Reproductive Toxicity etc.

15. panthenol (pro-vitamin B5)
Skin Deep Rating: 2/10 (low hazard)

16. tocopherol (vitamin E)
Skin Deep Rating: 2/10
NOTE: Cancer is one of the concerns with this ingredient

17. organic citrus medica limonum (lemon) peel oil
Skin Deep Rating: 1/10 (low hazard)

18. other essential oils
Skin Deep Rating: N/A

Ingredients to be concerned about:
1. cocamidopropyl betaine --> 5/10
2. arginine (amino acid) 3/10


Average rating of all listed ingredients (with "N/A" products counting as "0"): 1.17/10

Safety Check: Avalon Organic Botanicals Therapeutic Facial Cleansing Gel Lavender

Well this is disturbing.

A couple of years ago I made the switch from the more conventional facial products from the drug store to using something I *thought* would be safer. It said "organics". It's sold at the health food store. Should make it safe. Right?

Here is the product in question:

Avalon Organic Botanicals Therapeutic Facial Cleansing Gel Lavender.
Frequency of use: daily with my morning shower.
Skin Deep Rating: 5/10 ("moderate" risk)


So, according to the Skin Deep database, this product contains ingredients which rank as high as 5/10 on the toxicity scale. However, I went and looked at the ingredient list that Avalon has listed on the site for this product. It doesn't match the one in the Skin Deep database.

Here is what is on the site label:

Organic lavandula angustifolia (lavender), chamomilla recutita (chamomile) and camellia sinensis (white tea) extracts (aqueous)(1), organic arnica montana extract(2), cocamidopropyl betaine, disodium oleamido succinate, sodium cocoyl glutamate, sodium cocoyl isethionate, vegetable glycerin, organic aloe barbadensis(1), glycereth-7 cocoate, citric acid, phospholipids, panthenol (pro-vitamin B5), sodium PCA, allantoin, dipotassium glycyrrhizinate (licorice root), organic borago officinalis (borage) and linum usitatissimum (flax) oils(1), phenoxyethanol, rosa canina (rose hip) oil, benzyl alcohol, organic lavandula angustifolia (lavender) oil(3) and other essential oils.

So ... since it doesn't actually match what's in the Skin Deep site ... I've decided to break it down ingredient by ingredient.

1. Organic lavandula angustifolia (lavender)
Skin Deep Ingredient Rating: 1/10 (low risk)

2. chamomilla recutita (chamomile) extract
Skin Deep Rating: 0/10 (no risk)

3. camellia sinensis (white tea) extract (aqueous)
Skin Deep Rating: 2/10 (low risk)

4. organic arnica montana extract
Skin Deep Rating (based on "flower" extract): 2/10 (low risk)

5. cocamidopropyl betaine
Skin Deep Rating: 5/10 (moderate hazard)
Well, that's not good ...

6. disodium oleamido succinate
Skin Deep Rating: 0/10 (no hazard)

7. sodium cocoyl glutamate
Skin Deep Rating: 0/10

8. sodium cocoyl isethionate
Skin Deep Rating: 1/10 (low risk)

9. vegetable glycerin
Skin Deep Rating: 1/10

10. aloe barbadensis
Skin Deep Rating (aloe barbadensis - general): 2/10
Skin Deep Rating (leaf extract): 1/10
Skin Deep Rating (gel): 1/10

11. glycereth-7 cocoate
Skin Deep Risk: 0/10

12. citric acid
Skin Deep Rating: 4/10 (moderate risk)

13. phospholipids
Skin Deep Rating: 0/10

14. panthenol (pro-vitamin B5)
Skin Deep Rating: 2/10 (low hazard risk)

15. sodium PCA
Skin Deep Rating: 2/10 (low hazard risk)

16. allantoin
Skin Deep Rating: 0/10 (low hazard risk)

17. dipotassium glycyrrhizinate (licorice root)
Skin Deep Rating: 1/10 (low hazard risk)

18. organic borago officinalis (borage) oil
Skin Deep Rating: 0/10

19. organic linum usitatissimum (flax) oil
Skin Deep Rating: 0/10

20. phenoxyethanol
Skin Deep Rating: 4/10 (moderate hazard risk)

21. rosa canina (rose hip) oil
Skin Deep Rating: 0/10

22. benzyl alcohol
Skin Deep Rating: 6/10 (moderate hazard risk) --> yikes!

23. organic lavandula angustifolia (lavender) oil(3) and other essential oils.
Skin Deep Rating: 2/10


So ... based on an ingredient by ingredient rating breakdown, taking the highest of all possible options (if there is more than one score on a particular item), then averaging them all out ... I get 1.52/10 as an overall score for this product. Which leads me to wonder about the Skin Deep rating system and/or whether or not Avalon improved its ingredient list between the original examination done by Skin Deep and now.

For what it's worth, there are clearly a few ingredients here to be concerned about. But I'm feeling a bit better now than I was when I first checked the rating for this product.

What I've learned from this exercise is that the following ingredients are ones to watch for in "natural" products:

1. benzyl alcohol (6/10)
2. cocamidopropyl betaine (5/10)
3. phenoxyethanol (4/10)
4. citric acid (4/10)
   

What do you think?