Laundry detergent and skin problems
I have recently noticed that after I stopped using laundry detergents, my skin issues started to heal over a few months period. How do the detergents affect my skin if they actually clean my clothes so well from contaminants and microbes?
The key word here is “detergent”. Laundry detergents have a strong antimicrobial action, similar to that of antibiotics. An average adult’s skin hosts a population of approximately 1,000 billion bacteria from more than 1200 different species, between fungi, viruses, and arthropods. This flora forms a very delicate organic life balance.
When detergents come in contact with the skin, they damage the skin flora causing a biological distress and imbalance that eventually leads to skin diseases such as eczema, dermatitis and various cancers. The disease-causing chemicals are also absorbed into the blood through the skin and lung pathways, predisposing you to risk of serious systemic and often fatal diseases.
Other laundry detergent facts
Hazardous ingredients contained in laundry detergents present dangers on many levels and not limited to the following:
- Surfactants act as detergents, wetting agents, emulsifiers, foaming agents, and dispersants. These substances are poisonous to skin flora and in all biological levels
- Detergents disrupt endocrine functions and interfere with hormone production
- Laundry detergents drained with the water an extreme level of underground pollution. Our drinking water, in fact, contains an uncontrolled and dangerous amount of toxins being introduced via using the laundry detergents.
- Detergent residues that remain in the clothes are one of the most serious issues with chemicals once they contaminate the clothing you wear. Not only they’re readily absorbed into the blood via skin, but they also off-gas, which significantly contributes to air pollution around you and at your home. This causes you to breathe the chemicals around the clock.
Conclusion
Regardless of the type of the detergent used, it is more safe and practical not to wash your clothes more often than absolutely required. This is because the fabrics tend to retain offending chemical residues that later are easily transferred to the skin and off-gas into the breathable air. Frequent washing of clothing also fades the colors and shortens the lifespan of the fabrics.