Common Toxic Ingredients Hiding in Bath Bombs
Bath bombs hide a lot of dangerous and potentially carcinogenic (cancer-causing) ingredients. I'm not just referring to the bath bombs piled precariously under glitter unicorn signs at Target. Even popular "natural" brands load their bath bombs with dangerous junk.
Here are some common toxins found in your run-of-the-mill bath bomb:
1: Toxic Lathering Agents
We all like the playful fizz of bath bombs but we shouldn't have to get it with dangerous ingredients. Unfortunately, most bath bombs use ingredients like Sodium Laureth Sulfate to give us that sudsy bliss. Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLS) is one sketchy dude connected with a laundry list of health concerns.
Why so scary? Well, during manufacturing, this lathering agent caneasily become contaminated with measurable amounts of ethylene oxide and 1,4-dioxane, two very toxic chemicals. If that's not troubling enough, sulfates also have a sordid reputation for overly drying out skin and hair and irritating the tar out of skin. So, just stay away from Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, babe. Stay far away.
2: Harmful Synthetic Dyes
We all love color, right? It's eye-catching, enchanting, and just oh, so satisfying. But don't drink the cool-aide, babe. Traditional bath bombs' slurry of synthetic dyes is just no bueno. Ingredients like Red 28 and Blue 1 are linked with some scary side effects, like triggering nasty allergic reactions, eczema, and even genetic damage to chromosomes, not to mention just generally irritating your eyes and skin.
3: Dangerous Synthetic Fragrances
America rocks at so many things! We're the home of Football, craft beer, peanut butter, Hollywood, and Martha Stewart (criminal she may be but she's still the ultimate queen of crafts). One thing we're not so hot at? Fragrances.
In the United States, companies aren't required to list the ingredients that make up their product's fragrance because it's considered a trade secret. For us beauty product consumers, that seriously sucks.
It means companies can stuff just about anything under the umbrella "fragrance." And boy do they stuff. . .
Nasty stuff like acetone, camphor, ethanol, and ethyl acetate (just to name a few) can sneak into your bath bombs without you ever being the wiser. Worse still, these chemicals are known to cause asthma, headaches, nervous system damage, migraines, and a slew of other health problems.
Side note: You can learn more about the dangers of synthetic fragrances, dyes, and sulfates in our guides covering the worst ingredients commonly found in beauty products.
4: Eco-Harming Glitter
In general, I'm not a very "girly" girl, but I do love my glitter! There's nothing quite as delightful as a little sparkle to brighten up the doldrums of the daily grind. Unfortunately, most of those sparkles fall into one of two categories of serious #nope:
