NIH Letter about Products Containing Lavender and Tea Tree Oils

The same day I wrote a recommendation for a soap containing tea tree oil, I heard from a pharmacist about a paper that suggested a possible link between the use of products containing lavender and tea tree oils and gynecomastia (breast enlargement) in young boys. Only 3 cases prompted the study, but the researchers also did in vitro studies demonstrating endocrine disruption activity by both lavender and tea tree oils. And, when the each of the boys ceased using the personal care products with those oils, the gynecomastia resolved. (I should note that the only oil all of the boys used was lavender; only one of the boys used a product containing tea tree oil, and that product also contained lavender.)

http://www.nih.gov/news/pr/jan2007/niehs-31.htm

The NIH letter was careful not to draw any conclusions, it merely alerted the medical profession to the study. Per the study author, there still is much work to be done to draw any conclusions. As always, the issue of exposure strength and duration is a big question mark when it comes to applying this study more broadly. (I would personally want to know if the products were detergent products – probably so, one definitely was – another factor in exposure because of increased membrane permeability.) And there are other endocrine disruptors in most modern environments, such as plasticizers, which were not concurrently studied or considered and could be an additive factor.

The pharmacist who wrote me said her professional opinion would be for parents to avoid products with these oils (lavender and tea tree oil). Children do have more permeable skin than adults.

In the interest of providing as much perspective as possible, I am also including a link to an article by respected naturopath Dr. Randall Neustaedter. It discusses both sides of the issue regarding tea tree oil. [link]

Allergic contact dermatitis to tea tree oil is another potential concern [link 1][link 2], if anything, more well-documented than the above.

All I have to say is that I believe in erring on the side of caution with kids.

Caress Is/Isn't Dove?

As I mentioned in a previous post, Caress appears to have a nearly identical surfactant formula to the old unscented Dove. Now that I’ve tried it, I’m not sure I like it that much. I don’t know if it’s because the added shea butter or Vitamin E (depending on the flavor) makes it feel different and rinse less well, or something else.

I’m also wondering if the parent company is going to keep the surfactant formula in Caress the same, rather than switching it over as they have Dove. I have looked at Caress boxes in various drugstores and discount stores – if they were going to switch over to the new Dove surfactant, they probably would have by now. This is all my speculation, I have no idea what will happen.

In the meantime, I’m bringing all those extra boxes I bought of Caress back to the store. Because of the way Caress rinses, it doesn’t appear to be a good replacement for the old unscented Dove per the solveeczema web site, even though the surfactant formula is almost the same. However, provided the product is labeled properly (and hasn’t also been switched to the new surfactant in Dove for Sensitive Skin), and the additional ingredients don’t otherwise cause individual allergy, the product should be okay for those with detergent-reactive eczema.

I say SHOULD, but I don’t have the kind of empirical information on Caress that I had on unscented Dove. Always test. True soaps are a very narrowly defined surfactant, so I can say that all true soaps are fine. Anything else really requires a lot more information.

More Recommendations

Here’s a real find:
http://www.lcdpmarseille.com/

I tried the Savon de Marseille Extra Pur Orange. It’s a liquid soap with a heavenly fragrance. The ingredients are: Water, Potassium Cocoate, Fragrance, Glycerin, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Cocos Nucifera, Tetrasodium EDTA, BHT, Limonene, Linalool, Citral. It seems to clean well without drying, very nice. The scent doesn’t seem to remain on my hands, but washing with this stuff is a little dose of aromatherapy. There are other similarly wonderful scents, like grapefruit and apple.

The only drawback seems to be the price. Ouch. Imported from France.

A wonderful surprise in the bar soap realm is Tea Tree Therapy Vegetable Base Soap with Tea Tree Oil. Made in USA, distributed by Tea Tree Therapy, Inc., Ventura, CA. This is a great bar soap that gets the skin clean, rinses well, is not drying yet doesn’t leave any sticky feeling as some more moisturizing soaps do. Tea tree oil is supposed to be a natural antiseptic. This soap has a fragrance, but it’s so mild, I initially thought it was unscented. I hope they keep it that way!

Ingredients of Tea Tree Therapy Vegetable Base Soap: Vegetable Base (Sodium Palmate and Sodium Cocoate), Purified Water, Vegetable Glycerin, Natural Fragrance, Titanium Dioxide, Sodium Chloride, Tea Tree Oil, Iron Oxide, Tetra Sodium Etidronate, Tetra Sodium EDTA.

Note: Please see later entry in this blog about tea tree oil and potential concerns with children.

Detergent and Natural Soap Sales Trends

Interesting links about soap and detergent markets:

About natural soap sales: http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=470727

About detergent sales: http://www.purchasing.com/article/CA6297730.html

As noted on my site, many “natural” washing products are essentially plant-based detergents. But there are many true soap lines out there – profitable for major manufacturers AND smaller handcrafted soap makers – and sales of handcrafted soaps appear to be increasing. I assumed these product lines were miniscule compared to detergent lines; if you factor in “natural” detergents, perhaps they are.

It’s interesting, though, to note the strong consumer demand for natural personal care products. At least by these sources – and admittedly, I just found them with quick Google searches, not by thorough review – the natural personal care industry is a major player and growing fast.

What will detergent makers – and “natural” product makers – do about this over time, I wonder? The problem of eczema and dermatitis seems to be great enough to significantly impact demand for “natural” products; too bad for these consumers that marketing hype seems to be the biggest driver in this industry for now.

However … as major organic food producers learned, they should never underestimate the intelligence and underlying motivations of “natural” product buyers. Natural personal care product standards are under scrutiny. Stay tuned.

ISO unscented Dove?

When unscented Dove changed its surfactant formula earlier this year (see other posts about unscented Dove on this blog), I noticed that several other products within the Dove line still carried something similar to the old formula. No longer. Dove appears to have switched its entire line over to the new primary surfactant, which makes sense from a manufacturing standpoint. Any remnants were probably leftover inventory of other product lines.

If you are looking for products similar to the old unscented Dove formula, Caress Glowing Touch is virtually identical, with a few minor differences like fragrance and dyes. Caress Glowing Touch also has shea butter as a minor ingredient, and propylene glycol, neither of which were in unscented Dove. I suspect the Caress Glowing Touch boxes I recently purchased are old inventory and that Caress, too, might soon switch to a new surfactant formula similar to the new unscented Dove Sensitive Skin.

If you are looking for a stash of bar products similar to the old unscented Dove formula, the clock may be ticking on availability of these products. Johnson Diversey makes Dove and Caress lines, as well as many others. See www.jdbrands.com . Interestingly, they also make Lux, which withdrew its soap flake product line a few years ago.