Every Wednesday we'll bring you "What's In It Wednesday".  A blog about what's in typical bath and beauty products, including the good, the bad and the ugly. We want you to know what we use or don't use in our products and why!

Today I pulled a generic brand clear liquid hand soap out from under my sink.  (We keep it there as back up) 

The second ingredient (right after water) is:  sodium laureth sulfate (SLES). 

So, what is it?  Turns out it's a foaming agent and it's used in lots of products that people expect to foam up, such as shampoos, toothpastes, soaps, and household cleaners.  It's also an irritant.  It's proven to cause eye and skin irritation.  The same way it removes oil from things like engines, it removes oils from hair and skin as well causing damage to the hair follicle and outer layer of skin. 

Why do so many products use it? Because it's cheap and since it's diluted with water and only comes into contact with the skin for a short period of time, it's considered to be safe.  But since it's in so many products consumers are coming into contact with it several times a day!