Sodium Hydroxide ingredient in detangling balm---rant!

[onejamifan]

Why would anyone put sodium hydroxide in a product designed for children's hair? Isn't Sodium Hydroxide lye??? Isn't that a harmful chemical??? I went ahead and edited this post because it was way too long, but for any of you out there who knows a lot of about chemicals, could you let me know if using a product with lye in it (last ingredient in product list) is considered safe for kids??

I called Johnson and Johnson and they said it was, but we all know how full of s&^% big manufacturers can be and how they don't do anything about things until they have a law suit in their hands.....

Thanks

 

[Irresistible]

how could they get away with that?

 

[Crissi]

Thats not the only product its in. Im sure itis/was in CON, its even in some skin products (i recall clean and clear, i think). I cannot understand why!

 

[Substance&Style]

depending on where it is listed in the ingredients they are more than likely about to get away with it...

is it listed in the middle or somewhere towards the end?

 

[Neith]

If it's at the end of the list it doesn't have any straightening properties. It's in there as a pH adjuster.

People use lye in soap... it's not DIRECTLY harmful when used properly.

 

[basketballbabe03]

If it's at the end of the list it doesn't have any straightening properties. It's in there as a pH adjuster.

People use lye in soap... it's not DIRECTLY harmful when used properly.

I agree. Sodium Hydroxide is in a lot of products. If it's near the end of the list, the concentration/morality of it is probably low so it wouldn't harm you.

 

[ladylibra]

If it's at the end of the list it doesn't have any straightening properties. It's in there as a pH adjuster.

People use lye in soap... it's not DIRECTLY harmful when used properly.

yep. unfortunately a lot of our everyday products have some weird stuff... SLS in toothpaste? formeldahyde (sp?) in V05? hell rat droppings in peanut butter if you wanna get the real deal. i can tell you things that will have you wanting to go vegan right this minute and never use another product that you didn't make yourself.

 

[Irresistible]

yep. unfortunately a lot of our everyday products have some weird stuff... SLS in toothpaste? formeldahyde (sp?) in V05? hell rat droppings in peanut butter if you wanna get the real deal. i can tell you things that will have you wanting to go vegan right this minute and never use another product that you didn't make yourself.

OMG Rat droppings in peanut butter?

 

[Irresistible]

If it's at the end of the list it doesn't have any straightening properties. It's in there as a pH adjuster.

People use lye in soap... it's not DIRECTLY harmful when used properly.

oh ok I was gonna say.......they couldnt do that, in a million years

 

[gymfreak336]

Its just a pH adjuster. Anything that would have a concentration of lye that could straighten hair would be a relaxer and would have to be labeled as such.

They use it to adjust the pH. To be honest, any chemical in the right concentration behaves totally different. Look at it like this....a relaxer generally has a 2-4% of sodium hydroxide so this product and any others that have sodium hydroxide in it as pH adjusters have mirco amounts. You get the right concentration propylene glycol, glycerin, just about anything and you can have a problem. If you eat pretzels then you are eating lye. Sodium hydroxide gets a bad rep since we all associate it with relaxers but since its cheap and has a high pH, it makes a good pH adjuster.

 

[Determined22]

If it's at the end of the list it doesn't have any straightening properties. It's in there as a pH adjuster.

People use lye in soap... it's not DIRECTLY harmful when used properly.

Its also in food, like grits. Like someone else said, its most likely included to adjust pH.

 

[onejamifan]

Thanks for all of you who posted a reply. I was a bit confused...

 

[Dayjoy]

Thanks for all of you who posted a reply. I was a bit confused...

And pissed!! I'm glad you asked the question because I always wondered about this too.