BODY: Lathered up in all the wrong places

Last week I bought some new soap.

I have been trying to economize recently, and realized that at $6.99/bar, my penchant for fancy hand-milled European soap was a bit spendy, so I opted for a mainstream option at the drug store and purchased a four pack of Yardley Aloe and Cucumber scented bars. But within a few days I noticed a small patch (dime-sized) of eczema on my arm, and uncomfortable itching in my nether regions. I didn’t have the symptoms of a yeast infection, and it dawned on me that my new soap was more likely the culprit. As I child I remember being taken to the doctor after a particular luxurious bath with a box of Mr. Bubble that led me to rub my itchy little puss on pretty much any object I could find.

Soap, and the vagina, it turns out are a bad mix. One concerning issue is that many women equate itchy vagina with yeast infection, and run to get OTC relief. I believe that these remedies, like Monistat, are severely over-used and only create a cycle of more infection. Feministing took on the issue with a great comment thread about natural vs. OTC remedies. But I digress. I have a looked more into the soap and irritated vagina relationship.

Sodium lauryl sulfate and it’s cousin sodium tallowate are the most commonly used soap bases. The former is a particularly prevalent, and harmful, chemical/irritant that can cause vulvitis or vulvar dermatitis. The latter – as the name suggests – is made from rendered animal fats and lye. It is also a known to irritate sensitive skin and aggravate eczema. Both of these ingredients are cheap and plentiful, but they are also not so great for your body.

But sodium lauryl sulfate is not just a small problem for me it turns out. The natural health care world has been quite vocal about all the associated dangers, including blindness in children, cancer, mouth sores, premature aging for the skin and hair. The jury is still out in mainstream research about the affects of SLSs with long-term exposure and it considered non-carcinogenic. However, neither was DDT for a long time. The bottom line: proceed with caution and make informed choices. Best idea: pick a soap with a vegetable base. (CN)