Contents in Shampoo

[jenna rose]

I just bought some cruelty-free shampoo the other day by Mill Creek Botanicals, I think the name is.

I have a question about the ingredients:

deionized water
TEA-lauryl sulfate
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
Cocamide DEA
Biotin
Cystine
Hydrolyzed Keratin
peppermint oil
hydrolyzed elastin
niacin
folic acid
panthenol (provitamin B5)
aloe vera gel
jojoba oil
cysteine HCI
inositol
barley extract
hydrolyzed RNA
hydrolyzed DNA
octyl dimethyl PABA
propylene glycol
styrene/acrylates copolymer
citric acid
methylparaben
propylparaben
imidazolidinyl urea

Now, I found this shampoo over in the Natural Section along with the Tom's toothpaste and other things. And it has a very noticeable cruelty-free sign and wording on it.

But...isn't keratin an animal-byproduct? I bought this shampoo before I joined this site and I thought I had done a good thing by buying this...but I am having doubts with these ingredients.

Are any of you familiar with them?

[Jinga]

Interesting ...


keratin

(kĕr´tĭn) , any one of a class of fibrous protein molecules that serve as structural units for various living tissues. The keratins are the major protein components of hair, wool, nails, horn, hoofs, and the quills of feathers. These proteins generally contain large quantities of the sulfur-containing amino acids, particulary cysteine. The helical keratin molecules twist around each other to form elongated strands called intermediate filaments. The formation of a covalent chemical bond called a disulfide bridge between the sulfer atoms on two cysteins on separate polypeptide chains of keratin allows for the cross-linkage of these chains and results in a fairly rigid aggregate. This phenomenon is seen to be consistent with the physiological role of the keratins, which provide a tough, fibrous matrix for the tissues in which they are found. Human hair is approximately 14% cystine (cysteins cross-linked by disulfide bridges).


Does it say its free of animal products or just 'cruelty-free'? Hopefully, theres a synthetic version or something.

[raggydoo]

I found this:

Hydrolyzed Keratin
Protein for the hair derived from non-animal sources.
http://www.makingcosmetics.com/homemade-cosmetics-soaps/a08-glossary-h-soapmaking.htm

You might want to do some more research of your own though, I just found that on google but I didn't research it in depth.

[Foxy]

In my experience, Keratin is often a slaughterhouse by-product. This link is brief (on keratin) but has some good info on other non-veg stuff :)

http://www.naturalfoodsmerchandiser.com/ASP/1050/Display-Article

[ynaffit]

you'd think keratin would be, but i believe it's an ingredient in other products that claim to not have any animal products in them. while i don't know how likely it is, it's possible it comes from human hair (like l-cysteine can).

[SallyK]

I just bought some cruelty-free shampoo the other day by Mill Creek Botanicals, I think the name is.

I have a question about the ingredients:

deionized water
TEA-lauryl sulfate
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
Cocamide DEA
Biotin
Cystine
Hydrolyzed Keratin
peppermint oil
hydrolyzed elastin
niacin
folic acid
panthenol (provitamin B5)
aloe vera gel
jojoba oil
cysteine HCI
inositol
barley extract
hydrolyzed RNA
hydrolyzed DNA
octyl dimethyl PABA
propylene glycol
styrene/acrylates copolymer
citric acid
methylparaben
propylparaben
imidazolidinyl urea

?

There's a lot of ingredients in there that I am unfamiliar with or raise a red flag...I'm going to do some searching around for you.

[1vegan]

you'd think keratin would be, but i believe it's an ingredient in other products that claim to not have any animal products in them. .

*sighs*

it won't be the first time that people in a company that make the labels or that handle the phone call don't know anything about it.

*sweet as maple syrup voice*
"oh certainly sir, ingredient x is not animal derived... in fact our whole range of products A is animal ingredient free"

1v: um.... didn't I read "honey" on the product A, taste b ?

*sweet as maple syrup voice*
"....... er...let me check that"
*sound of pages flipping*
" um... yes you are right... that contains honey but that's the only exception in the product range A :) "

1v: er......and range A, variety D....that beeswax ?

*sweet as maple syrup voice*
".... um .... "

Conclusion: vegans should not just accept what they are told and be very aware of the questions asked and not just take the first answer for granted It's a pitty that people who answer the phone or who answer your inquiry email don't know what they are talking about, but that's jus the way it is.

[ynaffit]

^^^ i was referring to products actually marked "vegan" or "no animal ingredients."

example: http://www.n101.us/Products/749985044035.html
here is one that specifies that the keratin is from human hair: http://www.veganunlimited.com/11030.html
more from human hair: http://www.differentdaisy.com/nexternalhtml/nirvana-vegan-shampoos-and-rinse.htm

[anthony11]

Ingrid Newkirk's "Making Kind Choices" includes a section that discusses the sources of a long list of ingredients. Some can be difficult because they can come from both animal and other sources -- glycerin, sterates/stearic acide, etc. I would think that the cetyl alcohol and other cetyl ingredients in US-made products aren't from whales, but it can be tough to be sure.

I noticed today that the Tom's of Main varieties with propolis say that they contain no animal ingredients, but also say that the propolis is "gathered by bees". Seems weasely to me.

[epski]

I avoid parabens, personally. Kinda hard to do, and often more expensive, but it's doable.

[anthony11]

I avoid parabens, personally. Kinda hard to do, and often more expensive, but it's doable.

Parabens are waxy, right? At least sometimes animal-derived?

I've taken to buying hair products only at Aveda. So many can be animal-derived, but theirs seem to be pretty widely regarded as being vegan. Mind you, that sap moss conditioner is *insanely* expensive, and I have to look elsewhere for soap.

[1vegan]

^^^ i was referring to products actually marked "vegan" or "no animal ingredients."

example: http://www.n101.us/Products/749985044035.html


Sorry, missed that part, but have seen "errors" on vegan sites before.

On the other hand, if they so specific list "human keratin" I intend to trust that.

The one link I left in the quote....I'd check that myself if I would like to buy that one.

But a person like me would need some days to figure out if he wants human keratin in his shampoo to check if that fits in his "ethics view" :)

[anthony11]

Aha! Another ALF fan!