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Though there may be residues of the nano metal catalyst or synthetic

Summary: Though there may be residues of the nano metal catalyst or synthetic engineered enzyme or petrochemical residues in the final product there are few nanotoxicology studies that have examined the effects of nanomaterials in organisms and environments Frighteningly the minimal nano research done so far raises strong concerns about the safety of nanomaterials Leading environmental scientists are now speaking out about the potential for widespread toxic effects of engineered nanoparticles on humans wildlife and our environment Take a look at this interesting visual that depicts the scale of nanoparticles Courtesy of the US EPA web site To learn more about nanoparticles how they are used in personal care products their harmful effects and why you should avoid them scroll down this page to our post from Monday June 14 2004 and read the article titled Sunscreens Titanium Dioxide Zinc Oxide and Color Cosmetics controversial unnaturally engineered microscopic particles of various materials heavy metals in the reaction process This new trend allows for a speedier reaction and processing time because the use of heavy metal nanoparticles zinc chromite for example in the fluidized bed reactor provides dramatically more catalyst surface area for the reaction of oil feedstocks than do fixed bed reactors In the fluidized bed oleochemical reactors the hot oils are mixed with the heavy metal nanoparticles or engineered enzyme or para toluene sulfonic acid PTSA catalysts in a fluid moving slurry Other toxic strong acid reactive agents such as sulfuric acid or ethylene oxide or sodium methoxide may be added to the reactor then the combination of the catalyst reactive agent and feedstock oil under high temperature and pressure results in a potent reaction that splits cracks the molecules of the conventional vegetable oil splitting off the healthy and delicate oil fraction and changes it into a new synthetic substance that does not occur naturally in nature Many different types of oleochemicals can be created when different catalysts reactive agents and feedstocks are combined at various temperatures and pressure and processing times We now know that the surfactants fatty acids fatty alcohols trigylcerides and emulsifying waxes and beads are synthetic ingredients and not certified organic How healthy is a synthetic ingredient manufactured under such extreme industrial conditions Why do personal care product companies that claim to be natural and organic use such unnatural ingredients There are three very important reasons First these ingredients are common conventional and cheap Second they are fractionated hydrogenated synthetics so their shelf life is essentially indefinite Third no one is policing organic or natural or synthetic free label claims so using the word organic or natural on conventional product labels and advertising is a strategic ploy that provides an excellent opportunity to exploit the consumer s trust in the organic certification process and the word organic and guarantees manufacturers greatly increased profits This makes the use of oleochemicals a particularly profitable idea for companies that manufacture in very large quantities or manufacture overseas and use ocean transport to ship goods via long ocean voyages with stops in multiple ports to warehouse distribution centers around the world As a cost cutting measure to increase profits many personal care products are now made in foreign and third world countries where labor and materials are cheaper In addition a company s cost savings are greater if they aren t required to comply with costly industrial manufacturing environmental safeguards and regulations and conveniently environmental regulations for polluting oleochemical industrial factories in the foreign third world countries are very weak if they even exist at all Currently the personal care marketplace is flooded with lower quality mass produced non certified organic and all natural personal care products that are shipped from third world countries across the oceans in non temperature controlled metal containers where they are exposed to widely varying temperature extremes for a multi month voyage to the US At the port of entry products may be held in unheated and humid warehouses for 30 90 days awaiting customs clearance and then are shipped in tractor trailers without air conditioning or heating across the country to regional non temperature controlled warehouses where the products may sit for months to a year or more before they even reach the local retailer s store Transport and storage conditions like this subject products to very extreme temperatures and long delays Personal care products that are not certified organic are obviously made from significantly cheaper and lower quality raw materials and have usually undergone extreme handling conditions Thus conventional personal care product manufacturers have a need to use synthetic waxes and oils and add strong toxic preservatives to stabilize their products until they can be sold for a profit Many people would be surprised to learn that their all natural and organic personal care products are not really organic and not fresh at all in fact the all natural and organic products that they buy may be two to three years old or even older It is unfortunate that the vast majority of personal care product ingredients are synthetic and their manufacturing processes so harsh and complex It s unfortunate also that few consumers have the technical background to be able to identify chemical ingredients used in personal care products or the time to study the complicated industrial manufacturing methods and origins of the chemicals that are used to manufacture their organic shampoos conditioners lotions soaps and color cosmetics To further complicate the situation an unfortunate and misguided FDA soap labeling regulation confuses consumers even further The FDA soap labeling ruling permits manufacturers of synthetic detergents to call their chemical products soap in competition with traditionally made and truly environmentally friendly castile soaps As if this identification issue isn t problematic enough the FDA has no requirement for bar soaps or household cleaning products to list nanoparticle Oleochemical manufacturers seeking to increase profits are abandoning the older fixed bed reactors in favor of new technology fluidized bed reactors Fluidized bed reactors frequently use There are many different industrial processing methods for manufacturing oleochemicals yet some of the processes used to make surfactants and fatty acids and emulsifying waxes are similar in many ways These conventional oleochemicals require the use of a multi million dollar industrial processing unit called a �reactor � and vegetable oil feedstocks conventional third world grown Many folks associate the word reactor with a nuclear reactor which is designed to split atoms Indeed oleochemical reactors are very similar in that they also utilize extreme heat and pressure to split molecules A typical reactor utilizes extreme pressure up to 1800 p s i and heats the oil to temperatures in excess of one thousand degrees and often much higher for up to 24 hours thus requiring substantial inputs of coal and oil fossil fuels It may surprise one to learn that this temperature and pressure range is nearly identical to the conditions found in the core of a nuclear reactor Environmentally conscious individuals will be disturbed to learn that the detergent industry s large consumption of coal as a primary heat source for their reactive processes is one of the top sources of mercury contamination of our environment For example many folks avoid hydrogenated fats because they understand that hydrogenated fats contain trans fats and are unhealthy because they are understood to cause free radical formation and prostaglandin inhibition Hydrogenated fats are not permitted in certified organic products because they are industrially created and chemically reacted in environmentally unfriendly processes that render oils into unhealthy synthetic waxy materials Another concern is that hydrogenated fats fatty acids and emulsifying waxes or surfactants may have petrochemical synthetic enzyme or metal catalyst residues in the final product Most people would be surprised to learn that the ingredients vegetable emulsifying wax a k a soy wax coconut fatty acids cetyl alcohol and jojoba butter beads that are frequently used in all natural and even organic personal care products are hydrogenated synthetically reacted materials These hydrogenated fats are synthetic waxy substances with consistencies ranging from soft and creamy to a firm wax Most of the oleochemical emollient fatty acids used in personal care products are virtually indistinguishable from ordinary shortening Manufacturers love these synthetic fatty acids because they have a long shelf life and they have a distinctive waxy not oily feel Also as they are synthetic the oleochemical emollient substances offer consistency in viscosity and texture unlike truly natural botanicals that have wide variations in color smell viscosity and texture due to rainfall soil conditions harvest time etc Though there may be residues of the nano metal catalyst or synthetic engineered enzyme or petrochemical residues in the final product there are few nanotoxicology studies that have examined the effects of nanomaterials in organisms and environments Frighteningly the minimal nano research done so far raises strong concerns about the safety of nanomaterials Leading environmental scientists are now speaking out about the potential for widespread toxic effects of engineered nanoparticles on humans wildlife and our environment Take a look at this interesting visual that depicts the scale of nanoparticles Courtesy of the US EPA web site To learn more about nanoparticles how they are used in personal care products their harmful effects and why you should avoid them scroll down this page to our post from Monday June 14 2004 and read the article titled Sunscreens Titanium Dioxide Zinc Oxide and Color Cosmetics controversial unnaturally engineered microscopic particles of various materials heavy metals in the reaction process This new trend allows for a speedier reaction and processing time because the use of heavy metal nanoparticles zinc chromite for example in the fluidized bed reactor provides dramatically more catalyst surface area for the reaction of oil feedstocks than do fixed bed reactors In the fluidized bed oleochemical reactors the hot oils are mixed with the heavy metal nanoparticles or engineered enzyme or para toluene sulfonic acid PTSA catalysts in a fluid moving slurry Other toxic strong acid reactive agents such as sulfuric acid or ethylene oxide or sodium methoxide may be added to the reactor then the combination of the catalyst reactive agent and feedstock oil under high temperature and pressure results in a potent reaction that splits cracks the molecules of the conventional vegetable oil splitting off the healthy and delicate oil fraction and changes it into a new synthetic substance that does not occur naturally in nature Many different types of oleochemicals can be created when different catalysts reactive agents and feedstocks are combined at various temperatures and pressure and processing times We now know that the surfactants fatty acids fatty alcohols trigylcerides and emulsifying waxes and beads are synthetic ingredients and not certified organic How healthy is a synthetic ingredient manufactured under such extreme industrial conditions Why do personal care product companies that claim to be natural and organic use such unnatural ingredients There are three very important reasons First these ingredients are common conventional and cheap Second they are fractionated hydrogenated synthetics so their shelf life is essentially indefinite Third no one is policing organic or natural or synthetic free label claims so using the word organic or natural on conventional product labels and advertising is a strategic ploy that provides an excellent opportunity to exploit the consumer s trust in the organic certification process and the word organic and guarantees manufacturers greatly increased profits This makes the use of oleochemicals a particularly profitable idea for companies that manufacture in very large quantities or manufacture overseas and use ocean transport to ship goods via long ocean voyages with stops in multiple ports to warehouse distribution centers around the world As a cost cutting measure to increase profits many personal care products are now made in foreign and third world countries where labor and materials are cheaper In addition a company s cost savings are greater if they aren t required to comply with costly industrial manufacturing environmental safeguards and regulations and conveniently environmental regulations for polluting oleochemical industrial factories in the foreign third world countries are very weak if they even exist at all Currently the personal care marketplace is flooded with lower quality mass produced non certified organic and all natural personal care products that are shipped from third world countries across the oceans in non temperature controlled metal containers where they are exposed to widely varying temperature extremes for a multi month voyage to the US At the port of entry products may be held in unheated and humid warehouses for 30 90 days awaiting customs clearance and then are shipped in tractor trailers without air conditioning or heating across the country to regional non temperature controlled warehouses where the products may sit for months to a year or more before they even reach the local retailer s store Transport and storage conditions like this subject products to very extreme temperatures and long delays Personal care products that are not certified organic are obviously made from significantly cheaper and lower quality raw materials and have usually undergone extreme handling conditions Thus conventional personal care product manufacturers have a need to use synthetic waxes and oils and add strong toxic preservatives to stabilize their products until they can be sold for a profit Many people would be surprised to learn that their all natural and organic personal care products are not really organic and not fresh at all in fact the all natural and organic products that they buy may be two to three years old or even older It is unfortunate that the vast majority of personal care product ingredients are synthetic and their manufacturing processes so harsh and complex It s unfortunate also that few consumers have the technical background to be able to identify chemical ingredients used in personal care products or the time to study the complicated industrial manufacturing methods and origins of the chemicals that are used to manufacture their organic shampoos conditioners lotions soaps and color cosmetics To further complicate the situation an unfortunate and misguided FDA soap labeling regulation confuses consumers even further The FDA soap labeling ruling permits manufacturers of synthetic detergents to call their chemical products soap in competition with traditionally made and truly environmentally friendly castile soaps As if this identification issue isn t problematic enough the FDA has no requirement for bar soaps or household cleaning products to list nanoparticle Oleochemical manufacturers seeking to increase profits are abandoning the older fixed bed reactors in favor of new technology fluidized bed reactors Fluidized bed reactors frequently use There are many different industrial processing methods for manufacturing oleochemicals yet some of the processes used to make surfactants and fatty acids and emulsifying waxes are similar in many ways These conventional oleochemicals require the use of a multi million dollar industrial processing unit called a �reactor � and vegetable oil feedstocks conventional third world grown Many folks associate the word reactor with a nuclear reactor which is designed to split atoms Indeed oleochemical reactors are very similar in that they also utilize extreme heat and pressure to split molecules A typical reactor utilizes extreme pressure up to 1800 p s i and heats the oil to temperatures in excess of one thousand degrees and often much higher for up to 24 hours thus requiring substantial inputs of coal and oil fossil fuels It may surprise one to learn that this temperature and pressure range is nearly identical to the conditions found in the core of a nuclear reactor Environmentally conscious individuals will be disturbed to learn that the detergent industry s large consumption of coal as a primary heat source for their reactive processes is one of the top sources of mercury contamination of our environment For example many folks avoid hydrogenated fats because they understand that hydrogenated fats contain trans fats and are unhealthy because they are understood to cause free radical formation and prostaglandin inhibition Hydrogenated fats are not permitted in certified organic products because they are industrially created and chemically reacted in environmentally unfriendly processes that render oils into unhealthy synthetic waxy materials Another concern is that hydrogenated fats fatty acids and emulsifying waxes or surfactants may have petrochemical synthetic enzyme or metal catalyst residues in the final product Most people would be surprised to learn that the ingredients vegetable emulsifying wax a k a soy wax coconut fatty acids cetyl alcohol and jojoba butter beads that are frequently used in all natural and even organic personal care products are hydrogenated synthetically reacted materials These hydrogenated fats are synthetic waxy substances with consistencies ranging from soft and creamy to a firm wax Most of the oleochemical emollient fatty acids used in personal care products are virtually indistinguishable from ordinary shortening Manufacturers love these synthetic fatty acids because they have a long shelf life and they have a distinctive waxy not oily feel Also as they are synthetic the oleochemical emollient substances offer consistency in viscosity and texture unlike truly natural botanicals that have wide variations in color smell viscosity and texture due to rainfall soil conditions harvest time etc

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