Super Eco

TEA laureth sulfate is a surfactant used to create suds in shampoos and other liquid soap products, including car washes, engine degreasers and floor cleaners: the triethanolamine salt of ethoxylated lauryl sulfate. While manufactures note that it is one of the more gentle anionic surfactants (anionic surfactants have a negatively-charged ion and are made with chlorine), upon occasion anionic surfactants have been contaminated with the carcinogenic nitrosamines, and according to the material safety data sheet on TEA laureth sulfate, the compound is "extremely irritating to body tissues and possibly corrosive to the eyes." Many consumers choose to avoid all sulfates due to a 1970 study in which 30% of cosmetics containing sulfates were found to contain nitrosamines; however, more modern studies appear not to support this danger.

As the scalp is a particularly acute area of absorption, chemicals in shampoos can enter the body more readily than in most other skin surfaces, and as TEA laureth sulfate and other sodium laurel sulfates (SLSs) are more absorbable when they react with other chemicals, preservatives and dyes commonly found in hair care products, any toxins relating to the compounds will end up in the user's body. When animals were tested by exposing them to SLSs, they experienced eye damage, along with depression, labored breathing, diarrhea, severe skin irritation, corrosion and death; but this study appears to have exposed animals in ways that humans would not be exposed by ordinary use. In addition, handling SLS in its solid form can cause it to particulize into the air, risking inhalation which can lead to choking.