HAIR DYES... !!!

From the name it self it says it all !!!

Hair dyeing or hair coloring has become a common practice among all age groups, especially the teenagers during the last few decades. It is mostly used by the teenagers to change their hair color to a shade more fashionable or desirable. It is also used to return their hair color to its natural color after chemicals have discolored it. Whereas most middle aged people use this to return their graying hair to its original color. Whatever the case is, we must all be aware that the hair dye contains an enormous number of chemicals that may cause adverse effects to our hair as well as the whole body.

Some of the deadly ingredients that are contained in hair dyes include industrial solvents such as peroxide and ammonia. These are also used to make house cleaners. Some of the other chemicals that contribute to the effects are p-phenylenediamine, which forms hair dye on chemical reactions, 4-methoxy-m-phenylenediamine (4MMPD), a substance which can be contaminated with carcinogenic nitrosamines, and may also contain lead acetate.

Studies have shown that the use of long-lasting or temporary hair dyes have a significance associated with higher risk of non-Hodgkins lymphoma, multiple myeloma, leukemia, Hodgkins disease, and breast cancer. Research has also proven that children, whose mothers used hair dyes during pregnancy have the risk of bearing cancerten times higher.

Even though, it is evitable that hair dyeing highly contributes not only to the damage of hair, but to all the systems of the body, people still tend to be more concerned about their appearance. Think about this to yourselves, is your long lasting physical ‘beauty’ more important to you than your health? The choice is always yours to make.

Detergent: how it wins a war against Stains and Dirt

Detergent is a word commonly used to distinguish between soap and other surfactants used for cleaning. It contains a lot of chemicals, usually when they are dissolved in water becomes active and acts on the dirt. The detergents, especially the ones made for use with water is likely to contain the following components.

Surfactants: to emulsify the grease and to soak the surfaces.
Abrasive: for scouring.
pH buffers: to provide stability for the other ingredients specially when digesting organic compounds.
Water softeners: to overcome the effect of hardness ions.
Oxidants: for bleaching.
Enzymes: to breakdown proteins, fats and carbohydrates. It also contains other ingredients that assists the foaming properties, adjust the viscosity of the solution, affects the aesthetic properties of the item to be washed, inhibits the corrosion to the equipment and reduces harm caused to the user. In addition in order to make it last longer, preservatives are also included.

The three main types of detergents that are used are laundry detergents, cleavable detergents and dispersants. All these three types differ by the strength and counteract in different ways.

Laundry detergents classically consists of ionic and anionic surfactants that act to remove dirt from the clothes, perfume, phosphorous (which makes the clothes appear white) and anticaking agents to prevent the powder from forming clumps. Biological laundry detergents contain enzymes which catalyses the breaking down of stains from food molecules.

Cleavable detergents are special surfactants that are used in biochemistry and in proteomics. This is to augment protein denaturation and increase solubility. Some of the applications of these clearable detergents are protease digestion of proteins and also with trypsin. It is also used for mass spectrometry in sample preparations. For example sodium 3-(4-(1,1-bis(hexyloxy)ethyl)pyridinium-1-yl)propane-1-sulfonate (PPS) is an acetalic detergent which is split under acidic conditions into hexanol and 3-acetyl-1-(3-sulfopropyl)pyridinium.

Dispersants can either be a non-surface active polymer or a surface-active substance when added to suspension, (usually a colloid) improves the separation of particles and prevents them from clumping. Although dispersants normally consists of surfactants, it may also be gases.

CHEMICALS CONTAINED IN PRESERVATIVES

As we all know, there are special chemicals added to food, cosmetics, detergents and almost everything else available for us in the market today. These chemicals are added in order to keep them in good condition for long periods of time. These are referred to as preservatives and they, under certain conditions, delay the growth of microorganisms without destroying or affecting the quality of the product.

Chemical preservatives added to food helps to keep the food fresh by inhibiting the decay process. These preservatives can generally be divided in to three main types. They are antimicrobials, which inhibit the growth of bacteria, mould and yeast; antitoxidants that slow the air oxidation of fats and lipids and the third type of preservatives that inhibit the ripening of fruits and also block the enzyme activity in them after harvest. One such chemical is the sulferdioxide ans its related compounds called sulfites. According to Hassan Gourama, associate professor of food science at Pennsylvania State University, sulfites inhibit the microbial growth through a number of actions. Sulfites inhibit the degradation reactions in fruits and also keep raisins and other dried fruits from losing their light color.

Preservatives have been added to cosmetics, detergents and other household items during the last few decades. The main use of these chemicals is just the same as they are used in food production industry. They also prevent the growth of microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi. However, unlike the chemicals used in food substances, these preservatives are relatively stronger and may spoil the product and cause harm to the user. Preservatives used in cosmetics may include parabens, benzyl alcohol tetrasodium EDTA.

Much is said about preservatives being contained in products, where there is a lot of controversy about this matter. The most important thing about the use of preservatives is that it must be safe to use. It is also important for it to be in balance. Preservatives should be added that is just enough to control the microbial growth and not too much that it may cause allergies such as dermatitis and show other side effects. So, when purchasing ant product, we must ensure that the product is stable and safe to use without the growth of microorganisms, yet not over filled with preservatives.