One More Reason To Throw Your Soap And Shampoo Away. Citral Is Vit A Antagonist

[methylenewhite]

https://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/canres/48/24_Part_1/7038.full.pdf

Citral is a GRAS2 status food and drug ingredient in widespread
use as an additive to cosmetics and toiletries, and as a lemon
flavor in foods. Citral is a simple, partially saturated, analogue of retinal, which may explain its ability to inhibit both steps in
retinoic acid synthesis from retinol, since as an aldehyde it can
act as a substrate for both the alcohol- and aldehyde-dehydro-
genases involved.
The ability of citral to inhibit retinol oxidation provides an
experimental tool for testing the paradigm that retinoic acid is
an obligatory intermediate in at least some aspects of vitamin
A activity in the epithelia in vivo. Citral was proposed as a
vitamin A antagonist in 1956 (7). Aydelotte (8, 9) studied the
interaction of citral and retinol in whole organ cultures of chick
epithelial tissues and concluded that citral had a competitive
effect on vitamin A activity. Crocker and Sanders (10) observed
that citral increased the degree of squamous metaplasia induced
by benzo(a)pyrene in hamster trachea grown as expiants, pos
sibly through an effect on vitamin A. Preliminary evidence thus
suggests that citral can antagonize vitamin A activity in epithe
lial tissues.

 

[ecstatichamster]

Thank you. Good find. How common is citral in products?

 

[methylenewhite]

Could be listed as geranial, citral, lemonal or just aroma. "Aroma" could mean whatever mix of harsh chemicals. I hate this way they list things saying nothing. I believe it should be mandatory to list every ingredient not just abstract "aroma".

I found it in my deodorant.

 

[Amazoniac]

Why would you discard curative products?

If they is supposed to stay on skin, the acceptable formulation concentration limit is usually lower than when they's meant to be washed off immediately, can be (for example) 10x less. There are regulations that demand the company to state on the label when these limits are exceed'd, so it's usually avoided.

I don't know how much it is for citral, but if such limit is 0.1% and an average spray is considered to yield 0.1 ml, that could be 100 mcg of this toxin; and you know that ingredients are listed in decreasing order of concentration.
Soaps and shampoos last a good while, a serving should be small without enough time to act (provided that there are no residues left).

- High pressure processing of Australian navel orange juices: Sensory analysis and volatile flavor profiling

Spoiler

But there are reported cases of irritation from this junk, so I know it's real. I would be concerned the most about those that remain on skin.

 

[victormgc]

I'd love to stop using shampoo, but the oiliness is a pain in the ****.

 

[Regina]

I'd love to stop using shampoo, but the oiliness is a pain in the ****.

I use this stuff.
It is expensive but I use very little. Hair doesn't really dry out or get as oily between washes. So I just use some maybe 3 times a wk and otherwise nothing.
New Wash Product

 

[Grapelander]

I have been showering with just baking soda - just pour some into my hand and mix with water. Even cleans scalp/hair.
Before I get in I use coconut oil anywhere I have dry skin.
Are there any issues with castile soap - it seems like that would be OK?

This interview talks about common toxins:
Slow Death by Rubber Duck: The Secret Danger of Everyday Things

 

[LeeLemonoil]

It’s a common substance in many food plants and herbs, humans and animals eat it all the time and since millenia. It has its physiological role I’m sure. It has also useful actions.

Least we forget the classic 'psychedelic' (or 'psychtropic') serotonin receptor site - 5-HT2A (a target of most common psychedelics) - and also the common terpene Citral. Other useful 'cool' systems activated/modulated also... like the 'TRP' family... but the winner must be stimulation of BDNF aka brain neurogenesis. (btw, this implies most 'HT2A psychedelics' also promote neurogenesis.)

Finally, the anti-nociceptive action of citral was found to involve significant activation of the 5-HT2A serotonin receptor. The effect of citral was accompanied by a gastro-protective effect against NSAID-induced ulcers.
Together, these results show the potential of citral as a new drug for the treatment of pain.

Citral...present in the essential oils of several medicinal plants.
The aim of this work was to evaluate the effects of orally administered citral in experimental models of acute and chronic nociception, inflammation, and gastric ulcers caused by non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).
...
Oral treatment with citral significantly inhibited the neurogenic and inflammatory pain responses induced by intra-plantar injection of formalin.
Citral also had prophylactic and therapeutic anti-nociceptive effects against mechanical hyperalgesia in plantar incision surgery, chronic regional pain syndrome, and partial ligation of sciatic nerve models, without producing any significant motor dysfunction.
In addition, citral markedly attenuated the pain response induced by intra-plantar injection of glutamate and
-
Citral, a bioactive component of lemongrass, is commonly used as a taste enhancer, as an odorant in perfumes, and as an insect repellent. Here we report that citral activates TRP channels found in sensory neurons (TRPV1 and TRPV3, TRPM8, and TRPA1), and produces long-lasting inhibition of TRPV1–3 and TRPM8, while transiently blocking TRPV4 and TRPA1.
...
The 'directly related molecules' (neral, nerol, geranial, and geraniol) each reproduce citral's actions.

 

[Rafael Lao Wai]

I use Johnson & Johnson's baby shampoo. It doesn't even have that much crap in it, and I don't seem to have an allergy to it, which isn't the case regarding these fancy shampoos that are advertised on TV. My hair feels way too oily if I don't use shampoo. Sodium bicarbonate for hair doesn't cut it in my case.

For deodorant purposes though, sodium bicarbonate( USP, or at least P.A.) does a great job for me.

 

[nwo2012]

I use Johnson & Johnson's baby shampoo. It doesn't even have that much crap in it, and I don't seem to have an allergy to it, which isn't the case regarding these fancy shampoos that are advertised on TV. My hair feels way too oily if I don't use shampoo. Sodium bicarbonate for hair doesn't cut it in my case.

For deodorant purposes though, sodium bicarbonate( USP, or at least P.A.) does a great job for me.

Youre joking right?
Trusting a company thats been busted more than once for having carcinogens in their products is as dumb as it gets.

 

[Rafael Lao Wai]

Youre joking right?
Trusting a company thats been busted more than once for having carcinogens in their products is as dumb as it gets.

Thanks!

There is carcinogens in the water supply too, as well as in the air. Living in the city is already much worse than simply using something carcinogenic that you'll wash off in a minute or two. Also, it's still the only shampoo that doesn't give allergy. Means something. So that's that.

 

[Max23]

Any thoughts about Head & Shoulders shampoo. Been using it for years because it makes dandruff go away?

 

[burtlancast]

Great catch.

I've stopped using shampoos a decade ago already. Soap is a bit messy for washing hair, but at least it's safe.

 

[LeeLemonoil]

Guys. Citral is not bad.

 

[paymanz]

it only irritates skin but its ok if you eat this?! i ask it because it founds in orange and citrus fruits.

 

[lvysaur]

I'm of the opinion that people wash their hands too much in general. They think grass is dirty, raw meat is dirty, etc.

The only thing that is truly dirty is spoiled food, because it has a high bacterial load. The mere presence of bacteria is not important.

Naturally this also means that high-traffic areas will tend to be dirtier, since they are frequented by people who may have bad bacterial health, or who may not wash their hands after going to the bathroom.

 

[thomas00]

some beats and rhymes are dirty

 

[Jsaute21]

Kirk's Coco Castile Original Bar Soap - 3pk

 

[kaybb]

Youre joking right?
Trusting a company thats been busted more than once for having carcinogens in their products is as dumb as it gets.

Johnson’s and Johnson Baby shampoo is rare 4.
Scale 1 best 10 worst, on EWG’s skin deep website.

 

[Rafael Lao Wai]

Johnson’s and Johnson Baby shampoo is rare 4.
Scale 1 best 10 worst, on EWG’s skin deep website.

Heh, not terrible ranking. Thanks for the site.

He's talking as if Johnson and Johnson's is the only company that puts crap in their products. Just because other companies weren't busted, it doesn't mean their product is safe. Not that I'm defending this particular brand of shampoo, I'm surely not gonna use it forever, and I'm looking for better alternatives, but using it for a little while to keep the oiliness away helps for now.