![\"I](\"https:\/\/feelgoodstyle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/sodiumlaurylsulfate.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Like puberty and taxes, for many years I thought canker sores were just an unfortunate fact of life.\u00a0 I\u2019d be chewing on a handful of popcorn one day, and with a painful bite, I\u2019d chomp down onto an unexpected sore in my mouth.\u00a0 With a yelp and a cry, I\u2019d make a mental note to chew carefully until the spot in question had healed.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re one of the blessedly unfamiliar, canker sores (also known as aphthuous ulcers) are small sores or lesions in the mouth that can affect the tongue, gums, and inside of the lips. \u00a0Different from cold sores, once they pop up, canker sores can take anywhere from a couple of weeks to a month to heal.<\/p>\n
Then after years of drudging through painful canker sore encounters, a dentist recommended I use a toothpaste that was free of sodium lauryl sulfate<\/a> (also called SLS), because in some people it may cause canker sores.\u00a0 I had no idea that I could be suffering because of something so simple as my toothpaste!<\/p>\n Sodium Lauryl Sulfate is a surfactant that is added to things like toothpaste and soap to make them foam.\u00a0 I know that for many of us, it seems like a cleaning product is working better if there is some foam involved.\u00a0 However, according to a study from Norway<\/a> it can also cause irritation in people who are sensitive to it.<\/p>\n After I realized that I was sensitive to sodium lauryl sulfate, it made sense to avoid it in other body products as well.\u00a0 I\u2019d noticed that I was prone to breaking out along the hairline where shampoo touched my face, and I wondered if that could be the culprit there as well.<\/p>\n Sure enough, the shampoo I was using at the time also contained SLS.\u00a0 Off to the grocery store! \u00a0It definitely takes some label reading to find toothpastes, shampoos, and soaps that don\u2019t include it.\u00a0 I\u2019ve discovered that it\u2019s easier to find those products at natural food stores.<\/p>\n After I stopped using toothpaste with sodium lauryl sulfate about ten years ago, I\u2019ve never had another canker sore again and those hairline breakouts are a thing of the past as well.<\/p>\n Here are three products I use that are free from sodium lauryl sulfate:<\/strong><\/p>\n 1.\u00a0 Nature\u2019s Gate Cool Mint Natural Toothpaste<\/a><\/p>\n This fluoride free toothpaste is also free of sulfates, parabens, artificial colors, flavors, sweeteners, and animal byproducts.\u00a0 It leaves my mouth minty fresh and canker sore-free!<\/p>\n 2.\u00a0 Kiss My Face Big Body Shampoo<\/a><\/p>\n This shampoo is SLS, paraben & phthalate free.\u00a0 It also contains no artificial color, fragrance, or animal ingredients.\u00a0 This shampoo is perfect for my fine hair.\u00a0 It keeps it clean without weighing it down.<\/p>\n 3.\u00a0 100% Pure Cocoa Kona Hydrating Body Wash<\/a><\/p>\n This body wash is free of artificial fragrances, detergents, synthetic chemicals, and animal ingredients.\u00a0 Even without SLS, this soap has plenty of foam.<\/p>\n If you\u2019d prefer to go the DIY route, with just a few ingredients you can make your own sodium lauryl sulfate-free body products. \u00a0<\/strong>Try making your own homemade toothpaste<\/a>, homemade shampoo<\/a>, or embrace your hair’s natural oils and wash less often<\/a>!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Image Credit: Photo by Cadry Nelson<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Like puberty and taxes, for many years I thought canker sores were just an unfortunate fact of life.\u00a0 I\u2019d be chewing on a handful of popcorn one day, and with a painful bite, I\u2019d chomp down onto an unexpected sore in my mouth.\u00a0 With a yelp and a cry, I\u2019d make a mental note to […] More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":11378,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"apple_news_api_created_at":"2017-08-18T17:25:51Z","apple_news_api_id":"eff9a1f6-b49b-48e4-8e91-730f10907c97","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2017-08-18T17:25:52Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAD\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/w==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/A7_mh9rSbSOSOkXMPEJB8lw","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false},"categories":[15],"tags":[7828,7829,3299,7830,7831,16,4249,7832,4250],"apple_news_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/feelgoodstyle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/sodiumlaurylsulfate.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/feelgoodstyle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11377"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/feelgoodstyle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/feelgoodstyle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelgoodstyle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelgoodstyle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11377"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/feelgoodstyle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11377\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelgoodstyle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11378"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/feelgoodstyle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11377"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelgoodstyle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11377"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelgoodstyle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11377"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}