years ago
a friend of mine told me
his mother read about
DEA
a carcinogen
found in most shampoos
most shampoos
that claim to be
natural
biological
and i remember
i used revlon’s
outrageous
for years
made my hair
super shiny
and soft
i had no idea
if it was natural
no idea
if it used
carcinogens
and i found out
in canada
companies
don’t have to list
all the ingredients
on all things
like shampoo
it was up to me
to inquire
so i called
the 1-800 number
and in those days
you still reached
a real human being
on the other end
of the line
and promptly
i found out
that no
outrageous did not have
DEA
the dreaded carcinogen
in it
i was happy
and relieved
not so much
because i didn’t have
to change shampoos
but to learn
that for years
i could have possibly
been rubbing
a carcinogen
into my scalp
and letting it
ooze
into my brain and
inners
slowly infecting
my whole body
but then
quickly after
realizing that no
this was not the case
and to my knowledge
thus far
my scalp
was mainly
carcinogen-free
there was a lot
of discussion
over sodium
laureth sulphate (SLS)
as well
but the revlon
consultant
assured me
that SLS
was not
carcinogenic
and without it
shampoo would
simply
not have
lather
for SLS
is the lather
component
just as
pseudoeffendrin or
pseudoepinephrine
is the decongestant
component
in cold medications
despite
effedrin
being banned in canada
as it’s really just
synthetic speed
epinephrine
being the body’s
natural adrenalin
anyway
DEA was bad
SLS was fine
but what is with
shampoos
and natural claims
i can’t barely
pronounce
nearly all of the
ingredients
i mean
usually water is #1
and the ever-present
sodium laureth sulphate #2
there is glycerin
citric acid?
sodium chloride (salt)?
and ‘fragrance’
-as a blanket category?-
outside of these few
you find
multi-syllabic words
abbreviations, numbers:
cocamidopropyl betaine
cocamide MEA
cocamidopropyl
hydroxysultaine
divinyldimethicone
polyquaternium-7
disodium EDTA
EDTA
is the same preservative
used in foods
like canned chick peas
and ichiban
you find
poly- this and methyl-that
hydroxy- this and coca- that
C12-16 Pareth-9
in english please?
is this in code?
i’m not clear as to
why we use
preservatives, salt
and heaps of chemicals
to clean our hair
that’s dead already
isn’t that right?
and to caress our
scalps with
to sink into our cranial pores
add a little silk and wheyproteins
and you’ve got yourself
a ‘healthy’ shampoo
one that works for you
whatever your pleasure
moisturized
shiny
big
smooth
perhaps it’s worth
a few moments’
research
Stunted Mind. Volume 3, Issue 1. © Stunted Mind Productions Ltd.
Thank you, from your Sidestep Mindwarp Service Provider: senorita_shanty@hotmail.com
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