Whole Foods 365 Everyday Shower Gel, Fragrance Free...et tu WFM?

I've been using this shower gel for over a year. As far as price it was a really great deal.  And because it's a Whole Foods brand product I was confident that none of the ingredients would be harmful.

There's no fragrance, which is perfect for me and it makes a nice, moderate lather. Once I'm out of the shower and dried off my skin does feel a little tight but not too much. I decided to put it to the research test because I thought it was going to be a low risk product.

It felt so good to post a positive report on my last review, the Flax Seed Gel. Let's keep it up, right?

I repeat: I purchased this item at Whole Foods. It's a "365", their own formula. So it CAN'T have anything bad in it. Right?

er, ummm...well....  I plugged the ingredients into Skin Deep's database and the result was a disappointing 3. The lowest end of moderate risk. There's so much worse out there it's true.

Still, from everything I've ever read I believed Whole Foods does extensive research before they develop a product. They really seem like a responsible company.

So I went into this believing the gel would at least be in the low risk range (0-2),  if not a no risk "0"...

If you've read any of my previous posts you know I'm searching for products that are low risk (0-2), or ideally a zero (0) according to the Skin Deep database. My hopes aren't too outrageous. My sole purpose is I to put an end to the allergic- like symptoms that have been annoying me and to avoid creating any future problems for myself. Making sure I'm not contributing to polluting our beautiful planet is high on my list as well.

Paradise of Horror photo

My theory is that the problems I'm experiencing are from a cumulative effect. All the ingredients in the many products I use and am passively subjected to mix together. The dangerous monstrous mix they create- that's what makes my ears and eyes throb and water, and cause the debilitating headaches and the exhaustion and confusion that inevitably follows.

Identifying as many possible irritants and then avoiding them is a big part of my goal. If the annoying symptoms are not from a single irritant but from many I have to wonder about the part the specific ingredients in this product have played. Guess I'll see once it's no longer in the daily routine.  So disappointing though. 

So disappointing in fact that I just didn't want to believe it. I kept scouting around and found  a few other sites: the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, the Cancer Prevention Coalition , and AllergEAZE  to get a more information.  Long story short- they concurred with Skin Deep's concerns. The long story is available by clicking the links/ names of each of the other sites in this paragraph and/or skimming down to the end of the Skin Deep report at the bottom of this post.

As always- if you have concerns similar to mine please do your own research. Here is a good place to start. I've given you a few others in the body of this post and I'm sure there must be many other sources. I'd love to hear what you find or about your experiences.

The full review from Skin Deep is below.

...read more after the jump...