Have you noticed that your hands begin to dry as a result of allergic reactions of your skin to the laundry detergent you are using while washing your clothes? Well, that’s only some of the negative effects of detergent in your skin. According to studies, some of the skin problems that we have due to our use of this laundry detergent is brought by the chemicals and various ingredients that affects our skin cells primarily. So, to know more about the negative effects of these detergents in your skin, here are some of it that can actually damage your skin and worsen your skin condition:
- The chemical content of the laundry detergent and fabric softeners causes allergic reactions like itching, irritation and inflammation on your skin. Even though detergents are very much helpful in removing the dirt and stain on your clothes, still, it has drawbacks on your skin. As the chemicals changes its pH levels in your skin, it inevitably causes skin irritation and inflammation. Thus, fabric softeners are especially designed to coat fabrics, which contain certain chemicals that cause it to feel softer in washing clothes but are actually irritating the skin.
- Both fabric softeners and laundry detergents can cause discomfort to people who are using it. Although one may not experience any kind of allergic reactions during his or her first wash, as they continue to use that certain laundry detergent product on a daily basis, all the chemicals found in detergents can build up and stay in the clothes over time up to the point that those chemicals accumulate already together, which causes a person’s skin condition to agitate and steadily worsen.
- Oxidizers that are found in almost all of the laundry detergents and fabric softener damages the skin cells that make it dry.
Safety Precautions & Skin Solutions
For you to avoid any skin problem and allergic reactions brought about by those laundry detergents, always choose the detergent with no major chemicals that damages the skin. Soap and laundry products which are scented can only increase skin irritation among people who are suffering from Eczema. Thus, to lessen effects of detergent to your skin, just use minimal amount of soap and fabric scented skipping fabric softeners altogether. Fabrics are made with dyes and chemicals that are gradually released onto your skin, so it is important for you to consider the size of the loads that you are washing daily. If you overload machines, then most probably, the detergent will not be dissolved properly, which allows the chemicals to build up on fabrics.
While you want to have cleaner clothes to wear, still, you must also consider if the detergent you are using is safe for your skin. Thus, it is important that when you are washing clothes by your hand, make sure that the laundry detergent or fabric softener is completely dissolved in the water before putting the fabric. You can even use gloves if you want. Thus, rinsing your hands well after washing can be the best way to lessen the amount of contact of the detergent to your skin that eliminates the occurrence of allergic reactions in the skin.