What is Methylisothiazolinone and why is it bad for me?

Today we are talking about a rampant toxic preservative used in a lot of "natural" and conventional products. It is called methylisothiazolinone or MCI or MI. It is disheartening to feel like you are detoxing your house just to find out that your new "healthy" items are actually still toxic. We made a lot of what we thought were healthy swaps just to find out that they weren't so healthy.

So what is MI? According to the Crunchi blacklist, it is "A preservative mixture commonly used in cosmetic products, household cleaning products, and industrial applications. Due to its extensive use, the number of allergic reaction cases caused by MCI/MI or MI alone has been increasing. MI was the American Contact Dermatitis Society Contact Allergen of the Year for 2013. In addition, studies show that prolonged exposure to low levels of MI may have damaging consequences to the developing nervous system." Testing showed that "prolonged" meant TEN MINUTES. Furthermore, EWG lists the top 5 products with MI as shampoo, conditioner, sunscreen, body wash/cleanser, and hand soap. It is a known human immune toxicant or allergen, a skin irritant, biocide, and demonstrates neurotoxicity. Very scary. It is banned in many countries, just not the United States. Ugh.

The first step to avoiding it is to look for its name. Get familiar with this crazy long name, that way as soon as you spot it you can put it back on the shelf. Another way to avoid it is to become familiar with the companies that do/do not use it. Our image above lists some common "green" brands that use it. It is also safe to assume that conventional brands use it as well. Think Bath & Body Works, Herbal Essenses, etc. 

So what IS safe? Well, it depends on what you want to use. But on our resources page we have shampoos, dish soaps, and more listed that are free of MI. If you are unsure, check a company's website. Sometimes they use tricky or vague wording (i.e. natural preservatives, plant-derived ingredients, etc) on their labels to hide the fact that they use it. Mrs. Meyers is a culprit of this very thing. Glade Essential Spray does not list MI on its bottle label but does list it online. For hand soap we use Branch Basics, shampoo/conditioner/hair gel we use Carina Organics, body wash from Crunchi, dish soap we use Better Life, and since it is dead winter we are not in the sunscreen-using business right now... Anyway, that about wraps up the top 5 from the EWG list. Next time you go to purchase a new household product, especially a top 5 offender, check for MI.

Here is to moving on,

B&R