Are the Lubricating Strips on Razors Toxic?

I always talk to my patients about toxins in our environment and how to avoid them. In addition to being a chiropractor, I am a former science teacher and have a masters degree in Environmental Studies, with an emphasis on Environmental Health.

There are 85,000 chemicals used in US manufacturing and only about 10 - 15% have ever been tested to any significant extent on any animals. The average American has over 10 pounds of toxins enter their bodies every year. We swallow toxic chemicals, breath them in and have them absorbed through our skin. Despite our advances in science, we really don’t have a clue as to how they all react with each other inside of the human body.

While I was shaving the other day, I started to think about may razor and the lubricating strip on it. I go to a lot of seminars on health and read a lot about toxins and I never heard a word about these strips, so I decided to do a little research on my own.

Lubricating strips are found today on most razors, but what impact may they have on our health?

Lubricating strips are made up of a plastic matrix with a lubricating chemical. One common lubricating chemical is polyethylene oxide.

The patent for this type of lubricating strip was only approved less than 10 years ago to Eveready Battery Corporation! How a battery company came about acquiring this patent, I have no idea.

The manufacturers are selling these razors under the premise that these strips are basically not toxic.

But the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS)on polyethylene oxide have several warnings:

1. After contact with skin, wash immediately with plenty of water.
2. Not for use in Food, Drugs or Cosmetics.
3. May cause skin irritation
4. May be harmful if absorbed through the skin.

Please Consider:

1. We haven’t been using these razors for too many years.
2. I am not aware of ANY long term studies on the safety of lubricating strips.
3. There are warnings about the safety of polyethylene oxide on the MSDS.
4. Micro-abrasions occur when shaving, which provides an ideal entry for polyethylene oxide, or any other toxic chemicals, directly into the bloodstream.

After discovering this, I am opting to shave without the aid of lubricating strips. In my opinion, it is better to err on the side of caution. After all, when I was a child I still remember going into a shoe store and checking out the fit of my shoes with a x-ray fluoroscopy unit! To us today, that sounds crazy. 50 years from now, people might be wondering what we were thinking, shaving with lubricating strips!

We also have no idea of how these lubricating strips may be contributing to the wave of cancer that is gripping our country today.

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