Dr Samuel Epstein

Who Was Dr Samuel Epstein?

Dr Samuel S. Epstein was a physician and Professor Emeritus of Environmental and Occupational Medicine at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and Chairman of the Cancer Prevention Coalition. Over his career, he published more than 270 scientific articles and 20 books on avoidable causes of cancer, including the prize-winning 1978 book The Politics of Cancer. His work earned him the Right Livelihood Award (often called the “Alternative Nobel Prize”) in 1998, and the Albert Schweitzer Golden Grand Medal in 2005 for his contribution to cancer prevention.

In 2001, Dr Epstein published Unreasonable Risk: How to Avoid Cancer from Cosmetics and Personal Care Products – a book that laid out, in plain language, how to identify carcinogens and toxic ingredients hiding on personal care labels, and how to shop for genuinely safer alternatives outside the mainstream cosmetic industry.

This isn’t a coincidental connection to the Mower Mission – Dr Epstein’s research specifically examined the safety of formulations from Neways, Tom Mower Sr’s company at the time. That independent scrutiny reinforced the direction Tom Mower had already committed to: reformulating products to remove potentially harmful ingredients, regardless of whether the law required it. Read the full Mower Mission story, or meet the family behind it.

Here’s the gap Dr Epstein’s research pointed to: cigarettes carry a legal cancer warning. Personal care products, despite sometimes containing ingredients with genuine carcinogenic or hormone-disrupting potential, carry none. His research made the case that this risk isn’t inevitable – it’s avoidable, simply by knowing what to look for and choosing better.

What the Research Identified

Dr Epstein’s research, along with related books including Toxic Beauty and The Safe Shopper’s Bible, consistently pointed to the same handful of ingredient categories showing up again and again in everyday shampoos, lotions, deodorants, and cosmetics.

1. Formaldehyde-Releasing Preservatives

DMDM hydantoin, quaternium-15, imidazolidinyl urea, diazolidinyl urea

These preservatives work by slowly releasing small amounts of formaldehyde to keep a product shelf-stable. Formaldehyde is a recognised carcinogen, and repeated low-level exposure through daily product use was a central concern in Dr Epstein’s research.

2. DEA and TEA (Diethanolamine / Triethanolamine)

Common foaming and thickening agents in shampoo, soap, and body wash

The concern here is a hidden chemical reaction: DEA and TEA can react with nitrite preservatives within a formula to form nitrosamines, a class of compounds with well-documented carcinogenic potential – a reaction most consumers never think to ask about.

3. Parabens

Methylparaben, propylparaben, butylparaben, ethylparaben

Used as preservatives across shampoos, lotions, and makeup. Flagged for both potential carcinogenicity and their capacity to mimic oestrogen in the body, raising hormone-disruption concerns.

4. Ethoxylated Ingredients & PEG Compounds

Laureth-4, laureth-7, and other polyethylene glycol (PEG) compounds

The manufacturing process for these ingredients can leave behind 1,4-dioxane as a contaminant – a probable human carcinogen. Because it’s a by-product rather than an added ingredient, it never appears on the label.

5. Synthetic Fragrance & Coal-Tar-Derived Dyes

Listed simply as “fragrance” or as FD&C colour codes

“Fragrance” is a legal catch-all that can hide dozens of undisclosed chemicals under a single word. Coal-tar-derived colour dyes were separately flagged for carcinogenic contamination risk.

6. Talc

Found in powders, some cosmetics, and body products

Raised due to the risk of contamination with asbestiform fibres, depending on the mining source and the lack of standardised purity testing across the industry.

7. Sodium Lauryl / Laureth Sulfate (SLS / SLES)

Foaming agents in shampoo, body wash, and toothpaste

Flagged for irritant potential, and in the case of SLES, for carrying the same ethoxylation-related 1,4-dioxane contamination risk as PEG compounds.

Why This Shapes Every Sisel Formula

Cosmetics and personal care products face far lighter regulatory scrutiny than food or pharmaceuticals. Dr Epstein’s research made one thing clear: safer alternatives weren’t coming from within the mainstream industry – they had to be built by companies willing to walk away from these ingredient categories entirely, by choice, not by law.

Removing these seven ingredient categories was never a regulatory requirement for Sisel. It was, and remains, a deliberate decision – and it’s a core part of what the Sisel Safe standard actually means in practice, not just as a label.

Putting the Research in Context

• The scale of the issue: cancer strikes roughly 1 in 2 men and 1 in 3 women in their lifetime, and independent research points to everyday, avoidable exposures as part of that picture.
• The regulatory gap: cosmetics and personal care products carry no cancer warning label, unlike cigarettes, despite ingredients with documented carcinogenic or hormone-disrupting potential.
• The empowering message: this exposure is avoidable. Reading labels and choosing reformulated alternatives is a decision anyone can make today.
• Sisel’s answer: every Sisel product is formulated specifically to exclude the seven ingredient categories outlined above.

Reference: Epstein, S.S. (2001). Unreasonable Risk: How to Avoid Cancer from Cosmetics and Personal Care Products. Environmental Toxicology.

* This page discusses independent research into ingredient categories commonly found in personal care products, and the regulatory context behind Sisel’s decision to exclude them. No claims on this website have been evaluated by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) or the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and Sisel products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Individual results may vary. Please consult your healthcare professional before starting any supplement or nutrition program. Btoxicfree is an independent Sisel International distributor website.