Ingredients In Hair Products: What To Avoid
As hairstylists, usually we would recommend that our clients use a colour safe and/or professional shampoo and conditioner. Those were always the key words we gave our clients to look for on a bottle. Nowadays, there are so many companies out there using cheap ingredients to profit. Sometimes brands will even market their products as “colour safe” yet include sulfates and other contradicting ingredients in their product. After doing my research, I truly believe Eufora is the best hair product line out there. It is designed with the consumer’s overall health in mind. It’s imperative that we start educating people on what ingredients they should be avoiding in hair care products to preserve their colour and integrity of their hair/ skin! Here are some ingredients that are total no-no’s:
Alcohol– Alcohols can be tricky because there are good alcohols (fatty alcohols) that can be beneficial to the skin and hair. Alcohols to avoid are: methanol, isopropyl alcohol, propanol and benzyl alcohol. These are all drying on the hair and skin and will irritate.
Artificial Fragrance– Artificial fragrances ca be carcinogenic and extremely toxic. I love Eufora products because all of the scents come from essential oils.
Sulfates– Sulfates are a cheap foaming agent used in cleansing products. There are some sulfates like sodium methyl cocoyltaurate which are naturally derived from plants such as coconuts which are safe for the hair. Sodium laurel sulfate (SLS), ammonium laurel sulfate, sulfuric acid and aquarex methyl are all sulfates you need to avoid. These sulfates are found in engine degreasers and are extremely harsh, resulting in it stripping out all of the natural oils and hair colour from your hair.
Parabens– Parabens are an inexpensive form of preservative. Parabens are dangerous in any hair or skin product because they have the ability to mimic estrogen and can cause breast cancer.
Silicones– Silicones can play with your mind a little bit. They leave a smooth layer on top of the hair shaft to make you feel as if your hair is soft and healthy. Your hair will have a “slippery when wet” feeling and can start to feel slimey after prolonged use. Over time, silicones leave a build up that will make your hair limp, dull and lifeless because the build up prevents moisture from getting into the hair shaft. Build up can also affect your hair colour over time and sometimes, can react terribly with lightener. Pantene is notorious for it’s use of silicones! You may see silicones sneakily disguised under the names of dimethicone and dimethiconol in the ingredients.
Hopefully this helps you to identify those nasty, sneaky ingredients in your hair products. Remeber to take good care of your lovely manes. ♥
Images courtesy of pinterest.com
