Top 4 Ingredients To Look For In Your Shampoo
When I was about 12 I remember sneaking into the bathroom with red and blue food coloring. It was spirit week at school and I was going to dye half of my head red and half of my head blue. Well, needless to say I was caught and there marks the first time I had ever colored my hair. The red ended up rinsing out (typical red!). But the blue, well that eventually turned green after my mom went to the grocery store and bought “Prell” to try and get it out. Prell was a down and dirty clarifying shampoo. It might as well have been dawn dish soap. I can still remember running my fingers through my hair and it feeling like straw. Just from a shampoo!
I’ve been busy get my nerd on to share the details to keep your hair and skin the healthiest! These are the top 4 ingredients I found that are the most harmful to your hair and your health and I’m going to let you know that they are indeed ingredients found in that drugstore shampoo. You guys, some of this stuff is on the International Agency for Research on Cancer listed as a carcinogen! Yikes, read on friend..
1- Sodium Lauryl Sulfate - or SLS This is a synthetic surfactant (the cleansing agent in shampoos) while it's not necessarily harmful to your health, it wreaks havoc on your hair. SLS has been proven to be extremely drying on the hair and causes issues for those with eczema, psoriasis, or chemically processed hair. SLS is also frowned upon due to it being produced using palm oil which its cultivation leaves a devastating impact on the rain forests. This ingredient is attractive because it cleans very well (almost too well) and creates the rich lather we love to feel during the shampooing experience. It's also very inexpensive and is why it is seen in your common drugstore shampoos. Sister ingredients that are similar compounds to look for: Ammonium Laureth Sulfate (ALS) and Sodium Lauryl Ether Sulfate (SLES)
2- Cocamide DEA This is a surfactant made by chemically altering the composition of fatty acids in coconut oil with diethanolamine. The result is a viscous liquid used as a foaming agent and emulsifier. Study results have been mixed however the IARC lists Cocamide DEA as a group 2B carcinogen. I'll be straight with you - I'm not really sure what that means but it doesn't sound good! The reason I include that is because this is the information that got to me: 26 companies have agreed to pull this ingredient from their products includnig Colgate, Polmalive, Walgreens, Saks and Lush Cosmetics. In 2012 California identified this ingredient as cancer-causing substance and required manufactures to either remove it or put a warning label on their product. That was enough for me to not want this in my beauty products!
3- Dimethicone A type of silicone that is used in a ton of hair products and contributes to product build up that makes your hair feel greasy. It acts as a protective cover on the surface of the hair which stops moisture and nutrients from getting inside the hair and instead collects dirt and residue. It also can clog the follicle and prevent hair growth and cause skin irritation. Go look at your shampoo bottle, it probably has this on the list if your bottle was bought from Drug Mart.
4- Alcohols You'll find this in almost every shampoo regardless where you buy it. The difference in a salon brand shampoo and drug store shampoo is where you find it on the list and what type of alcohol it is. If the alcohol begins with an "S" or a "C" like Stearyl or Cetearyl it's not that bad of an alcohol. If you see a "prop" in the name, that's a bad one. That's going to be a very drying type of ingredient that you'll want to stay away from. Another tip is to look and see where the ingredient is on the list. If it's listed in the first three ingredients that's going to tell you that there's more of that than the next ingredient.
Now that you know the top 4 ingredients I think you should watch for why don't you go and see what's in your shower? Are some of these ingredients on the back? Are some of them on there but further down the list? Did the light bulb turn on and you can see what is causing your hair and/or scalp problems?
What do we do about it?
We do a Malibu Makeover Treatment. It's an all natural, vegan, gluten free, cruelty free, Vitamin C derived, treatment that removes all the build up from
products, shampoos, and minerals from the hair to give you a literal clean slate. Then we get you on a good shampoo regimen without harmful chemicals that suits your personal hair needs.
Here's the deal. I'm really into this geeky chemistry stuff and I am curious as to what the water is like in our area, what minerals are prevalent, and how I can help each person get a little closer to having healthier hair. As a result it makes my job easier when you come in for a chemical service and it keeps you from opening your wallet for corrective services every time you want to change something up! Win win right?
I really, really want you to try a Malibu Makeover. So in March I'm giving away a sweet little package! When you book a Malibu Makeover Treatment you'll receive a customized deep conditioner for you to take home based on what your hair is lacking, a water test strip, and an at home treatment packet based on what your hair needs!
When booking online scroll down to "Mini & Maintenance Services" and click on "Malibu Makeover" I can't wait to see your hair's TRUE canvas!
What's even more interesting is what these chemicals do when they interact with the minerals in our water! But I'll save that for another time lol!
