This post is not for our toddlers because I’m assuming we all still either use soap or body wash on their hair. No, this is for us. And, I guess, for anyone with older children. But it’s something to think about for when that day comes when we do need to start purchasing hair care products for our kids.
Unfortunately, our shampoos and conditioners are not exempt from the chemical laden messes we are seeing everywhere else and dissecting. The main problem is the sulfate class of ingredients – which are known skin irritants, possible carcinogens, and may actually contribute to hair loss and thinning – including Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Ammonium Lareth Sulfate and Myreth Sulfate. To break it down, sulfates are surfactants, chemicals created to interact with “surfaces” and to trap oil and whisk it away, and at the same time to make alot of foamy lather. Let’s face it, part of the trouble natural products have is that they don’t foam the way the products we’re used to do, and we have all been taught to associate lather with effectiveness, even though that is not the case. Apparently the foaming actually arises because the surfactants are trapping around air instead of oil, so in a way it’s a sign that the product is not working full force.
So why do the manufacturers use it? Apparently because it’s super cheap. It’s the same ingredient used in car washes and household products to get rid of grease. It’s everywhere. But now that people are starting to read what’s in the products they use it was only a matter of time before the big companies began turning out sulfate-free shampoos because they realize the huge market for it (i.e. Loreal’s new EverPure). That’s great and I applaud the effort, but count me as skeptical that the other 25 ingredients in the products they sell are any healthier for me. And my concern seems valid when you read this from TruthInAging.com:
At first glance, I was feeling pretty warm and fuzzy about my new EverPure Smooth Shampoo…but then things begin to go downhill. Additional primary cleansers and foaming agents include sodium lauryl sulfoacetate, which can be an irritant and isn’t considered very mild nor natural, and disodium laureth sulfosuccinate, which the Cosmetics Database actually rates as a moderate hazard ingredient because of its potential to carry ethylene oxide and 1,4 dioxane, known toxins and carcinogens. Sodium lauroyl sarcosinate is even worse, since it actually increases absorption levels, and can be contaminated with nitrosamines. There are also a number of PEGs, preservatives (like methylisothiazolinone, a human skin toxicant according to the CIR), and some irritating fragrance ingredients, although natural juniperus communis fruit oil and rosemary oil do provide the pleasant juniper and rosemary scent. L’Oreal may have gotten rid of the harsh sulfates, but it seems to have replaced them with unsavory substitutes. Perhaps it is 100% vegan, but after close examination of the ingredients list, that seems to be a nice marketing attempt to jump on the organic bandwagon without doing any of the work to create a natural product.
And on the flip side of that coin, I’ve tried alot of the “natural” shampoos at Whole Foods and the truth is that they just weren’t good. This is always a big problem when trying to go natural: either their claim to being natural is not entirely truthful or they are truthful and just not effective.
I came across this great website about a year ago, Killer Strands, which sells only sulfate-free shampoos and conditioners, in addition to having professional quality hair coloring that you can do at home. I’m only in it for the shampoos and conditioners though, and the first time I visited the site I remember reading something that struck me as so true: if your shampoo is really good for you, unless you have super kinky hair or extenuating circumstances, you should not need a conditioner. That basically conditioners were developed as another product to sell you, and mainly because the shampoos don’t do their job. That all you should really need is maybe a leave-in conditioner spray. And since I started using their products all that has turned out to be true. Fortunately though, the shampoos and conditioners that she’s selling on Killer Strands are both harsh chemical free and effective. I’d never heard of some of these brands but apparently the Sudzz above is a cult favorite of Jennifer Aniston who’s made a good amount of her fame through association with some pretty great hair.
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