Chemicals Found in Your Everyday Hair Products
As a naturalista, you have to be extra careful about what you put into your hair and scalp. Whether you did the big chop or decided to transition, your virgin hairs and damaged strands will be susceptible to more issues when chemical products are used. Unfortunately, a lot of unknowing naturalistas are unsuspecting of brands that claim to be natural or healthy for our hair type. This allows certain products to be sold and purchased by our people that are filled with toxins that are further causing harm to our hair and health.
When you decided to return natural, you made a commitment to go to a natural state. So it’s up to you to educate yourself about the ingredients that are being used inside of these hair products. To give you some insight, here are the toxic chemicals that are commonly found in the products you’re using weekly or even daily. What you put onto your scalp seeps into your bloodstream, which is why you need to be extra careful about what you use!
Toxins Lurking in Your Shampoos and Conditioners
Keeping your hair clean is very important, but not if it means soaking your hair with toxins. Look on the back of your shampoo and conditioner bottles and see if you see any of these ingredients on the label (if you do, throw them out!):
- Glycol: There are different types and names for glycol, such as PEG (polyethylene glycol). This should be avoided because it is known to cause cancer.
- Coal Tar: Commonly found in anti-dandruff shampoos. This too is known to be cancer-causing.
- Amodimethicone: This is mainly used in conditioners. It’s what makes your hair smooth. Although it seals moisture into your hair, it also seals your pores, which means it can’t breathe like it should. This can lead to hair fall.
Toxins in Hair Styling Products
If you like to style your hair with gels and mousse, then you could also be in danger of toxins hiding inside of your products. It’s important to note that these styling agents are known to cause excess drying and damage when you use them over long periods of time. The chemicals that are wreaking havoc on your hair and scalp include:
- Benziphenone 4
- Ammonium hydroxide
- Polyquaternium-11
- Tetrasodium EDTA
- Butyl paraben
- PEG 40, PEG 32
- Polymer & copolymer
- Dimethyl ether glycerin
- Acrylates/C10-30 alkyl acrylate crosspolymer
- Alcohol
- Butyl aminoethyl methyl acrylate
Going Truly Natural
Again, it’s up to you to decide what you put in your hair. The more natural you go with the ingredients you use, the better the health of your hair and scalp (and body) will be. You should resort to using ingredients like oils, essential oils, herbs and clays. These can all be used to clean, moisturize and replenish your hair.
