When buying shampoos we often consider the health of our hair, the benefits of it and the moisture intake. However there are more stuff that shall be considered when buying shampoos. Certain ingredients that shampoos contained are very unhealthy to our scalp and skin, and can lead us to dangerous situations. Nevertheless today we will be discussing shampoo ingredients to avoid when buying shampoos.
Synthetic colors
There is nothing wrong with adding a bit of color to make your shampoo looking pretty, the problem is how. Colors are usually made out of petroleum or coal-tar sources, which both are harmful to our health. These two ingredients can cause many diseases. Cancer is one of the risk intake.
Alcohol
There is no need to say much on this. alcohol is a dry source within itself. This ingredient will end up drying your hair. One will probably notice the difference with just one wash. However, some ingredients that include alcohol are found to be a bit beneficial. Some ingredients that will contain alcohol will help with the moisture. This is only because the alcohol is mixed with something else and there will be only a light use of alcohol.
Synthetic Fragrances
All products that include the word Fragrance are hiding a lot of dangerous ingredients behind the word itself. Many of these hidden ingredients can cause cancer. Besides cancer it can also find a way to the mother’s breast milk. Which no need to say how bad this sounds, knowing that the baby will end up swallowing it too.
Sulphates
Now sulfates are not exactly a bad ingredient, but they are not the best either. Sulfates are known to cleanse the scalp from dirt and oils. However they tend to be super effective and cleanse all the natural oils too. as one may know, we need some of the natural oils provided to keep our hair looking shiny and smooth. Therefore, sulfates are to be prevented as the can deep cleanse and will end up cleansing both good and bad oils, that our scalp produces. This information is both for the SLES sulfates and SLS sulfates.
Paraben
Paraben are used as preservatives to keep bacteria away from the designed products. They are not beneficial in any other way. The scalp is likely to absorb the this unhealthy ingredient and can be risky to cause self breast cancer. Apart from the risk of causing breast cancer , this ingredient also have a tendency with messing with our hormones.
Polyethylene Glycol (PEG)
This ingredient is meant to help the texture of the shampoo thicken, for easier use. Usually this ingredient is mixed with Ethylene and Dioxin, Which are very harmful to both the hair, scalp and skin. We are also mentioning the skin because, shampoos will always have contacts with the hands and the rest of the skin. Also, when a scalp absorbs certain ingredients there will be a high possibility of a skin rash. Especially if a person is sensitive or may be having an allergic reaction.
Sodium Chloride
This ingredient may only be considered as bad to some. We must inform, that this ingredient does not have the same effect on everyone. However this does not mean that we are encouraging it. Sodium Chloride is a type of salt and it is used to make the object thicker. However some reported that when using this ingredient, people suffer from itchiness and dry scalp, which can lead to thinning hair and hair loss, Only if you do not take care of the scalp conditions immediately.
Formaldehyde
This is another harmful ingredient that gets absorbed through the scalp and skin. This ingredient goes by many names and it is not always clear to be recognized.
Diethanolamine (DEA) And Triethanolamina (TEA)
These two are emulsifiers and foam creators, both ingredients are soluble so they are well mixed with oils and water. However in 1998, during a laboratory test, they found that the two created cancer on animals that were being used for the tests at the time.
Cocamidropyl Betaine
This ingredient is a foam booster. It is usually mixed with dimethylamino propylomine which is known for causing; Roscea , Eczema, Allergic and Skin Irritations.
Dimithicave
This is basically silicone, therefore plastic. This will make your hair greasy just for the illusion. This is to help the hair look more shiny. However it will end up weighing the hair down, making it look heavy and limp. However this may not be a problem to all hair types, the main problem here is that your scalp will end up absorbing plastic when it can be absorbing oils.
Retinyl Palmitate
This is another scary ingredient. When this ingredient makes contact with the skin, this turns into Retinol. It is known as a skin irritant and can cause; peeling of the skin , itching , scaling and redness. Side effects may also include ; Cancers, Reproductive problems and organ toxicity
Now we understand that it is impossible to avoid all these ingredients, especially if you buy your products from stores or online. However it is best to know what shampoos are made of. what may be the consequences of using such ingredients and how harmful they are. Nevertheless if you want to completely avoid all the insecurities you can always turn to home-made shampoos. One can either make their own or buy natural, organic shampoos. However be careful when buying organic shampoos because some ingredients can be hidden behind a pretty word such as Fragrance, as mentioned earlier.