5 Ingredients To Avoid In Shampoo
Avoiding these will seriously improve your hair health
Shampoos are often littered with cheap and synthetic ingredients that can pose a serious risk to your long term health and can substantially hinder your hair goals.
But allow me to quickly address this question - “Do topical products actually absorb into the circulatory system?”
The answer is yes, of course they do! Especially on the scalp.
Every hair growing out of our head has its own hair bulb within the skin. The hair bulb has direct access to the capillaries below it which means anything that makes it into the hair bulb will make it into the blood stream.
It is important to be aware of the products we put on our skin because topically applied ingredients have a very high success rate for making it into the circulatory system.
Anyway, here are 5 of the worst ingredients found in shampoos that I would highly recommend you avoid for not only the health of your hair and scalp but also the health of the entire body.
1. Sulfates
Sulfates are one of the most commonly used ingredients of all time for personal care products.
The name is a broad term that includes various chemicals that you will often find in products like shampoo or toothpaste.
Sulfates are harsh foaming and cleansing agents that strip the hair of natural oils leaving it dry, brittle, and extremely prone to breakage.
They also allow the shampoo to spread over a larger area so you can use less shampoo and get the same result. This results in shampoos that are heavily diluted and can be nearly 80% water!
Because of their cleansing strength sulfates also lead to scalp irritation and worsen conditions like dandruff, psoriasis, and eczema.
They also raise and damage the cuticle layer of hair increasing static and frizz.
Sulfate detergents are dirt cheap which means these irritating shampoos are more more cost-effective to the consumer compared to sulfate-free shampoos, incentivizing brands to continue using this ingredient.
Besides all this, sulfate detergents are usually tested on animals.
When choosing a shampoo look for the words: Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate, or Sodium Laureth Sulfate and avoid them if possible.
2. Parabens
Parabens are synthetic preservatives used to inhibit bacterial and mold growth.
Preservation is a very important aspect of a good shampoo because no one wants their personal care products growing mold!
However, many parabens are classified as carcinogens and are strong endocrine disruptors because they mimic estrogen even at very low concentrations. Due to this endocrine disruption they can subsequently lead to hair loss.
When choosing a shampoo look for words that end in “-paraben” and try to avoid them.
The most common forms are: butylparaben, ethylparaben, methylparaben, propylparaben and isobutylparaben.
There are plenty of broad spectrum preservatives out there that are much healthier options than parabens.
3. Phthalates
Phthalates are most well known for their ability to make plastics; however they are commonly found littering shampoos and other personal care products because they add a pleasant scent and because they are responsible for most shampoo’s signature gel consistency.
Phthalates are strongly linked to reproductive and endocrine disorders, early puberty, endometriosis, infertility, altered fetal development, cancer, type two diabetes, cardiotoxicity, asthma, allergies and much more.
Phthalates offer zero benefits to maintain a healthy scalp and expose the consumer to potential health risks.
When reading shampoo labels, look for abbreviations: DEP (diethyl phthalate), MEP (monoethyl phthalate), DBP (dibutyl phthalate), and DMP (dimethyl phthalate).
4. Artificial fragrances
Synthetic fragrances are a huge issue in the personal care market.
Legally they are a ‘trade secret’ and therefore can be designated on ingredients labels as simply “fragrance”.
In reality that “fragrance” can consist of dozens of chemicals that remain undisclosed to the consumer; and it can make up 20% or more of the entire product formula.
Usually synthetic fragrances are made from petrochemicals which are known endocrine disruptors.
Also, they tend to evaporate readily so they are commonly attached to phthalates, parabens, or formaldehyde - so look for these on ingredients labels.
5. Synthetic coloring agents
Synthetic coloring agents are plentiful in processed foods and beverages and are linked to a plethora of neurological disorders, allergies, inflammation, asthma, and sometimes cancer.
Many shampoos contain these to make them look nice to the consumer, or to cover up an undesirable color of the product itself.
Synthetic colors are usually a combination of coal-tar and other chemicals in order to obtain a certain color. They commonly contain heavy metals, acetone, and petroleum.
On shampoo labels look for dyes near the end of the ingredients list. Common colorings are Blue 1 Lake and Green 3. Also look for the labeling FD&C or D&C which are used to designate artificial colors.
To summarize, in shampoo try to avoid:
Sulfates
Parabens
Phthalates
Synthetic fragrances
Artificial colorings
These ingredients are extremely cheap & are used to maximize profits, not your health.
Do not compromise when it comes to the health of your hair & body. We as consumers deserve better than cheap & harmful personal care products & we can favor supply & demand toward cleaner products with education.
Vote With Your Dollar.
These were just the most common harmful ingredients in big name shampoos; but a lot of shampoos branded as “natural” or “clean” are just hoping you don’t look too hard at their ingredients label & aren’t much better.
Not to mention 99% of shampoos are sold in plastic.
I of course have a few alternatives to suggest when it comes to healthy shampoos. Keep in mind quality is not cheap and natural surfactants/moisturizers can be expensive to purchase which translates into a higher priced product to consumers.
I would recommend against using Castile soap as it can be extremely drying and harsh on hair leaving it prone to breakage and it can be quite irritating to the scalp.
I would also recommend against using baking soda as shampoo as it is abrasive and irritating to the scalp due to its high pH.
For scalp-healthy shampoos I recommend:
Zuma nutrition
Plaine
Alpine Provisions
These options are not perfect however, and are sold in plastic which exposes you to the same phthalates you are seeking to avoid in the formula itself.
Not many shampoos are sold in glass but I designed my own which is free of all the hazardous ingredients listed in this post as well as silicones, glycerine, seed-oils, and alcohols.
It is sold in glass with a non-slip silicone sleeve and a metal pump with a BPA-free straw.
Instead of the harsh surfactants almost every big brand uses, I designed it with gentle coconut-derived cleansers and raw honey for moisture.
It also has gelatinized maca root for scalp health and hair growth, alongside calendula, chamomile, vitamin B5, and rosemary which bring the best shampoo experience imaginable.
If you’re ever on the market for a new healthy shampoo consider checking us out!
Here are some of the recent reviews:
Thanks for reading if you made it this far! I hope this post can be found helpful for anyone looking to level up their hair-care products or increase the health of their hair and scalp!
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