Do you buy the whole "Sulfates are bad" business?

[EMJazzy]

Sulfates dry out both my daughter's hair and my hair....we poo with castile soap and if I want to clarify then I use baking soda.

 

[Zabrinnna]

Yeap, like any thing made for the masses, the product gets so processed and manufactured that it actually does more bad than good...ie fast food, McDonalds.

Sulfates are good for some but not all. I am happy with my castile soap shampoo. That does not strip my hair dry of all oils but still leaves a clean and fresh feel.

 

[empressri]

I think sulfates are evil period. I stopped using them, and began using more natural soaps and whatnot, so the time I do use soap with sulfates, ie a public restroom, my skin BURNS like hell!!!!!!! Omg it's insane!!! So yes, I know it's bad.

 

[msa]

Back when I used shampoo sulfates always dried out my hair and forced me to use insane amounts of conditioner.

Now, I just use baking soda. It gets my hair clean without drying it out. No sulfates needed.

 

[Allandra]

I don't know how bad sulfates are, but they can sure make the hair more tangled.

 

[anon123]

Used very sparingly, I think they have a place. I use 1x a month for a good cleaning. I tried aubrey, castile, and other non-sulfate cleaners, but they all made my hair feel hard and stripped. So, once a month use regular poo (or clarifying poo as needed) and then co-wash/ayurvedic wash the rest of time. My hair is thriving.

I think "reducing" sulfates has helped me and every once in while, I just want a good, sudsy poo . . .

I agree with this. I do find sls shampoos to be drying, but that doesn't mean they are the only drying shampoos. However I'd also say it's true that all of the less drying shampoos I've tried don't have sls. So sls --> drying does not equal drying --> sls, imo. My fave shampoo has no sls, but if I really need to remove buildup, this shampoo can't do it. So every now and then I use a sls shampoo.

 

[Candycane044]

Back when I used shampoo sulfates always dried out my hair and forced me to use insane amounts of conditioner.

Now, I just use baking soda. It gets my hair clean without drying it out. No sulfates needed.

Same here, my hair gets terribly dry when I use shampoos with sulfates in them. Baking soda is a miracle for me.

 

[EMJazzy]

Another thing that I've noticed is that every since I quit using poo's with sulfates I haven't seen not one split end.

 

[BostonMaria]

I didn't believe in the whole CG routine either, but it wasn't until I started co-washing for a month and decided to go back to using shampoos.. holy cow! My hair feels completely stripped of everything when I use shampoo.
I still use shampoo when I have build-up, but now I dilute and also add some conditioner.

 

[RedVelvet310]

I stopped using sulfates and started shampooing my hair only once (instead of twice) each time and my hair has been thanking me. So sulfates are a no-go for me.

 

[LynnieB]

I really want to know how you feel about this. TIA.

Can I be honest?

I stopped caring. Seriously. BTDT with the non-sulfate poo. BTDT w/no cones or cones, BTDT w/all natural conditioners vs loaded with "whatever", BTDT w/mineral oils vs natural oils, BTDT with the "if it's good enough to eat, it's good enough for my hair" jazz and I stopped buying the hype.

If I buy it (or inherit it) and it works well on my hair and doesn't cause me to break out in body hives, it's a winner in my book.

 

[Kurlee]

for me sulfates can be drying, but not so much that a conditioner right after won't fix it. I use cream cleansers and mild shampoos like elucence and my hair is feeling much more moisturized, but to say sulfates are the big bad wolf, nawwwww

 

[Makenzie]

I use sulfates in moderation. To clarify only, and that's about once a month. Sometimes longer.

 

[Qualitee]

If I use sulfates my scalp and face will be on fire, and then it will flake. Sulfates are the devil to me and I dont use them. Im highly allergic to sulfate like most eczema suffers. Beside the sulfate free shampoos have been the best shampoos I've ever used.

 

[changedlife]

Can I be honest?

I stopped caring. Seriously. BTDT with the non-sulfate poo. BTDT w/no cones or cones, BTDT w/all natural conditioners vs loaded with "whatever", BTDT w/mineral oils vs natural oils, BTDT with the "if it's good enough to eat, it's good enough for my hair" jazz and I stopped buying the hype.

If I buy it (or inherit it) and it works well on my hair and doesn't cause me to break out in body hives, it's a winner in my book.

I agree with this. It can be such a hassle to avoid such and such while they could work for you. Plus they are no real evidents that things like parabens, sulfates, cones, ... are necessarly evils. However remember like everything else what work for someone else's hair may not work for Urs, including sulfates. I have used no-sulfate poos and they stripped my hair more that some sulfate shampoo. So all I can say is if it's bad for your hair don't use it, but if it's not why not. I have stopped caring as well I avoided sulfates, cones, parabens and all that for year and I didn't see much benefits; therefore forget it

 

[mahogany_horizons]

I've only ever used sulfate shampoos. I would like to try some non-sulfate shampoos. Do you ladies have any recommendations that are good for relaxed heads and places where I can get them?

 

[lovinmylocs]

I've stopped caring as well. I'm tired of driving myself crazy hopping on and off of bandwagons. I read ingredients - try to be careful, but at the end of the day my hair likes what it likes. In the beginning I was trying to avoid everything "bad" now I just take it easy and my hair is thriving.

I think if you have an allergy then you should stay away, but for most people I think they are ok in moderation.

 

[LaidBak]

I voted that I have no idea. But I do intend to try it out. I have a bottle of sulfate free poo waiting in the wings for when I run out of my current poo.

 

[msa]

I agree with this. It can be such a hassle to avoid such and such while they could work for you. Plus they are no real evidents that things like parabens, sulfates, cones, ... are necessarly evils. However remember like everything else what work for someone else's hair may not work for Urs, including sulfates. I have used no-sulfate poos and they stripped my hair more that some sulfate shampoo. So all I can say is if it's bad for your hair don't use it, but if it's not why not. I have stopped caring as well I avoided sulfates, cones, parabens and all that for year and I didn't see much benefits; therefore forget it

There actually is evidence that certain ingredients in hair/body/beauty products are linked to cancer or are cancer causing, along with other health problems. The skin (inlcuding the scalp) is the largest organ and it absorbs most of what we put on it. So for me, it is a big deal if something has parabens, etc. in it. They may be fine for my hair but I don't want my body to absorb them.

I didn't stop using "commercial" and synthetic chemical-laden products because they didn't work for my hair, because for the most part they did. I stopped because of the affect they could have on my body in the future.

 

[changedlife]

There actually is evidence that certain ingredients in hair/body/beauty products are linked to cancer or are cancer causing, along with other health problems. The skin (inlcuding the scalp) is the largest organ and it absorbs most of what we put on it. So for me, it is a big deal if something has parabens, etc. in it. They may be fine for my hair but I don't want my body to absorb them.

I didn't stop using "commercial" and synthetic chemical-laden products because they didn't work for my hair, because for the most part they did. I stopped because of the affect they could have on my body in the future.

I have been a health freak for a long time and I still am, but the stress I riped from it affect me very bad; therefore I decided to ease up. The more I get a health freak, the more I get sick I mean, seriousy, I get sick from inside out, to the point where my skin is a hot mess and I am loosing my hair, and guess what I avoided all those things and I have been also eating health food for two years; so forget it. But that's just me. So if that works for you, staying on safe side, good for you.

 

[oldcrayons]

No, I used products in the past that did not damage my hair. My hair was actually healthier and grew quickly. I think it depends on how you take care of your hair, but that's my two cents.

 

[ShiShiPooPoo]

I've only ever used sulfate shampoos. I would like to try some non-sulfate shampoos. Do you ladies have any recommendations that are good for relaxed heads and places where I can get them?

Yes!!!! L'anza Healing Moisture Shampooo...it.is.the.bomb.

I have been using this poo for several weeks now and my hair is soooooo soft and silky, almost too much so. I have had to up my protein because it is VERY moisturizing.

I almost purchased the Queen Helene Garlic Shampoo but it had a sulfate in their and I was standing there like "here we go again..."

 

[Black Hoya Chick]

i don't really know. but because i use cones regularly i have to use a sulfate shampoo. its not that horrible. i just dilute it greatly in an applicator bottle and apply it directly to my scalp. not as drying and gets my scalp clean, and the runoff cleans my hair. so...to each his/her own

 

[Dommo]

i definitely don't buy it. I've always washed my hair with sulphates and it has always been healthy and thick;I just don't overdue it. I wash once a week.

 

[kblc06]

Well, since my hair is prepped before I used a SLS shampoo (joico), my hair really suffers no ill effects. I find that certain non-sulfate shampoos leave my hair feeling stretchy in an overly moisturized way, even though I'm natural

 

[MD_Lady]

Not across the board... Some people's hair has thrived with them and others has thrived without them. In my case, the presence or absence of sulfates doesn't make much difference.

 

[Arcadian]

SLS makes my head itch. Thats the only bad thing about it IMO. So I just have to be careful in what I use.

What works for me won't work for everybody and vice versa. Sometimes you gotta do you.

-A

 

[Lanea87]

I am not sure but I avoid them like the plauge.

 

[FluffyRed]

I have a friend who has a sulfate allergy.

I have been giving her info from this site and she is using Cantu Shea Butter (along with other black haircare products - she is yt) AND she stopped using sulfate shampoos. She is allergic to sulfites in wine, but had not made a connection with her hair. She has been cutting her hair to 2 inches short for 13 years, due to split ends.

Her hair is growing now.

Not sure if this is relevant to someone without allergies, but I will stay on the safe side. I rarely shampoo anyway. Just cowash and then clarify with baking soda.

 

[Sarahh.]

Yes and no. I think sulfates do dry out your hair, but so do many other things. As long as you don't use them too often and only where needed (I only use shampoo on my roots and not the ends) then I think they're fine.