Ingredients in producst to stay away from..

[Mrs.TheBronx]

Hey Ladies,

Quick question....

I do realize that everyones hair is different, but what are the main ingredients in hair products that we generally need to stay away from?

 

[AvaSpeaks]

Alcohol is one of them.

 

[vkb247]

Alcohols (not the fatty types) and Sulfates (in shampoos) are the basic ones that are bad for hair. Some people also avoid silicones, petroleum, or mineral oil.

 

[msa]

Well there's really no general rule, because it really depends on the head.

Common "bad" ingredients:
sulfates
mineral oil
petroleum (also known as paraffin)
silicones
polyquat's
parabens (for health reasons)
alcohol (but there are a lot of moisturizing alcohols so you shouldn't just avoid all of them, like cetearyl alcohol)

I'm sure there are others though. But like I said, it really depends on the person. You shouldn't write it off just because other people don't like it. Research it and see how it works for you, if it doesn't, then stay away.

 

[Mrs.TheBronx]

Im such a label junkie.. im very skeptical about what i put in my hair.. kinda tend to look at the 1st 5 ingredients so see if they are natural. I love giovanni products.. they have alot of natural ingredients!

 

[msa]

Im such a label junkie.. im very skeptical about what i put in my hair.. kinda tend to look at the 1st 5 ingredients so see if they are natural. I love giovanni products.. they have alot of natural ingredients!

I'm the same. I used only completely natural products for several months (baking soda, oils, and coconut milk were my staples). But recently I decided my hair needed more and now I'm in love with Aubrey Organics conditioners. They're just amazing for my hair.

 

[Mrs.TheBronx]

yes i love those too!! Honey sucklerose!

 

[msa]

yes i love those too!! Honey sucklerose!

I haven't tried Honeysuckle Rose. But the GPB and the White Camellia are literally amazing. Best hair I've had in a looooooong time.

 

[loulou82]

Imidazolidinyl Urea
DMDM Hydantoin
Propylene glycol

Here's a link:
http://www.altowebmasters.com/

I like AO HSR, WC, and GPB. Most of my products are free of the usual suspects but I've recently added Herbal Essences HH to the rotation. It's been the best thing for my tangles although it contains dimethicone.

 

[sharifeh]

I also heard something about sodium lauryl sulfate having a link to birth defects.

 

[msa]

Top Ten Synthetic Ingredients to Avoid

 

[poookie]

Polyquats are bad? I thought quaternary ions were good to have in conditioners, because it aids in the product penetrating the hair shaft?

 

[msa]

Polyquats are bad? I thought quaternary ions were good to have in conditioners, because it aids in the product penetrating the hair shaft?

I should have put that they may be bad if you're CG (no or low shampoo) because of the buildup some polyquats can cause. In the last couple of months there were a lot of threads about it on naturally curly.

Basically, like with silicones, they're "bad" if you don't ever clarify because they can cause buildup. But they're not all bad and they definitely are important in hair care. Here are two articles about them:
http://www.naturallycurly.com/curlreading/ingredients/all-about-another-hard-to-pronounce-ingredient

http://www.naturallycurly.com/curlreading/curly-q-a/curlchemist-polyquats-as-conditioning-agents

 

[poookie]

I should have put that they may be bad if you're CG (no or low shampoo) because of the buildup some polyquats can cause. In the last couple of months there were a lot of threads about it on naturally curly.

Basically, like with silicones, they're "bad" if you don't ever clarify because they can cause buildup. But they're not all bad and they definitely are important in hair care. Here are two articles about them:
http://www.naturallycurly.com/curlreading/ingredients/all-about-another-hard-to-pronounce-ingredient

http://www.naturallycurly.com/curlreading/curly-q-a/curlchemist-polyquats-as-conditioning-agents

that makes perfect sense. thanks for the break down!

 

[Lita]

S.L.S
A.S.L
ALCOHOL
MINERAL OIL
PARABANS
HAPPY HAIR GROWING!

 

[peachfuzzz]

I was just doing a search on this.

Stay away from Nitrosamines ( Cocamide DEA, Disodium EDTA, Lauramide DEA, Stearamidoprpyl dimethylamine,tetrasodium EDTA)-they MAY contain carcinogens aka cause cancer

PEG-8(DEA, MEA, TEA, MIPA) form nitrosamines which do cause cancer.
http://www.fda.gov/Cosmetics/ProductandIngredientSafety/SelectedCosmeticIngredients/ucm109655.htm

I think this is a good place to start for anyone who wants to be educated about ingredients.
http://www.fda.gov/Cosmetics/default.htm

I am starting to see that natural products don't necessarily cost more than the "bad products". Remember a little goes a long way. There are also regular household things you can use too. Also, somethings may be okay in moderation.

 

[vkb247]

Stay away from Nitrosamines ( Cocamide DEA, Disodium EDTA, Lauramide DEA, Stearamidoprpyl dimethylamine,tetrasodium EDTA)-they MAY contain carcinogens aka cause cancer

Aren't these the surfactants that are usually used in place of sulfates?

 

[peachfuzzz]

DMDM HYDANTOIN is another one. It releases formaldehyde which is used as a preservative.


http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/ingredient.php?ingred06=702196&nothanks=1

This site ranks products from least to most hazardous. I don't think it's exhaustive though.

http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/browse.php?maincat=haircare

 

[peachfuzzz]

Here are 2 links for you explaining what Nitrosamine is:

http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/ingredient.php?ingred06=726336

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrosamine

I copied and pasted the name Cocamide DEA into their search and got this info

http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/ingredient.php?ingred06=701516

You can do the others. I'm just finding this stuff too. I actually got the previous list from an archived post. I'm in the process of searching each name.