Are you an ingredient freak?

[Odd One]

While in the shower this morning i took my bottle of condish and did this test(i got bored?):

Read outloud every ingredient and explain whats its purpose. I realised that approx. 1/4, i did not know!

Have you ever tried that? Or do you just already know before buying a product what EVERY ingredients is in here for?

kinda OT but i remember someone posting a website with the definition and purpose of beauty products ingredients, where can i find it? TIA

 

[msa]

I did the same thing one day, and that's what made me move to all natural products. Now, I know exactly what's in every product I buy which isn't difficult since I pretty much only use edible products.

As far as that website, I'm not sure which you mean. I generally google ingredients I'm curious about and see what pops up.

 

[Lucky's Mom]

Tee hee.

I am ingredient Nazi. MSA - where you been mama?

 

[*Michelle*]

I'm pretty knowledgable, but not a freak. There is much more to it than knowing what the ingredient is. A LOT of ingredients work together synergistcally as a benefit, where as singularly the opposite may be true (or not) OR they are a carrier/binder etc.

Since I'm not scientificly inclined I can't explain it better...sorry...just hoping some one gets the gist of what I'm saying.

 

[Creatividual]

I'm def an ingredient freak. I only use natural products now. If I can't pronounce it, I'm not using it. A lot of my products I now make myself and have better results with anyway.

 

[TeaKyoo]

I am an ingredient freak and I look up all the ingredients online and memorize certian ingredients. Things I know my hair doesn't like or my routine doesn't like. Like cones are no good with my no poo to low poo routine. I read everything I buy if I see mineral oil I put it back on the shelf unless it is way low on the ingredients list.

TQ

 

[Patricia]

SOMEWHAT BUT I'M NOT HUNG UP ON THEM LIKE I USE TO BE.

 

[HeChangedMyName]

I am, I stood in the store for 30 minutes this evening reading ingredients on eye creams, trying to decipher which ingredients did what and which were more beneficial. left emptihanded, but I came out with the fact that Vitamin A and C are very beneficial.

Hair product-wise, I am sure that I get on my family and friends nerves now thanks to all the knowledge about cones, oils, ceramides, pro-vits and such that i have learned from the board.

 

[chebaby]

im not a freak about it but i know that if the product is full of natural ingr. then my hair will prob. love it. my hair dont like products(besides joico) with not too much natural yummies in it.

 

[*Muffin*]

Yes, I am. My hair care and skin care products have to be very close to natural and not have any synthetic emollients, emulsifiers, etc. The reason why I'm so strict on this is because I chemically relax my hair, and that has a lot of chemicals in it as it is. I figure my body doesn't need any more, lol. The second reason is that things like natural butters (shea, avocado, mango, etc...), oils, plant extracts, etc... have so much more nutritive benefits and healing properties for my hair and skin than those unnatural ones that seek to replicate it for cheaper. I'm willing to pay a bit extra for quality.

P.S. I'm reading this and I sound like a snob erplexed. I don't mean to be. It pretty much started when I was a teenager. I couldn't use commercial soaps for break-outs because I would be left with nasty white splotches that looked like acid burns, and my skin reacted badly when I used certain creams and lotions, and eventually the things I did for my face extended to my body and hair care routines.

 

[msa]

Tee hee.

I am ingredient Nazi. MSA - where you been mama?

My subscription ran out...and then once I paid it didn't reactivate automatically. It actually was kind of great...not being able to post allowed me to get so many things done!

Yes, I am. My hair care and skin care products have to be very close to natural and not have any synthetic emollients, emulsifiers, etc. The reason why I'm so strict on this is because I chemically relax my hair, and that has a lot of chemicals in it as it is. I figure my body doesn't need any more, lol. The second reason is that things like natural butters (shea, avocado, mango, etc...), oils, plant extracts, etc... have so much more nutritive benefits and healing properties for my hair and skin than those unnatural ones that seek to replicate it for cheaper. I'm willing to pay a bit extra for quality.

What do you use for your skin?

 

[chamomile]

Yes, for sure. I'll literally stand in the store looking crazy until I process every single ingredient listed.

 

[MonPetite]

TOTALLY!

I look up the ingredients I don't know, their molecular forms, everything!

I memorize the ones my hair likes the most.

 

[that_1_grrrl]

I don't like products that have too many non-natural products in there. If I feel like I am reading a list of chemicals, I won't use it.

 

[SelfStyled]

I started off being a nazi, but now not so much. My staple products are natural ingredient products, but two of them Aphogee 2min and my Silicon Mix have the dreaded mineral oil in them- but they are too good for me to let them go.

 

[Fine 4s]

I'm pretty knowledgable, but not a freak. There is much more to it than knowing what the ingredient is. A LOT of ingredients work together synergistcally as a benefit, where as singularly the opposite may be true (or not) OR they are a carrier/binder etc.

Since I'm not scientificly inclined I can't explain it better...sorry...just hoping some one gets the gist of what I'm saying.

Bingo! Which is why there's no way I can be strict on any ingredient. If it works, fine if it doesn't give it away. Certain things I still don't get for sure. For example whether mixing over the counter fruits, oils and butters is good enough to use as a deep condish. Only science can prove to me that these ingredients can penetrate the hair shaft just as commercial DCs claim to be 'penetrating.' A debate about whether egg molecules are small enough to penetrate the hair shaft (since we use it for protein) are all curious issues to me

Usually the novice is the strictest (general statement not just talking about here)

 

[GoldenBreeze]

I'm not an ingredient freak at all. I just don't have the energy for it. I use a combination of all natural and commercial products. If something doesn't work on my hair, then I don't buy it anymore.

 

[msa]

Bingo! Which is why there's no way I can be strict on any ingredient. If it works, fine if it doesn't give it away. Certain things I still don't get for sure. For example whether mixing over the counter fruits, oils and butters is good enough to use as a deep condish. Only science can prove to me that these ingredients can penetrate the hair shaft just as commercial DCs claim to be 'penetrating.' A debate about whether egg molecules are small enough to penetrate the hair shaft (since we use it for protein) are all curious issues to me

Usually the novice is the strictest (general statement not just talking about here)

Regarding the bolded, I think you make an important point. There isn't that much science that relates to using natural products. Though there are years (sometimes hundreds) of anecdotal evidence.

IMO, if someone relaxes or uses heat frequently then they probably need specially formulated conditioners that "penetrate", "reconstruct", etc. In my case, I don't use heat nor chemicals. My hair is only damaged by regular manipulation with my fingers and the sun/air/water. That's why using all natural products works for me. For the most part, hair in its natural state needs less than hair that has been chemically or thermally altered, so the natural stuff is probably more likely to work well.

 

[darlingdiva]

YES!!!!! YES!!!!!! and YES!!!!!!!

My hair is fine and ultra-finicky, so the addition of one ingredient can make a big difference in how my hair turns out.

Now that I mostly use all-natural products on my hair, my freakdom over ingredients has reached a new level. I read the ingredients in my hair products almost everyday, and I read the ingredients of products at least three times before I buy them. Sometimes (like today), I'll go into stores and read the ingredients of hair products. Mind you, I never buy these products, I have absolutely no intention of buying these products, and I've read the ingredients several times before. In fact, I can name the ingredients of some of my products, like KBB deep conditioner, almost verbatim.