Question about Sulfates and Parabens

[SoopremeBeing]

I am on the market for a new shampoo and a new daily moisturizer. I have found a few that I am thinking about, but they have those "no-no" ingredients, a sulfate for the shampoo, and a paraben for the moisturizer.

I am trying to stick with products that have natural and moisturizing ingredients, and the shampoo I found has mostly natural ingredients, but SLS(Sodium Lauryl Sulfate) is the very last ingredient on the list. Which I was lead to believe that if any ingredient is towards the end of the list, the actual content is low.

My main concern is retaining moisture. So are sulfates something a natural head should completely avoid? Or is the risk of dryness and damage minimized because SLS is last on the list?

 

[NappyNelle]

Your risk for dryness is minimized, but I would use the shampoo to see how my hair reacts.

 

[kupenda]

When I went natural, I tossed most of my sulfate shampoo. But I soon learned that I need sulfates. A patch of my hair doesn't like sulfates but the vast majority doesn't mind. I use Nexxus Therappe and it gets my scalp clean the way I need it to be. I say try it and see how you like it. Do you need lather?

 

[greenandchic]

Is it a cleansing conditioner? How many ingredients does it have? What are the first few?

I try to avoid sulfates more than parabens even, but if its that low on the list, I would try it and see what happens.

 

[curlicarib]

I HATE sulfate free shampoos! They always leave my hair feeling......funny. I can't really describe it, but my hair feels waaaayyyy worst after washing with a sulfate free poo. I generally mix my shampoos 50:50 with a conditioner anyway.

 

[MilkChocolateOne]

I judge a shampoo by its performance and overall formulation. I have used sulfate shampoos that leave my hair soft and scalp clean without feeling stripped. I have used sulfate-free shampoos that resulted in my hair feeling stripped, dry and tangled. I have been a member of this board for a long time, before the curly girl/natural product take over. Many past members had healthy hair with great retention(APL, BSL, MBL, WL) using products with all the so called "bad" ingredients. I believe a bad ingredient is something that doesn't work for your individual head of hair not what the regimen police dictate. If all "natural" products work for you then stick to that. If commercial products work for you then stick with that. I am all about using what works. The only way to determine what works for you is through trial and error.

 

[Aviah]

I agree with MilkChocolateOne.
However, I have noticed that most sulfate shampoos dry me out. However there is nothing worse than the sulfate free shampoo from the curlz line on my head.

 

[MilkChocolateOne]

I agree with @MilkChocolateOne.
However, I have noticed that most sulfate shampoos dry me out. However there is nothing worse than the sulfate free shampoo from the curlz line on my head.

Most shampoos dry my hair out, doesn't matter surfactants. Co-washing, cleansing conditioners, and shampoo free regimens don't work for me either. My hair behaves better with shampoo. But I have been able to find some shampoos that work for me as long as I dilute them.

 

[SoopremeBeing]

The two shampoos I was eyeing are(and the first few ingredients):

1. Organic Root Stimulator Olive Oil Shampoo - Water Aqua, Cocamidopropyldimethylamine Propionate, Trideceth-7 Carboxylic Acid, PPG-5-Ceteth-10 Phosphate, Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate, Ammonium Laureth Sulfate, Lauramide Glucoside, Lauryl Glucoside, Polyquaternium-10, Cocoglucoside, Glyceryl Oleate (Yikes, I can't even pronounce half of these, but I was biased towards this product, because their Replenishing Conditioner is oh-so-AWESOME). It also has two different parabens.

2. Shea Moisture African Black Soap Deep Cleansing Shampoo - Contains de-ionized water, Decyl Glucoside (sugar beets), African black soap, Salicylic Acid, Salix Alba (willow) bark extract, Melia Azadirachta (Neem) seed oil, charcoal powder, Melaleuca Alternifolia (tea tree) leaf oil, Simmondsia chinensis seed (Jojoba) Oil, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) oil

To be completely honest, I never paid much attention to my shampoos until I started my HHJ. I always relied on my deep conditioning, moisturizing, and heat usage to reduce any damage or stripping of my hair. I normally do a real shampoo job once a month, I do weekly co-washes.

 

[TheNDofUO]

SoopremeBeing

I wouldn't with either. Im far from being an ingredients Nazi buy ALS is quite stripping and why settle for less when there are so many great sulfate free shampoos with different levels of cleansing

Both shampoos appear to.be clarifying poos tbh. The second one more natural. i wouldn't use them regularly.

P.S. I also adore ORS but their shampoos generally are not for weekly use. Uplifting is a VERY STRONG clarifying shampoo and Creamy Aloe (which I use every 4 washes) is a chelator.