What ingredients should I beware of......

[sunnysmyler]

When shopping for products to care for my natural hair??????? And what key ingredients should I be looking for that would be best, aside from the natural oils??????

 

[msa]

Well, I think the most important thing to do is research. It's best to learn all you can about ingredients so that way when you're shopping you can make an informed decision. Everything is not going to work for you, but if you understand why things work then you'll be able to make better decisions. I started off researching ingredients here but I also research on the internet (google, cosmeticdatabase.com, etc.) and in books.

Personally, I only use natural ingredients/products on my hair. That means no synthetic ingredients whatsoever. Not even Giovanni or Aubrey Organics (popular "natural" product lines found at Whole Foods and other places).

Here are some things you should research and then decide if you want to use them or not:
Silicones, parabens, parfum/fragrance (common ingredient), DMDM hydantoin, sulfates, alcohols, petroleum/petrolatum/paraffin, mineral oil, and anything you can't pronounce or that has more than 2 or 3 syllables (that's just a joke but...I've noticed most of the bad ingredients are like 20 letters long). That's just the short list but it's somewhere to start.

For me, it's easier to just not use any synthetic ingredients so that I don't have to worry. Here's what I have in rotation now or have used in the past:
baking soda (diluted with water)
castile soap (diluted with water)
coconut milk
coconut oil
olive oil
honey
castor oil (my favorite thing in the world aside from water)
bentonite clay
rose water
aloe vera juice or gel
shea butter
bananas
wheat germ oil
molasses

other products to consider:
jojoba oil
avocado oil or butter
henna
ayurveda (powders, teas, etc.)


There's much more out there...but I hope this helps you get started.

 

[Lucky's Mom]

Well, I think the most important thing to do is research. It's best to learn all you can about ingredients so that way when you're shopping you can make an informed decision. Everything is not going to work for you, but if you understand why things work then you'll be able to make better decisions. I started off researching ingredients here but I also research on the internet (google, cosmeticdatabase.com, etc.) and in books.

Personally, I only use natural ingredients/products on my hair. That means no synthetic ingredients whatsoever. Not even Giovanni or Aubrey Organics (popular "natural" product lines found at Whole Foods and other places).

Here are some things you should research and then decide if you want to use them or not:
Silicones, parabens, parfum/fragrance (common ingredient), DMDM hydantoin, sulfates, alcohols, petroleum/petrolatum/paraffin, mineral oil, and anything you can't pronounce or that has more than 2 or 3 syllables (that's just a joke but...I've noticed most of the bad ingredients are like 20 letters long). That's just the short list but it's somewhere to start.

For me, it's easier to just not use any synthetic ingredients so that I don't have to worry. Here's what I have in rotation now or have used in the past:
baking soda (diluted with water)
castile soap (diluted with water)
coconut milk
coconut oil
olive oil
honey
castor oil (my favorite thing in the world aside from water)
bentonite clay
rose water
aloe vera juice or gel
shea butter
bananas
wheat germ oil
molasses

other products to consider:
jojoba oil
avocado oil or butter
henna
ayurveda (powders, teas, etc.)


There's much more out there...but I hope this helps you get started.

Good job missy!!!!