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There are so many hair care products available to women these days. For naturals, it is important to be careful when choosing products for their hair. There are ingredients in many commercially produced hair care oils, conditioners and shampoos which contain toxins or substances that are actually harmful to the scalp and hair.

It will be to your benefit to know what these ingredients are and how they harm the health of your hair instead of benefit it. This article from Madame Noire lists five ingredients in common hair care products that you should look out for. Once you see any of these ingredients in a product, do not buy it.

From: What Feels Good ‘Aint Always Right: 5 Ingredients in Hair Products To Avoid

Products with Parabens

Ever used a popular new hair product, only to turn around and have your allergies act all the way up? There’s a few reasons why this could be happening, but I wouldn’t rule out that parabens in your product possibly played a role. Parabens like propyl, methyl, butyl and ethyl find their way into many shampoos and they are known to mess around with your hormones. It has also been suggested that too much exposure to estrogen, which parabens mimic, may possibly increase breast cancer risks (in some studies parabens have been found in tumors, but in others, results have been inconclusive).

Products with Alcohol

As if your hair isn’t feeling Brillo pad-ish enough from the wind whipping it every which way, alcohol in some of your favorite hair creams and shampoos can have your hair feeling even crunchier. On the other hand, for some, alcohol can make hair a bit too greasy–which depends on what alcohol was used short chain for dry, fatty alcohol for greasy). Whichever hairy situation you have found yourself in, you should try and avoid products with alcohol in them in general. Look out for alcohol based products with everything from ethanol and isopropyl alcohol (makes the hair dry) to lauryl alcohol and cetyl alcohol (which can make the hair greasy). These things are often found in solid hair oils that are sold in tub-like plastic containers.

Shampoos with Sulfate

You probably already heard this, but still, sulfate is NOT your friend, girl. Not only have sulfates been known to irritate the skin, but products with sulfate are very good at stripping your strands of their natural oils. So if you get in the shower and have a head full of bubbly suds all over, you are most likely still using a product with sulfate. Ditch it. An added perk is the fact that when shampoos don’t have sulfate, they won’t necessarily burn if said shampoo gets in your eyes. How awesome would that be!?

Products with Synthetic Colors

People might fancy shampoos and conditioners with pretty, very unrealistic colors inside of them, but if you knew what was good for you, you would avoid them at all costs. Why? Synthetic colors can be cancer causing agents for one thing, and also cause allergy and nerve problems. You’ll know that synthetic colors are in your products when you see letters and numbers like this on the contents part: FD&C or D&C Red No.6. These fake colors also show up big time in hair dyes–be careful!

Products with Mineral Oil

Why so greasy? If your hair looks like it has been dipped in canola oil ready to be put in a pan to fry, but is actually gathering up a lot of dandruff, it might be because hair moisturizers you’re using have mineral oil in them. Mineral oil can clog your pores and cause breakage because of the fact that it interferes with the natural oils you create. Not to mention, touching a greasy head in this day and age is not hot.

You should also check the hair care products you currently have to make sure they don’t have these ingredients. Any product that contains these toxins should be tossed in the trash at once.

Author: Pamela

“Changing attitudes about natural hair” is what we do at Natural Haircare News. Through informative articles, podcasts and videos, we go beyond just sharing the latest advice and tips on kinky, curly, wavy haircare – We shake things up and focus on the realities of wearing our hair natural.