You love your hair, right?
Your hair is one of the most beautiful parts of your body. For this reason, you have tons of beauty products tucked inside the drawers of your dressing tables and on shelves in your bathroom. You have also purchased some of the best electric shavers since you have to trim it once in a while. This is a good thing because taking care of these strands should be a fulltime job.
However, it is difficult to walk into a beauty parlor and not come across products that can harm your hair. For this reason, you need to proceed with care whenever you need to buy anything to use on your hair. Do not rely on 3D adverts that promise you complete transformation overnight, but instead go for what you believe will bring out the best results.
The most important thing to do is check the ingredients used to make a particular product before clicking “Buy Now” in online markets or rushing to pay for it to the cashier in beauty shops.
Below are some hair products you need to avoid if you want the best for your hair.
1. Products with propylene glycol
This is a product that is contained in various shampoos, styling products, hair dyes, and conditioners. Even though it is regarded as a conditioning agent, it is also known for causing skin irritation. Therefore, if you have been wondering why you cannot sleep because of an extremely itchy scalp, then recheck your beauty products. If you see propylene glycol as one of the ingredients, then you need no further investigations. You have the culprit!
2. Products with short chain alcohols
All products that contain short chain alcohol take away moisture and other nutrients from your hair, leading to the deterioration of its overall health. Therefore when buying any product for your hair, be on the lookout for the following ingredients which form the group of ‘short chain alcohol.’
- Isopropyl alcohol
- SD alcohol
- SD alcohol 40
- Ethanol
- Propanol
- Propyl alcohol and,
- Alcohol denat
When you take pride in your dry, frizzy, or curly hair, avoid these ingredients as much as you can. You will thank yourself as long as you have those beautiful strands on your head.
3. Products with parabens
Unfortunately, these are products used in most beauty products. However, the good news is that not all parabens are detrimental to your hair. These are the ones you need to avoid;
- Propyl
- Butyl
- Isobutyl and,
- Isopropyl parabens
Apart from destroying your hair, it has been scientifically proven that if these long-chain parabens are used, they affect the endocrine system; hence leading to the development and reproductive conditions. If you have been using a product with any of these parabens, it is never too late to stop.
4. Products with fragrances
What? Are fragrances not good for the hair?
If you are a hair enthusiast or professional, this must be one of the questions you are asking yourself right now. This is because you believe a fragrance is an ingredient, and this is why it is scribbled in most of the hair products you use. You are damn wrong!
Whenever you see the word fragrance on a product, it means that the manufacturer used thousands of different ingredients to make it, and it is impractical to name them all. Makes sense, huh? But wait…are you sure that out of all those ingredients there is none you are allergic to? As they say, it is better to be safe than sorry. If you are reading this, avoid any product that contains fragrances.
5. Products with sulfates
Sulfates are mostly contained in the ordinary detergents you use to clean your hair. When you overuse them, they can lead to frizzy and dry hair. It is, however, difficult to find a hair detergent that does not have this chemical.
Mostly, researchers recommend that you only avoid those detergents that contain Sodium Lauryl, because it is known to dry the skin, scalp, hair, and cause hair discolouration.
Well, there you have it! These are some of the less talked about ingredients that can damage your hair. From today onwards, make sure that you leave them on the shelves and buy those that contain organic and natural ingredients oils such as coconut, olive, and argan. They will improve your hair texture, porosity, and density.