Name That Ingredient! Hair Care Edition

I've recently started product-jumping for shampoos and conditioners because every shampoo I've used seems to dry my hair out and no conditioner seems to be able to get it moisturized. So, now I'm taking my label-reading habits to a new level by exploring what's in the hair products I use. Through lurking on several hair sites for curly-haired women, I've found that a few ingredients seem to be common causes for dry, frizzy curls. The ones I'll be exploring today are the sulfates sodium lauryl sulfate, sodium laureth sulfate, ammonium laryl sulfate, and all of their sulfate-y cousins.

Sulfates are basically the ingredient in things like liquid detergent and shampoo that help them to lather. They break up all of the grease and oil so that it can be washed away, thus providing us with a clean, fresh scalp and head of hair. Although many can use shampoos containing sulfates with no ill-effects, many users suffer scalp irritation and dry hair from using these shampoos. They can prove to be very harsh on both hair and scalp and remove natural oils that are essential to curly hair because of its texture.

However, fear not! There are plenty of organic shampoos that contain no sulfates at all and can still give your hair and scalp the nice thorough cleaning it needs.

Wishing You Happy, Healthy Hair,

Shalencia