Caring for my children’s curly biracial hair wasn’t always easy. As a natural girl myself, I pride myself in doing what’s best for our hair. Since we each have completely different curl patterns, I often comb through labels making sure the products have what our curls need. Many naturally curly product lines don’t include mineral oils, sulfates, and silicones. But there are a few other ingredients to avoid in natural hair products.
4 Ingredients to Avoid in Natural Hair Products
Mineral oil
I love using oils on my hair, but I avoid mineral oil like the plague. Why? Well, because it coats the hair and prevents moisture from penetrating the hair shaft. Coconut oil is a much better alternative. It doesn’t weigh curls down and moisturizes right down to the medulla.
PEG-Polyethylene Glycol
This ingredient is used to make hair products thicker, and also strips the oil from your curls. As you know moisture is key to maintaining healthy curly hair.
Isopropyl Alcohol
Most hair care products have alcohol, but not all alcohols are good for your hair. Isopropyl Alcohol is used in antifreeze and shampoos. It may be good for your car, but it’s no good for growing your curls. Other bad alcohols include, SD alcohol (40), ethanol. propyl, Propanol, Isopropyl.
Stick to alcohols that don’t dry out your curls like cetyl, stearyl, myristyl, lauryl, behenyl, and cetearyl.
Propylene Glycol (PG)
This is another common ingredient in antifreeze. Curly heads should avoid it because it can break down the protein in your hair, which lead to breakage.
Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) and Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES)
These types of sulfates causes hair damage, and can penetrate follicle and pore openings that can irritate the scalp. Sodium lauryl sulfoacetate is a much safer cleanser and is less likely to cause skin irritation.
When it comes to ingredients to avoid in hair products, your best bet it read the labels, and educate yourself on some of the risks. You may have to pay more for hair care products that don’t have harmful ingredients, but it will save your the headache from damage. Your curls will thank you for it.
What ingredients do you avoid in natural hair products?
