Hair Products More Toxic Than Your Ex-Boyfriend

So, you drink your green smoothies, follow a six-step skin care routine, exercise (semi) regularly, and always sub in oat milk because you care about the planet. You actively choose the best and healthiest option (except when it’s wine night with the girls and all rules go out the window, but we call that ~balance~). You take care of your body and make your health a priority, but have you ever taken half a second to consider what kind of chemical medley you put in your hair?

But wait Sandi, my hair is nice and shiny and smells like a bouquet of the world’s most exotic flowers, it must be healthy! No, shut up and listen. The shampoo, conditioner, and whatever other hair products you use on a daily basis to upkeep your do is causing more damage than you even know. Products you find at drugstores and even salons (*gasp* yeah you better believe that $50 shampoo is a rip off) are more watered down with chemical fillers than those $3 vodka shots. Anyways, I took the time to do some research and find the nitty gritty on the chemical composition of these products in order to help you guys make some better decisions and to truly be the health legends you dream of becoming. Plus, your friends will never mistake your hair for a broom ever again. You’re welcome.

What to Look Out For

Take a screenshot of this little cheat sheet so that when you do your next Shopper’s Drug Mart haul you know exactly which ingredients to avoid like the plague. Unless you want nasty unhealthy hair, then ignore everything I am about to say.

Sulfates

Sulfates are chemical detergents whose main purpose is to remove dirt and oil. While most of you use shampoo for this exact purpose (except for the few select individuals who still don’t know what a shower is - grow up) but the problem is some sulfates do too good of a job stripping away this debris. While you scrub the foamy mess on your head and remove the gunk from the past day, you are also making your hair even more brittle and frizzy.

On top of that, as you remove the oil build up, your body feels the need to replenish the oil lost and produces more than before. Wow aren’t our bodies smart. But the social constructs of our society have taught us that greasy hair is a symbol of poor hygiene, so people wash their hair everyday just to appear clean. This toxic cycle leads to dry, unmanageable hair that requires more hair product and heat just to be presentable.

So, what do you do? You need to start training your hair to produce less oil. Sulfate-free shampoo and conditioner will still do the job of cleaning your hair but won’t strip away all the good stuff. As gross as this sounds, try not washing your hair for a few days. Let the oil build up and then wash it with sulfate-free products, and over time you will notice that it takes longer for your hair to return to its greasy state. It is a bit of a long process, but right now everyone has ample time and nowhere to go, so take advantage of these unprecedented times.

Parabens

Parabens are included in cosmetics to prevent bacteria growth (because who wants to use moldy shampoo), however, it a known harmful chemical. Parabens are xenoestrogens, which if you know how to read you will see that the word “estrogen” is in there so can likely guess where this is going. Essentially its composition is very similar to the estrogen that your body produces naturally, and it has the ability to disrupt your hormones. While this may not seem like a big deal, high estrogen levels have actually been linked to an increased growth of breast cancer cells. Spooky.  

Silicone

Since 2020 seems to be the year of cancelling everything and everyone, I petition to permanently cancel silicone. You may be thinking; this girl is nuts to be going after an element but hear me out. This stuff seriously sucks. Silicone is added to drugstore hair products to make your hair shinier, but it comes at a great cost. Silicone is a sealant, so its job is to keep things from crossing barriers. When found in hair products, it coats your strands in a shiny film but prevents anything else from being absorbed. Your hair will not be able to hydrate properly and any other product applied after won’t be able to actually treat the hair. In the end you’re left with dry, brittle, dull hair AND you look like an idiot for wasting money on products that didn’t even get a chance to help tame your mane. Silicone is only good for one thing, reusable straws. Save the turtles.

Fragrance

This one broke my heart a little bit not gonna lie. Apparently, when manufacturers add the term “fragrance” on their packaging they are exempt from including the ingredients to make that fragrance. The FDA in the United States does not regulate this term and thus there is no telling in what kind of murky concoction it takes to make my hair smell like a Japanese cherry blossom. In all honesty, I am willing to risk lead poisoning if it means my hair will smell like heaven for a few hours (hey, you can’t win em all. We all have our vices). But if you are looking for safer alternatives, try to find products that use essential oils, or you can always take the fragrance-free route.

Brands to Avoid

Brands we Love

I am huge fan of the Matrix Biolage Color Last shampoo and conditioner as well as Shea Moisture Silicone-Free Miracle Styler Leave-In Treatment. I have been using these products for the past few months and I am completely obsessed. My hair is now so soft and silky, and the smell of the shampoo literally gives me life.

Anyways, I hope you guys are already running to check the ingredients in all of your hair products just to see what kind of chemicals you have been lathering. I can’t wait to see all of the hair glow ups in the next few months!

Stay Glowing,

Sandi