Natural Hair Care 101: Product Ingredients

Hello everyone,

I came across a post on KL's Naturals blog 'Reading and Understanding the Ingredient List on your products,' and I got her permission to share the post here. It's full of so much detail, so get ready with your pens and notepads. I commented on her post saying that I used to use a hair product that's a mix of oils, and one day, decided to look at the ingredients list very well - to my horror, I saw that mineral oil was either the first or second ingredient, and that's BAD NEWS! I quickly stopped using that product and found something else with better ingredients. Anyways, here's the post, which can be found here

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When you embark on a hair journey (whether relaxed or natural) the one thing you must begin to pay attention to are the ingredients in the products that you currently use and the ones you intend to purchase. Being aware of what you are putting in your hair is key in enhancing the moisture, resilience, softness and strength of your hair which in turn leads to healthy hair that retains length. The only way you are aware is by reading the ingredient list of your product AND understanding not just the ingredients listed but the ORDER in which they are listed.

INGREDIENTS ORDER
Ingredients are typically listed in descending order i.e. from highest to lowest concentration. So whatever you see listed first is the main ingredient and whatever is last is the least ingredient. You'd be amazed to know that the first 3 ingredients make up about 90% of the entire contents! Everything that comes after will take up between 1 - 3% each. Therefore, don't be fooled by the marketing gimmicks of some companies that have exotic stuff emblazoned on the cover of their product (Argan Oil! Shea Butter! Murumuru Butter!) only to have it as the 15th one in a list of 17 ingredients!

MOISTURIZERS
When picking a daily moisturizer, ensure that it is a water based moisturizer and the way you will know this is the first ingredient listed will be 'water' (or aqua) . Water hydrates hair and is the best thing for our thirsty locks. So if you're not using a spritz that you've mixed yourself, ensure that whatever you use has water as its first ingredient.

SILICONES/SULFATES
The next thing to be aware of are the silicones and sulfates contained  in your shampoos and deep conditioners/leave in conditioners/daily moisturizers - if you missed my post on the interaction between both ingredients, please click here. Sulfates if used regularly will strip your hair and ideally should be limited to once a month to clarify whatever product build up you may have. Silicones can generally only be removed by sulfates so if you must use products with silicones then you can't stick to sulfate free shampoos.

SYNTHETIC OILS
Moving on to synthetic oils a.k.a Mineral oil and Petrolatum - the way I always explain this is: if you smear petroleum jelly on your hand and you pour water on it, what you will notice is the water immediately gliding off as the petroleum jelly has created a barrier. Same thing with these ingredients - they coat your hair and eventually prevent moisture from penetrating the strands - everything you put in the hair subsequently literally just sits on the hair. The result is dry thirsty hair that begins to break. Some people swear by their products that have these ingredients - just remember if petroleum and mineral oil are the first and second ingredient in your products, then you will need to use a sulfate based shampoo more regularly to remove them - and using a sulfate based shampoo regularly will dry out your hair.

Natural oils (coconut oil, almond oil, avocado oil etc) are preferable as they create a permeable barrier that moisture can still penetrate through and the oils in and of themselves are healthy and beneficial to the hair.

HUMECTANTS/EMOLLIENTS
Humectants help moisturize and keep hair moisturized and include ingredients like glycerine, propylene glycol, pro vitamin panthenol, aloe vera, honey. These are generally great ingredients to have. Emollients (butters and oils) also aid in moisturizing your hair.

SURFACTANTS/POLYMERS
Surfactants and Polymers are conditioning agents which help improve hair's sheen, pliability and shine. Surfactants (Quartenium 26, PPG - 9 diethylmonium choloride)  are typically combined with fatty acids (cetyl, stearic, oleic, linoleic)  while polymers are generally added to thicken the otherwise watery consistency of the product. Polymers also improve curl patterns in hair and common examples are: Celluloses, Polyquarternium 4,10,44 etc)

PROTEINS
There are different variations of protein - hydrolized protein, silk protein, keratin, wheat protein, silk amino acids etc. Protein adds structure to hair, reinforcing it and keeping it from being a weak, limp mess. PLEASE NOTE: Some people are very protein sensitive - they use it and their once soft and manageable hair begins to feel hard and becomes a tangled mess.

Relaxers break the protein bonds in hair (hair is predominantly made up of keratin which is a chain of proteins) and this is why when your hair is relaxed, you need to have a balance of moisture and protein in your hair products and regimen. Natural hair many not need protein as often as relaxed hair does, but it is still useful for strengthening and reinforcing the hair.

Whatever the case, it is up to you to 'listen' to your hair and determine what it likes and doesn't like - for instance as fantastic as Coconut Oil is  some heads of hair do not take to it because coconut oil binds to the keratin bonds in the hair, helping with protein retention.

For some, it may not be all protein their hair is sensitive to but certain kinds of protein - my hair for instance is not a great fan of some Taliah Waajid's products ( it loves the Protective Mist Bodifier though) as they seem to contain some form of silk protein. So you just need to figure it out really.

PRESERVATIVES/FRAGRANCES
Finally you'll have the preservatives and fragrances -  examples of  perservatives are: potassium sorbate, sorbic acid, and the controversial parabens (which some studies have now linked to tumors). Fragrances will say just that - fragrance.

So there you go! Hope that helps when next you go product shopping so you're better informed of what you're putting in your hair - nothing beats being informed and taking responsibility!

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What a wealth of information right??? I hope you use this knowledge in your search for products in the future. And as always, you can find great products in the African Naturalistas store :)

Berry Dakara.