What Feels Good ‘Aint Always Right: 5 Ingredients in Hair Products To Avoid

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Products with Parabens

Ever used a popular new hair product, only to turn around and have your allergies act all the way up? There’s a few reasons why this could be happening, but I wouldn’t rule out that parabens in your product possibly played a role. Parabens like propyl, methyl, butyl and ethyl find their way into many shampoos and they are known to mess around with your hormones. It has also been suggested that too much exposure to estrogen, which parabens mimic, may possibly increase breast cancer risks (in some studies parabens have been found in tumors, but in others, results have been inconclusive).

Products with Alcohol

As if your hair isn’t feeling Brillo pad-ish enough from the wind whipping it every which way, alcohol in some of your favorite hair creams and shampoos can have your hair feeling even crunchier. On the other hand, for some, alcohol can make hair a bit too greasy–which depends on what alcohol was used short chain for dry, fatty alcohol for greasy). Whichever hairy situation you have found yourself in, you should try and avoid products with alcohol in them in general. Look out for alcohol based products with everything from ethanol and isopropyl alcohol (makes the hair dry) to lauryl alcohol and cetyl alcohol (which can make the hair greasy). These things are often find in solid hair oils that are sold in tub-like plastic containers.

Shampoos with Sulfate

You probably already heard this, but still, sulfate is NOT your friend, girl. Not only have sulfates been known to irritate the skin, but products with sulfate are very good at stripping your strands of their natural oils. So if you get in the shower and have a head full of bubbly suds all over, you are most likely still using a product with sulfate. Ditch it. An added perk is the fact that when shampoos don’t have sulfate, they won’t necessarily burn if said shampoo gets in your eyes. How awesome would that be!?

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