What is in your products? (part one of many I’m sure)
We here at Emma Hall hair love the fact that we are as organic and natural as possible.
We only use the most natural ingredients. Have you looked at your labels lately?
To understand a label of ingredients, we must realise that they go in the order of what is in the product first.. So if water is the first ingredient, it contains a lot of water, then slightly less of the next ingredient, and so on…
Let’s look at some ingredients!
Commonly and most discussed with us is SULPHATES/SULFATES
What is it?: a cleansing agent, to make the product lather, to remove dirt and oil (from anything)
Where is it found?: washing up liquid, bubble bath, washing powder, and shampoo
Why do we not like it: May irritate the skin, very harsh, meaning that the shampoo could fade hair colours
Next up….PARABENS/BUTYLPARABEN/PROPYLPARABEN
What is a paraben?: Preserves something and protects it from mould and bacteria
where is it found?: in lots of cosmetic products to give them a longer shelf life
why do we not like it?: can potentially disrupt hormones, potentially can lead to serious illnesses.
and now… FORMALDEHYDE or formaldehyde releasing preservatives.
what is it?: a preservative, prevents bacteria
where is it found?: Lots of places, but in hair and beauty, in nail hardener, nail polish, hair straightening treatments “keratin” smoothing treatments
Why do we not like it?: formaldehyde is a known skin irritant, exposure to it can lead to kidney damage, respiratory damage, cancer and other illnesses
A note on formaldehyde:
Occasionally we are asked if we do “keratin smoothing treatments” Where the hair has keratin put on their hair in order to straighten the hair. Keratin alone will not straighten the hair. There has to be something on the hair to keep it straight… While the chemical put on the hair after the keratin may be classed as “formaldehyde free” they can say this because the chemical itself may not contain Formaldehyde, but the gas emitted from heating the product up (straightening irons) can contain formaldehyde. Please do your research before having this treatment done. While there are many products on the market that do not emit formaldehyde, there still are lots that do.
Lastly…. (for now) PHTHALATES
What are they?: Plasticisers to help products keep their softness and flexibility
why do we not like them?: They can potentially disrupt hormones and can be linked to serious illnesses and potentially linked to reproductive and development issues
Look at your labels….. many many companies still use these chemicals, and many hide it well.
Maybe it's time to seek out a more natural alternative, there are lots to choose from.