How to choose the RIGHT Hair Products

One day I suddenly fell in love with my wavy curly hair that looked very much fresh after a hair wash.Since that day I started searching a lot about curly products. In my search, I ended up knowing about Curly –Girl method.

For those wondering, new series is soon on its way about Curly Girl (also known as CG) method.

In my extensive research about Curly Girl method, products for curly hair I got to know that variety of hair products that exist and also the hint to choose the right products that suits me.
Here are my tips for you all to choose the right product that suits you. Keep reading...

Many of us choose to trust the companies and the claims such as sulfate free, Paraben free that the products say rather than reading the back of the products.Yes, the ingredient matters …!!

Points to Understand before choosing your Hair Products :

1.      Don't go by the product labels, Always Read the Ingredients at the back.

2.     In the ingredient list, the first 5-8 products(majorly first 5) only constitute about 80 -90% of the product.

3.     Don't consider the ingredients with Extracts in its name –those only contribute to 1%.

4.     Ignore the words like organic, unrefined, natural etc in ingredients name.

5.     If you are particularly avoiding any such ingredient, scan for it throughout the ingredient list.

6.      Alcohols: Not all alcohols are bad, there are ones which moisturize hair and ones which dry out your hair.

Look for the moisturizing ones. Examples of moisturizing Alcohols: Lauryl Alcohol, Cetyl Alcohol, Stearyl Alcohol, Cetearyl Alcohol etc

7.     Silicones: Silicones are commonly present in hair conditioners and serums.Silicones coat the hair forms an impenetrable barrier.Provides slip, form a film on the hair. the main reason to avoid silicones is that they cause product buildup on your scalp leading to scalp issues, makes hair dry over a period of time and lead to breakage.

There are few silicones which are water soluble, evaporate easily those are ok to be used.But many are not water soluble, even doesn’t evaporate which definitely be problematic on prolonged usage.

The Silicones usually ends in “cone”,”conol”, “xane “ and should be avoided .The most commonly seen silicone is Dimethicone, which can be removed only by SLS shampoo.

So better look for Silicone free hair products.

8.     Sulfates: SLS are surfactants nothing but cheap cleansing agents.They completely remove oil from hair.We shampoo to clean the dirt and not to strip oils from it.The issue is that it causes high irritation, dryness and itchy scalp when used for a longer period.

      

      Brands usually which claim to be sulfate free would have fewer irritants and have any of these alternatives like SLES, olefin sulphates, Ammonium Lauryl sulfates etc.They are not really sulfate free, jus SLS free.

The market gimmicks are that if you are using a silicone based hair products like conditioners, hair gels, mousse etc only SLS based cleanser can remove the silicone and the product build up it creates .   

Note that you can use SLS once in a while to clarify your scalp and not regularly. Always opt for sulfate-free cleansers. Some of the alternative mild cleansing agents are Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Coco Betaine etc

9.     Next comes Parabens: These are preservatives added to products to extend their shelf life and to inhibit the growth of microbes.So it's for our protection !! However, a HUGE amount of Paraben would have some serious ill effects.

The most common parabens in the products are methyl-paraben, propyl-paraben, ethyl-paraben etc.

Better choose products that are paraben free.

In Short: The 1st and 2nd points are the thumb rule in choosing your products.

There are no 100% organic products.I believe that any product which are packed for the commercial market and which comes with a greater shelf life cannot be 100 % organic .

All skin care and hair care products are a result of combination chemical products .There can be both good and bad products in the list .



Not all chemicals are evil,

Know what is good and bad,

Choose what your hair needs and what suits you !!!