What Shampoos Can Not Do (cont’d) Final

 Note:  The first installment starts at the bottom of the blog:

Ideally, a shampoo should smooth down the cuticle and cover it with a clean coating of a sebum-like material. The smoothing effect is readily achieved by the inclusion of other ingredients such as glycerol or propylene glycol, which are related to the active >ingredients in antifreeze for radiators. The latter in particular is a highly toxic substances and a cause of a significant number of reactions and a primary irritant to the skin even in low levels of concentrations.

Some of its adverse effects include:

• Dermatitis,
• Kidney and liver abnormalities
• Inhibit skin cell growth
• Damaged cell membranes causing rashes, dry skin and surface damage to the skin.

Because of the many unhealthy side-effects of the chemical shampoos a number of companies realized that “natural” had a good ring to it and it has become a buzzword used by the companies trying to exploit the niche market of natural products.’ Natural’ implies wholesomeness and environmental friendliness. Yet, major companies anxious to tap into the natural products market are now scrambling to produce “natural” shampoos, hair dyes, and skincare products. These so-called “natural” products are primarily composed of synthetic chemicals mixed with some natural ingredients.

It is very likely that the ingredients list of the “natural” shampoo will contain one of the following three chemical additives, [as do all other regular chemical shampoos], as one of its top three ingredients: DEA or Diethanolamine, Propylene Glycol, SLS or Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, and SLES or Sodium Laureth Sulfate.

Diethanolamine or DEA is a common ingredient in shampoos and in bath products. DEA and any combinations of DEA, including the widely used Cocamide DEA has been found to pose a serious health risk to consumers.

The dangers of DEA were reported on a few years ago on CBS, in which Dr. Samuel Epstein, M.D. of the University of Illinois and one of the world’s foremost toxicologists, testified about the results of his study in which he found that DEA is” a potential carcinogen” and that in even small doses, repeated use of DEA increases the risk of cancer.

The result is that many shampoos, including so-called “natural” shampoos, sold today, are not good for the body, skin, and hair. Your best chances of protecting yourself today are to educate yourself about the products you use, to keep informed, and especially to READ LABELS and ingredient lists.

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What Shampoos Can Not Do (cont’d)

Sodium lauryl sulfate is known to most that have looked at the label of their shampoo bottle; it is a rather harsh detergent, meaning that it removes sebum very effectively. Since sebum protects the hair from drying out and conditions its surface, using SLS alone as a surfactant would lead to dry, fly-away hair. SLS is found in 90% of all shampoos and toothpastes. It is harmful if inhaled, ingested, left on skin too long, and it poses dangers to the eyes as it can accumulate in the tissues of the eye causing possible cataracts.

SLS is not very soluble in cold water and so cannot be used to make shampoos that look “clear”, so other related compounds such as ammonium lauryl sulfate or triethanolamine lauryl sulfate that are much more soluble are typically used in shampoos for dry or damaged hair. Sodium lauryl and sodium laureth sulfate are some of the ingredients said to aid in causing ailment such as cancer and other degenerative diseases.

But chemical Shampoos contain far more components than surfactants:

• There are thickeners (xanthan gum),
• preservatives (parabens),
• emulsifiers (glycol distearate),
• Color additives and foam boosters (cocamide monoethanolamine).

In some cases, a residue may accumulate, referred to in the trade as “buildup.” This has resulted in introduction of specialty shampoos claiming to eliminate the social horror of limp, sticky and dull hair.

What shampoos CAN NOT do

First things first, shampoos do not feed, resuscitate, enliven or revive hair. They can’t, for the simple reason that hair is not alive. It is a shaft of dead proteins, notably including a tough fibrous material called keratin that also shows up in fingernails.

So what CAN shampoos do?

They can clean hair, a task not too difficult. All that is required is removal of the thin layer of oily material known as sebum. Produced by sebaceous glands in the skin, it coats and protects the hair. Unfortunately, sebum also acts as a virtual magnet for dirt and residue from hair treatment products.

Common to most synthetic chemical shampoos is an ingredient called a surfactant, that is the same used in your washing-up liquid, and it has the ability to reduce surface tension of water so that a droplet of water will spread out rather than stay in the raised dome shape, i.e. it makes water wet. Other surfactants are repelled by water, but show great attraction for oily substances. The result is that as the hair is rinsed, the soiled sebum is washed away.

Lathering of a chemical shampoo also is the result of the activity of surfactants. Foam is nothing more than dispersion of a gas, in this case air, in a liquid. There is no clear link between a surfactant’s ability to clean and to produce foam. Indeed, a very effective shampoo that does not lather well can be formulated. But would you buy one?

We are used to linking suds and cleaning as belonging together. So most manufactures incorporate surfactants with strong lathering properties although they may not be ideal in terms of conditioning or irritant potential.

The word shampoo was coined from “shampoo,” a Hindi word meaning to massage or knead, and before the advent of synthetic detergents we used soap, and the first shampoos were just solutions of soap prepared from water, soap and soda (sodium carbonate).

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Fancy Face Naturals: Welcome!

Fancy Face Naturals: Welcome!: Welcome! We are so excited about Fancy Face Naturals. Our desire is for everyone to share in our passion for these natural luxurious produ...

Welcome!

Welcome! We are so excited about Fancy Face Naturals. Our desire is for everyone to share in our passion for these natural luxurious products. They are handmade in Colorado! FREE from: SLS, lead, parabens, alcohol, petroleum-bases & phthalates!

Most people are really unaware of the dangers associated with the use of many cosmetics, soaps, face creams, conditioners, body creams, body butters and shampoos.  Our Natural handmade do not contain these harsh and sometimes dangerous ingredients.