With the rise of organic cosmetics and environmental awareness, we are increasingly looking for higher quality skin care products (¡Viva!). Even so, hair was until now the great forgotten, right?
We care about the care of the face and the body, but the hair beauty ritual has been limited for a long time to the use of shampoo, conditioner, fixatives and modifying its color based on chemical dyes so that we do not notice gray hair.
Conventional hair cosmetics are usually made with ingredients derived from the petrochemical industry. Many of them are controversial due to their harmful side effects not only for our body, but also for the planet. So we rectify It's not like we're using a dishwasher, it's much worse.
Have you ever noticed the amount of foam on the beaches near cities? Well, it has a lot to do with the use of these products.
But there is more. When shower water travels down the drain it can reach rivers or discharge areas and affect the fauna and flora of the area. That for not commenting on the amount of packaging that is discarded.
That's why At Nasei we bet on solid shampoo. With a plastic free packaging, a small size —which spreads the same or more than any other shampoo— and which minimizes the carbon footprint by being able to transport more units in the same shipment.
It also leaves your hair shiny and hydrated, but let's go back to the dishwasher. Why do we say that you are probably using it on your hair? To give you an idea, many detergent products are a mixture of Sodium Lauryl Sulfate and Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate, ingredients present in most conventional shampoos.
What is that about sulfates?
Shampoo usually contains sulfates as a lathering agent. Not all of them are bad, but you have to pay special attention to them, since not all of them are the same.
Sulfates are very effective at removing dirt, but some are very aggressive. Psychologically it gives us a feeling of cleanliness because they generate abundant foam, but at the same time they drag away the natural fat from the coat, leaving the scalp unprotected and sensitized.
What if we told you that the itching and flaking of your scalp are directly related to this? Are we wrong or is it likely that you yourself have suffered it on some occasion? Especially now with the cold.
There are more and more cases of irritation, dermatitis and dandruff and the solution can be as easy as changing the shampoo.
It is true that hair naturally has a hydrophobic surface that repels water and yet attracts lipids. Hence the need for a surfactant that removes the grease that has attached to the hair.
But of course, synthetic surfactants derived from petrochemicals are not the same —whose cost is very low— that the new formulations which, thank goodness, have begun to appear on the market.
The latter are of natural and vegetable origin, obtained from coconut, corn, sugar or beetroot, among others. They clean gently, are biodegradable and do not sensitize the skin or damage the hair fiber. They foam less, yes, but they don't have the side effects of aggressive sulfates and your hair will be just as clean, as well as healthy and cared for.
If your shampoo contains one or more of these names, we recommend avoiding it:
- Sodium Laureth Sulfate
- Sodium Trideceth Sulfate
- Ammonium lauryl sulfate
- Ethyl PEG-15 cocamine sulfate
- Monoethanolamine lauryl sulfate
- N-lauroilsarcosine Sodium
- Sodium Laureth Sulfate,
- Sodium Lauryl Ether Sulfate,
- Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate,
- Sodium C14-C16 olefin sulfonate,
- Sodium dodecyl sulfate
In addition to what we have told you, if it's colored or chemically treated, the sulfates will strip the dye color from your hair every time you wash it and dry it out even more, thus losing some of the shine of the dye and giving the color a "worn" feel.
As if that were not enough, they also cause hair loss, by damaging the hair bulb and weakening the root.
On the contrary, an ecological or organic shampoo will be formulated with mild surfactants. These are the Sulfates allowed in organic cosmetics:
- Cocamidopropyl Betaine
- Coco Glucoside,
- Coco Sodium Sulfate
- Decyl Glucoside
- Lauryl Glucoside
- Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate
- Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate
- Sodium Cocoyl Sulfate
- Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate
Would you wash your hair with a dishwashing product? Well that.
P.S. If you still don't know our orange and carrot revitalizing solid shampoo and ours rosemary and thyme purifying shampoo We recommend that you take a look at them.
They are formulated as if they were a soap for the face. With hydrosols, vegetable and essential oils. Gentle with the finest hair, including children's and you don't know how they smell...
P.D.II If you decide to switch to organic shampoo, be it liquid or solid and of any brand, remember one important thing while you clean your hair: turn off the tap.
When you scrub, too. That we must have in common.