Natural Hair Friendly Ingredients

When your hair was being chemically straightened it was used to certain products. Now that your hair is chemical free, the old hair products don’t work the same. Having curly hair can be difficult to keep moisturized because the natural oils produced by the scalp don’t travel down the hair shaft as easily as they would with straight hair. Protecting that moisture is very critical. It’s important you know au naturale friendly ingredients and naturale unfriendly ingredients.

For shampoos, it’s important to check the label. Remember, shampoo cleanse the scalp and hair. Anything too harsh will leave hair feeling hard, wiry, and dry.

You should avoid Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) and Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES). It’s used as a foaming agent, the chemical that gives us that luscious lather we love so much. But everything that glitters isn’t gold. This same ingredient is used as a degreasing agent for engine cleaner and car wash shampoo.

Avoid propylene glycol, it’s used as a humectant and surfactant (cleanser) in shampoos. Humectants retain water in the hair shaft, providing moisture. It sounds good, but it can also cause liver and kidney damage. Propylene glycol is found in rubber cleaner, stain removers, fabric softeners, and other cleaning agents. Natural humectants are honey and glycerin that should be used as substitutes.

Diethanolamine (DEA) should be avoided. It’s a foaming agent in shampoos. It’s a hormone disrupting chemical that can form carcinogenic nitrates. It blocks the absorption of choline, a nutrient that’s required for brain development. This is critial for pregnant women, because it affects the baby’s brain development.

Monoethanolamine (MEA) and Triethanolamine (TEA) are hormone disrupting chemicals that form carcinogenic nitrates.

DMDM acts as a formaldehyde releaser. Formaldehyde is a preservative but also a carcinogen. When released, formaldehyde causes respiratory problems, skin irritation-eczema, joint pain and many other health problems.  A good preservative to look for on labels is sodium benzoate.

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Natural hair friendly ingredients to look for are pure essential oils, plant extracts, natural butters, and vitamins.

Baking soda mixed with the right amount of water is an excellent, natural cleanser leaving the hair feeling soft.
Apple cider vinegar cleanses the scalp and hair as well.
They get cleansing done while maintaining healthy hair.

Conditioners restore the natural moisture that was shampoo’d away. They’re creamy and seem harmless, but we all know they don’t all do their job. Have you ever used a conditioner only to find that your hair didn’t feel any softer? This may indicate hair damage and require a deep conditioning treatment.

Here are some natural ingredients that will assist in conditioning, deep conditioning, and moisturizing.

Ingredients to indulge in

Shea Butter: It has extreme moisturizing properties for hair and skin. There are two grades of shea butter: Unrefined and Refined. Unrefined shea butter is rich in Vitamins A, E and F. Vitamin A assists in producing healthy sebum in the scalp. It retains healing properties that moisturizes hair, skin and facilitates wound healing. Refined Shea Butter has been chemically processed, thus losing it’s healing properties and aren’t as effective as Unrefined Shea Butter. Pure unrefined shea butter has a distinctive smell. It acquires this smell through the harvesting process. It doesn’t smell like perfume. The color ranges from ivory (not white) to a pale yellow. Shea Butter should never be a bright yellow, if it is there has been dye added to it.
Shea butter is firm at room temperature and melts to your body temperature. It’s so wonderful for naturale hair because it absorbs into the scalp without clogging pores like mineral oil or petroleum. This butter doesn’t penetrate the hair shaft. It is an emollient, meaning it layers the surface of the hair and many use it as a sealer, after moisturizing.

Water: Is your bestfriend now. Remember before you had to run from water? Not anymore. Water is the most essential nutrient to life. It hydrates internally and externally. Some may notice how dry their hair seems to get after washing it. This is because natural hair has raised cuticles making the hair porous, sucking up moisture. Because the hair cuticles are raised, it makes it hard for the hair to retain the moisture it sucks in.Water is the first ingredient to look for on moisturizers, shampoos and conditioners.

Pure jojoba oil has a bright gold color. Processed jojoba oil is clear. Jojoba oil is actually a wax, it comes from the jojoba tree. This wax is the most similar to human sebum and because of this, it tricks the body into thinking it has produced enough oil and balances the oil production, therefore, it prevents clogging of pores; reducing the need to cleanse the scalp.  It doesn’t evaporate, so it provides all day moisture.   Jojoba oil doesn’t penetrate the shaft, it acts as a sealer. Jojoba oil improves circulation in the scalp resulting in hair growth from new cell formation.
Mixing a few drops into the rinse out conditioner, applying to damp hair before drying, and applying directly to the scalp are the best ways to use jojoba oil.

Coconut Oil is solid at room temperature and melts to body temperature. This oil penetrates the hair shaft, nourishing the hair from within. It reduces protein loss during washes. Applying a small amount of coconut oil to the hair before washing is ideal so the shampoo doesn’t strip the hair shaft of it’s natural oils or proteins. Applying it after shampooing restores any lost moisture. Coconut oil is a great moisturizer for the scalp as well and helps in dandruff control.

Applying a liberal amount of coconut oil to the scalp ALONE, strengthens the hair follicles, promoting growth.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)

EVOO contains fatty acids and have the ability to penetrate the hair shaft. It conditions the hair and improves the hairs elasticity. EVOO tames frizz in humid and winter weather. Applying EVOO onto your hair and covering it with a shower cap helps with conditioning because the shower cap traps the heat radiating from your scalp. The heat facilitates EVOO into the hair shaft. It is a natural moisturizer and can be used as dandruff treatment as well.

Honey/Glycerin:  Honey and glycerin are natural humectants, meaning they attract and retain water. Honey has a very sticky texture and can be a challenge to rinse out if not applied properly. Mixing honey with an equal amount of oil balances its sticky nature. For deep conditioning, apply honey to damp hair and let sit for 20 minutes before rinsing. Use honey in moderation as it has the tendency to lighten hair over time. Glycerin is best used with water. When mixing it, use a 1 to 2 ratio. 1 part glycerin, 2 parts water. Shake the mixture until it’s well distributed. Glycerin is water soluble and will dissolve.
Humectants attract water as well as retain, so applying it to hair in dry climates won’t help because it will try attracting moisture from the atmosphere. Humectants work better in humid and moist environments because it has a constant source of moisture to pull from.