Have you guys ever looked at the ingredients in shampoo or conditioner and wonder what the heck they are? Hopefully this post will give you an in-depth understanding of what certain ingredients are, and why they "supposedly" bad for you. Now the reason why I added a quote on "supposedly" is simple. My mind frame on shampoos and conditioners are pretty simple. When I buy a "simple" product for my hair, my main concern is as follow. Does it leave ANY build up or residue on my hair? Does it do what it claims to do? That it!

So all this organic blah blah on "hair product" is not a deal breaker for me where shampoos, conditioner, settling lotion or even moisturizer are concern. I start to get concern when a product is marketed as "structure changing" for example a hair dye. I know I'm strange but that how it is for me. So I decided to educate myself on what ingredients are, especially the ones that are found in common used products.

Bad ingredients & the why

Sodium Lauryl Ether Sulfate (SLES) AKA Detergents
This common ingredient act as detergent in many of the shampoos we use. With the aid of DEA & TEA, it forms a foaming/sudsy action many of us love. The reason why you see this in so many shampoo products is because this ingredient easily binds to oil (Sebum) and stripes it away. Sebum, which your scalp naturally produces, is an oily coating that tends to collect dirt, styling products, scalp flakes, etc.

Why it is bad
- Cause hair loss
- Skin Irritation
- Cause Cancer

Similar: Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS), Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate, Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate, Ammonium Xylene Sulfonate, Ammonium Laureth Sulfate


Diethanolamine (DEA) and/or Triethanolamine (TEA) AKA Foaming/Lather Agent
This ingredient act as a foaming agent with the combine use of deterrent (SLS, SLES) to make the lather that appears when you shampoo your hair.

Why it bad
- Cancers of the stomach, esophagus, liver and bladder.

Similar: PEG-5 cocamide


Sulfur (Salicylic Acid) AKA Dandruff Remover
This ingredient is use to shed dead skin cells from its top layer of the scalp by increasing the amount of moisture in the skin thereby dissolving the substance that makes the cells clump together

Note: I debated on numerous occasions about adding this to the "bad" list, since most dandruff shampoo contain diluted sulfur to help prevent and control dandruff. But I did see it on the "bad" list, so I had to add it.

Why it bad
- Couldn't find any information on why it was bad.

Similar: Selenium Sulfide


Tetrasodium EDTA AKA The Remover
This ingredient is use to separate and remove calcium and magnesium from water while shampooing your hair.

Why it bad
- Breaks down the skin's protective barrier, goes right into your bloodstream

Similar: Edetate Sodium


Propylene Glycol (Propanediol) AKA Moister Keeper
This ingredient is used to keep products moist.

Why it bad
- Skin Irritant
- Linked to Cancer
- Endocrine Disruptor and Neurotoxin

Similar: 1,2-propanediol, Propane-1,2-diol, Glycerine


Final Thoughts: Most of these ingredients are notes as being bad, but have not shown consistent result in the lab to support many of the claims on "why" they are bad. I had to look elsewhere to even get the "why it is bad" information, since Wikipedia explain that the toxicity level of any of the above ingredients are either low or very hard to reach. So basically the ingredients for the most part are dilute enough to be safe. In addition, a lot of these ingredients needs to be combining with other chemical to form any of the aliment mention above, which for the most part shouldn't be in your shampoo or conditioner product since most of the company pay chemist to make sure the chemical they combine are not toxic. So please look at the above list as interesting information and not the solid case for any health related issue or cause.

The only ingredients that I found that was "bad" and may have cause the "natural" shampoos & conditioner crazed was Ethanolamine Lauryl Sulfates which introduced Nitrosamines into shampoos ( Nitrosamines has been linked to be a cancer forming agent) That incident happen 20 years ago and that how SLES came about today. Ethanolamine Lauryl Sulfates right now is not being use in any shampoo as of today. If I’m going to be honest, our shampoos and conditioner is the safest product on the market right now, and if a certain shampoo does it for you, keep it and move on.


Other Ingredients

Tocopherol AKA Vitmains E
This ingredient is added to shampoos to give shine to dry/damage hair. This ingredient also helps with the growth of hair as well as preventing hair loss.

Similar:  Tocotrienols

Glycerine AKA Moisturizer & Preservative
This ingredient is added as a humectant (absorb/draws in water from the air).

Similar: Propylene Glycol

Cocamidopropyl Betaine AKA Thickner, Stablizer, & Pereservative
This ingredient is added to make your product thicker which reduces the amount of harsher detergents needed. Consider this as a diluter with a punch because of the fact that it has anti-static element as well as the fact that it also humectant.

Similar: Benzine Sulfonates, Emollient Isopropyl Palmitate


Surfactant Ammonium Xylenesulfonate AKA Thickerner & Mixture
As we all know, oil and water don't mix, this ingredient helps mix all the special effect like perfume or any odd ingredients together.

Similar: Glycerol Stearate

Wax Glycol Distearate AKA Special effects
This ingredient is what makes the shampoo and conditioner look all nice and pretty by making them look opaque and pearlescent. It also help liquid comes out of the bottle easier.

Sodium Chloride  AKA Table Salt
This is ingredient makes the mixture thicker and is used with the combination of other more expensive thickeners to help keep the salt level low.

DMDM Hydantoin AKA Preservative
Is a preservative that is found in many shampoos which prevent fungal and bacterial from forming. This ingredient releases formaldehyde which kills or make environment less favorable for microorganisms.

Similar: Imidazolidinyl, Isothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Sodium benzoate, 2-bromo-2-nitropropane-1,3-diol

Citric Acid AKA a pH balancer
Since most shampoos are made to be slightly acidic, this ingredients help bring that the acidic level and close down the cuticle after it was raised. This is ingredient commonly found in conditioner.

Similar: Sodium Citrate

Dimethicone AKA Silicone Oils
This is mostly found in conditioner and it basically oils to keep the hair cuticle smooth and slippery.

Similar: Cyclomethicone, Siloxane Polymers


Quaternary Ammonium AKA Anti-static Agent
This ingredient likes to bind to the protein found in our hair to create a smooth surface, which help reduces the buildup of static electricity. It acts as a lubricant which aid in the detangling of your hair.

Cetrimonium Chloride AKA Thickner
This ingredient is a thickener which is used to detangle and smooth out the hair. It also have anti-static element and used to keep the mixture together,

Similar: Stearalkonium chloride, disteardimonium chloride, quaternium-5 or quaternium-18, polyquaternium-10

Conclusion: Most cheap shampoo that you buy will have at least one or more of the "bad" ingredients mention above. For example, Suave Shampoo Daily Clarifying which is very popular in the dreadlock community has more the one of the ingredients mention above.

If a shampoo or conditioner that you have has any of the above ingredients, and you have not suffered from any hair loss or dry hair, then don't switch. I learn more then I needed to know about ingredients found in Shampoos & Conditioner, but I think the fact that I'm more educated now on them makes me less of a push over when it comes to marketing technique. I perfectly fine with my sets of shampoos & conditioner for my sisterlocks and I hope you guys are too.

Note: What I note as "similar" mean they act the same way of the original main ingredients. What I note as "AKA" (Also Known As) is a simpler word of what it actually is vs. the complex ingredients name. This post is purely research combine to make it simple for anyone to understand. I can't guarantee that I have everything 100% right. So if you want to add something else, please leave a comment below.