by Samantha Saner
Picking a shampoo and conditioner can be overwhelming, especially if you aren’t sure which ingredients improve hair health, and which ingredients are harmful. With hundreds of brands to choose from, most people pick their shampoo based off whichever one has the coolest looking bottle or aroma. However, the ingredients may be worth looking into, according to Beauty Industry Chemist, David Pollock, author of “Just Stop The Lies: The Secrets The Beauty Industry Doesn’t Want You To Know.”
Sulfates are one of the most commonly used ingredients in shampoos, sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) and ammonium lauryl sulfate (ALS) in particular, Pollock says. Originally developed for industrial strength cleaning, these harmful chemical agents clean surfaces by breaking down proteins. Hair is made of proteins.
Sulfates are added to shampoos due to their cheap cost and ability to create a foamy lather effect. This strong lather creates a sense of “clean” feeling by stripping your hair and scalp of its natural oils. This aggressive and unnatural cleansing process dries out and irritates your scalp, dulls your color treatment, and corrodes your follicles, all leading to hair loss.
A lot of people who go sulfate-free give up on the products early because they are not used to the natural, oilier feel versus the stripping lather.
“At first, it felt like I wasn’t cleaning my hair, but after a few weeks I noticed that it seemed a lot less dry and frizzy, which made up for any excess oiliness for sure,” said UMass junior Sarah Troupes.
Pollock suggests looking for alternative ingredients with the words “glucose” in them, such as sodium lauryl glucose or lauryl glucose.
As the popularity of sulfate-free products are on the rise, many commercial personal care brands are coming out with more affordable SLS free shampoos and conditioners. Brands such as L’Oreal, Aveeno, Burt’s Bees, and Organix all offer sulfate-free shampoos for $8 or less.
During the winter months especially, hair breakage can be very frustrating and common due to the dry air. To “help” with breakage, many hair products contain sulfate. However, niacin and biotin, two natural ingredients, can help hair grow longer and stronger if integrated into the diet through vitamin supplement or eating certain hair healthy foods.
According to U.S. News, Niacin is part of the B-complex group of vitamins, which help your body to metabolize fats, carbohydrates, and amino acids to build proteins. Niacin is thought to improve scalp health by increasing blood circulation to the area making it more able to receive nutrient rich blood to feed new hair follicles. Niacin also specializes in DNA repair.
If you have damaged hair from heat or color processing, niacin can help to rebuild your strands. Make sure it is included in your overall hair health dietary supplement, rather than just buying niacin on its own.
Some niacin rich foods include fish, chicken, turkey, peanuts, mushrooms, and green peas.
Biotin, otherwise known as Vitamin H, is a water-based vitamin, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. When ingested, it helps to produce the amino acids that become the building blocks of keratin proteins, which result in stronger, thicker strands of hair.
To maximize biotin absorption, it is best to split this dosage in half, taking 2,500 mcg with breakfast and another 2,500 mcg for dinner. The effects vary from one person to another based on your metabolism, daily activities, stress levels, and diet. Biotin has not been associated with any side effects – except longer and stronger hair and nails of course. Even in high doses, biotin is considered to be non-toxic.
Foods containing biotin can easily be integrated into the daily diet with eggs, avocados, liver, peanuts, and salmon.
While these supplements do not have the same affect on everyone, they may be worth trying if longer, stronger, healthier hair is what you crave this winter.
Samantha Saner can be reached at [email protected]
