It seems that there are hundreds of hair products available for every type of hair on the planet. This can make it difficult to find one that is nourishing, healthy, and helpful to your hair, but it is not impossible. Many people read the front labels of hair products to find out if they are meant for oily hair, dry hair, colored hair, or processed hair, but who reads the ingredients list on the back? This is more critical than many people realize, and they read the front and think it looks good so they take it home and use it, having no idea what kind of chemicals and ingredients they are putting on their heads, some of which can be deadly.

Billions of dollars are spent each year on hair products that promise to do this and promise to do that. The truth is that most of those products fail to impress the consumers that buy them. Those people who are lucky enough to find items that do seem to work have another issue that is largely ignored, and that is the issue of what ingredients are in those products. One common nasty ingredient is Isopropyl Alcohol. This is the exact same ingredient that is used in shellac and antifreeze. It has poisonous properties that can seep into the skin and cause internal damage and it can burn the eyes as well.

Two more incredibly common ingredients to avoid are sodium lauryl sulphate and sodium laureth sulphate. Interestingly enough, they have protein denaturing properties. Since the hair is made of protein, these ingredients actually work to break down the hair! Their use leads to damaged hair follicles and will inhibit hair growth. They are only added because they are surfactants, which make dirt and residues slide off of the hair.

Hair products that contain fragrance should be avoided this is nothing but a collection of more than 4,000 chemicals that combine to smell nice. Did you know that formaldehyde is a common ingredient in many items? This one is a carcinogen, weakening the immune system and causing chronic fatigue. There are also ingredients called parabens in too many hair products that should be avoided. These parabens have prefixes of Propyl, Methyl, Butyl, and Ethyl. These are all preservatives for shampoos and conditioners, but these ingredients are highly toxic. Hair care products that are organic and natural are the safest ones to use if you are concerned about these ingredients.