Silicones, Sulfates and Choosing the right Products for your hair.

As a stylist and salon owner I get to talk and interact with a lot of naturalistas about their hair journey, hair products and hair health. The one thing I have noticed time and time again is that a lot of people are fixated on 'Sulfate Free Shampoos'. They go natural, read up that sulfates are bad for your hair and then invest in sulfate free shampoos - which in and of itself is a great thing.

HOWEVER they begin to suffer from bad breakage, hair starts to thin and even though they seem to be doing the right things and using the 'right' products, their hair is not co operating! Most times when I hear this complaint, the first thing I ask is the name of the deep/leave in conditioner they are using and when you look at the ingredients you notice they have silicones and mineral oil high up on the list.

The thing is while sulfate free shampoos are great for natural hair as they are non stripping, a lot of silicones and other ingredients are non water soluble and can only be removed from your hair using a sulfate shampoo. The continued layering of these products on your hair without washing them out properly will cause build up on  your strands, no moisture will penetrate through and you begin to experience breakage as the hair becomes brittle from lack of penetrative moisture. This is why you will notice most brands that produce 'sets' will have sulfates in their shampoos where they have silicone rich conditioners.

Before we go any further, lets discuss what Silicones are, what they do for the hair and the type of silicones we have.

Reading and Understanding the Ingredient List on your products.

When you embark on a hair journey (whether relaxed or natural) the one thing you must begin to pay attention to are the ingredients in the products that you currently use and the ones you intend to purchase. Being aware of what you are putting in your hair is key in enhancing the moisture, resilience, softness and strength of your hair which in turn leads to healthy hair that retains length. The only way you are aware is by reading the ingredient list of your product AND understanding not just the ingredients listed but the ORDER in which they are listed.

Ingredients are typically listed in descending order i.e. from highest to lowest concentration. So whatever you see listed first is the main ingredient and whatever is last is the least ingredient. You'd be amazed to know that the first 3 ingredients make up about 90% of the entire contents! Everything that comes after will take up between 1 - 3% each. Therefore, don't be fooled by the marketing gimmicks of some companies that have exotic stuff emblazoned on the cover of their product (Argan Oil! Shea Butter! Murumuru Butter!) only to have it as the 15th one in a list of 17 ingredients!