Are you tired of brittle, frizzy, and dry hair? Want your hair to grow out? For longer hair, we can suggest 10 Ayurvedic herbs for hair growth. However, if you want healthier hair, you need to switch to a mild shampoo. The shampoo you are using has harmful chemicals that could damage your hair in the long term? So what should be the next logical step? Make that switch already! Mild shampoos make sure that a lesser amount of chemicals damage and infiltrate your hair and scalp.
Read on to know exactly how not using a mild shampoo can negatively impact your hair. In the absence of mild shampoo:
- Your hair consists of many chemicals causing it to dry out gradually.
- Your hair is frizzier than ever before.
- Your hair strands are weak and brittle, breaking away easily.
- You have been using a standard shampoo over a long period, and your hair is damaged with increased hair loss.
Also read: Aloe vera for dandruff
What Is Mild Shampoo?
- A mild shampoo has a lesser amount of chemicals. These are gentler on your scalp and jam-packed with ingredients that cleanse your scalp. The constituents of a mild shampoo remove dirt and excess sebum or oil from your scalp without drying out or damaging your hair.
- It is pretty straightforward. A mild shampoo is one of the first steps women should be taking if they wish to combat hair loss. This switch from your typical shampoo to a mild one is taking 1 step forward towards healthier hair.
Mild Shampoo: Ingredients to Avoid
Want to know a shocking fact? Research has revealed that your regular shampoo contains detergents. Yes! The same kinds that you use to clean your house. You can imagine for yourself how harmful that is for hair health.
But what are these detergents? What should you avoid? All you have to do is read on to find out more!
Sulfates are detergents in your shampoo ingredients
- What is the primary function of a shampoo? To keep your scalp clean and free from harmful bacteria. Hence, the shampoo contains chemicals to achieve this. But that cleansing process is not the healthiest one for your hair.
- What are some of these ingredients? Sodium lauryl sulfate(SLS), sodium laureth sulfate, and ammonium lauryl sulfate. It is not challenging to understand what is common between them. They are all forms of sulfates.
- A pro tip? It would be best if you steered clear away from sulfate-based shampoos. So what's the alternative? An SLS or sulfate-free shampoo. If your shampoo still consists of sodium laureth sulfate and ammonium lauryl sulfate, it is not a sulfate-free one. Sulfate-free means NO form of sulfate whatsoever should be mixed into the shampoo you are using.
Going through the ingredients mentioned behind your shampoo bottle is a beneficial practice that keeps women from being fooled.
Sulfate-free shampoo = Less chemical shampoo.
Sulfate-free means fewer chemicals. This also extends to no parabens, artificial fragrances, and harmful ingredients.
A Paraben free shampoo is a shampoo with fewer chemicals
- Parabens are yet another set of chemicals worked into your shampoo to make it last longer in terms of usage.
- Parabens are also responsible for getting rid of microorganisms from multiplying in your shampoo, increasing its shelf life, and eradicating bacteria from it.
- It sounds like essential ingredients for your shampoo, right? Wrong. Make sure you are opting for small amounts of parabens if you need to. It is still a chemical, after all, and does more harm than good.
- Natural is always the best route to follow. For example-trying the super herb known as Shikakai benefits for hair.
Paraben-free shampoo = A shampoo with lesser chemicals
Added fragrances are harmful shampoo ingredients
- What is another fundamental function of your shampoo? To make your scalp feel fresh, not smell fresh. Which woman doesn't like her hair smelling great after her first shampoo? However, your shampoo is not meant to provide you with aromatic scents.
- We agree that some of them smell undeniable but have you ever wondered why that is? Chemicals are responsible for artificial fragrances in your shampoo. Not to mention allergic scalp reactions and dandruff if some of these synthetic fragrances don't agree with the pH level of your scalp.
- In such cases, natural remedies such as curd and lemon for dandruff are essential to incorporate into your hair regime as well.
- Many shampoo-selling beauty organizations use the word 'fragrance' to cover up the usage of extra chemicals that wear out your hair.
So the next time you want all of you to smell amazing, just apply perfume instead.
Also read: Top grey hair treatment to prevent white hair from spreading
Mild shampoo means = Fragrance-free shampoo
Who Should Switch to a Mild Shampoo?
- That question needs no answer if you read this blog carefully. Just to make it clear, though- everyone! Every woman should make the switch from standard shampoos to mild ones.
- Whether you have straight hair, wavy hair, curly hair, an oily scalp, or a dry scalp, mild shampoos suit all hair types.
- Mild shampoos, like shampoos laden with chemicals, clean your hair and scalp of the gunk, pollution, dead skin cells.
- The fact that there are lesser chemicals means that your hair will be allowed to breathe, and your scalp will not be forced to tolerate these harmful shampoo ingredients.
- Switching to a mild shampoo means restoring your hair's health by merely reducing the chemicals in your shampoo.
- The only added effort might be to ensure gently scrubbing your scalp on days when you have too much dirt accumulated.
References
- Rachel Ross; What Are Parabens? - https://www.livescience.com/64862-what-are-parabens.html
- Paschal D'Souza and Sanjay K Rathi1; Shampoo and Conditioners: What a Dermatologist Should Know? - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4458934/
- Jennifer Gubitosa,Vito Rizzi, Paola Fini, and Pinalysa Cosma, February 2019; Hair Care Cosmetics: From Traditional Shampoo to Solid Clay and Herbal Shampoo, A Review - https://www.mdpi.com/2079-9284/6/1/13
- Cara A. M. Bondi, Julia L. Marks, Lauren B. Wroblewski, Heidi S. Raatikainen, Shannon R. Lenox, Kay E. Gebhardt, November 2015; Human and Environmental Toxicity of Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS): Evidence for Safe Use in Household Cleaning Products - https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.4137/EHI.S31765
