Sulfates...what's the big deal?

For starters I'll give a little back ground. I have never been a big believer in product making a difference in my hair. I grew up on local grocery store brand shampoo and conditioner. My hair always worked. My mom permed my hair since Iwas say 7 years old. She said it was because it made it easier. I didn't like to brush my hair so a perm was the solution. All I needed to do was to "pick" it after I washed it. That's easy.

Moving into high school my sister (older sister) always went to the salon to get her hair done. Always spent good money on hair product and tried tirelessly to get me to see how much better my hair would be if I used her great shampoo too! Iwas fine with the grocery store brand that smelt like green apples!

I became a stylist 13 years ago and LOVE what I do! That is when I became a salon product jukie like my sisiter. Only I got most of it for a lot less than she. Perks of the trade you could say! So for the last 11 years I have used many different shampoos, conditioners and styling aids. I still perm my hair and now highlight. Needless to say my hair was pretty dry. That shouldn't matter though, I was using really good products. The products should be countering the effects of all the chemical processing I do to my hair. At least that is what the products claim they would do. After spending way to much money on these, so called great salon products I had enough. If I was going to spend any money at all on product, my hair better be the better for it.

When attending an industry trade show in New York two years ago, I received some information that changed my way of looking at hair product and changed my hair for the better. So from that day on I started an experiment on myself. I only used this product for 3 months. I wanted to give this experiment a good shot. So, I stopped using my ususal styling aids. My hair care regimen consisted of clenser, conditioner, leave-in conditioner and a water soluable hair gel if I wore my hair curly. If I blew it straight I just used the leave-in conditioner. I usually wash my hair 2 maybe 3 times a week.

The first week of using this product my hair was really curly! I was excited. Then, by week two my hair went back to its normal wave. This is where it stayed. A month or so after using the product the bounce and shine in my hair was better than ever. I did not need the after styling shine product to control the frizz and fly aways. I was previously over using! Perfect!I have been using this product for 2 years now and love it I have since started looking at products in a different way... looking at the ingredient in products, instead of following the marketing idea for a product.

Hair needs a balance of moisture and protein. Every head of hair is different. Some may need more moisture than another, but all need a combination of both. When your hair has the moisture and protein balance it needs it will be stronger, shinier and less frizzy.

When I attended the hair show I was introducted to a product that does not use sodium laurel sulfate in the ingredients. I had heard of this before but never really thought much of it. After the show I decided to look into it more. Especially since I was going to do this experiment on myself. This is what I found... Sodium Laurel Sulfate is a cheap filler among other things. It is usually at the beginning of an ingredient list because that is what fills the bottle up. Usually you'll find water first than a sulfate. Whether it is sodium laureth, ammonia laurel sulfate thay are all cheep fillers. They all are a little different from the other. They fill the bottle up to ceate the coveted and addictive bubbles in your shampoos, soaps, body wash. Although the bubbles do help move the product around your head and slighty break down the oils they are not nessicary to clean the hair. But, the beauty marketing industry did a good job at selling bubbles. People now feel they need bubbles in order to be clean.

Let's see what else you may get with those so called clean bubbles...

Potential for hair loss: Sodium laurel sulfates have been prove to damage hair follicle.

Skin Sensitivity: The SLS ingredient was actually creaed to irritate the skin. Depending on the % of concentration. If your head is itchy or you have sensitive skin, the sulfates in your product my be a factor for you. It takes moisture out of the skin and in my opinion out of the hair too. How tangled is your hair after you shampoo?

Damage to eyes: When the concentration % is high.

Suspect hormone disruptors,beacause of the oesrgen mimicking activity: Once the SLS molecule is in the skin it attaches to the oestragen receptors, then, mimics the effects of the hormone in other body systems.

Possibly Carcinogenic: This is up for debate becasue there is no proven evidence. The theory is SLS has a tendency t react with other ingredients. Thus, becoming carcinogenic.

After readng this I am sure some of you are a little dumbfounded, like I was, to learn that something you use everyday could be harmful. Especially something we associate with as "taking care" of our body like soap. It is suppose to be cleaning our skin not polluting it. We have to remember unlike the medical profesion the beauty industry does not have the same regulations to adhere to . We need to be a little more self reliant and investigate things that might not "sit well" with us.

I finally finished it! Sulfates...what's the big deal?

Seattle is BEAUTIFUL! Looks like all this rain is good for something!

We are all settled and adjusting! Funny how good news spreads fast. My daughters, friends mom's friend has curly hair.(did you follow that) They were talking and found out about my specialty and about the Curl Gala. What do you know... The friend of the daughters friends mom(Carol Ann) decided she would host a Curl Gala in her home with 10 of her friends!!! It was great!
Carol Ann was a great host, she had lunch set up. Had a great house with plenty of room and all the necessities for educating on curly styles.
Thanks to all who attended and to Carol Ann for her efforts in making it happen! In addtion to learning some new things and raised $110 for Locks of Love bringing our total donation for 2008 to $220!! Happy days!