I was at the hairdressers for a “spruce” yesterday, as my hair has grown super-fast this summer and my roots were getting out of hand. I’d also decided to go red this summer, and my lovely colour had all but faded in the three weeks since I was last in. Indecent I know, but I seem to repel red colour. I have Gore-tex hair, it’s a curse. Unfortunately, I love my hair red, it suits me (I think), and I am not willing to give up colouring. So something will have to be done or I will be making once-a-fortnight trips to the salon to get my hair touched up, and I really can’t afford that on my salary.
I have resisted buying a colour shampoo/conditioner for awhile now, because all the products tailored for reds have an awful perfumey smell (I prefer my scents to come from essential oils rather than chemicals born in a lab) and also because I don’t fancy washing my hair with products that contain parabens and other nasty chemicals. I’d heard about the various different nasties cosmetics companies sneak into almost every product on the market, but it wasn’t until I read Kate Lock’s “Confessions of an Eco Shopper” last year that I started scouring ingredient labels on everything I put in my shopping basket. The salesgirls at Harvey Nicks sometimes look at me with puzzled expressions as I squint for half an hour at a pot of cleanser.
Let me just say I was a little heartbroken (not distraught, as it’s only shampoo) to discover Kiehl’s products contain parabens. Kiehl’s for fuckssake! I’d been using their Olive Oil shampoo and conditioner almost exclusively for a year, not to mention their face washes, sunscreen, moisturiser. It made me a little sad as Kiehl’s is a brand I always associated with pure ingredients, and one I have recommended to friends. I bought their centella asiatica cleanser and moisturiser for my boyfriend’s best friend when he was having a weird skin reaction to pretty much every face product he tried – however I have not looked at the list of ingredients for their centella range, and aside from that he was every so impressed with them he’s requested the pair for future b-day and Christmas pressies as they’ve worked so well for him. Tbh I have not been to the Kiehl’s counter in quite a few months, so much was my disappointment, so I may be completely out of order here and they may have removed parabens from their ingredients. I am crossing my fingers as wel speak. I have noticed over the past few months that quite a few companies now advertise they are “paraben-free” on their labels, especially some which I know in the past have used parabens as a preservative…so, a step in the right direction, I think. Hopefully Kiehl’s have jumped on this particular bandwagon, and I can go back to using their lovely potions.
However, credit where credit’s due – I’ve read Kiehl’s have come out with a new body “cleanser” - shower gel – with green credentials. The minimum of ingredients (all biodegradeable), minimal environmental impact and maximum reuse, and cradle-to-cradle certified (C2C certification is a multi-atribute label - meaning it has passed an assessment of the product’s safety not only to us and the environment, but also for future life cycles, focussing on using materials that are safe and can be disassembled and recycled as technical nutrients of composted as biological nutrients). Kiehl’s currently sell two products/ranges that carry a C2C certification – their new Aloe Vera Biodegradeable Liguid body cleanser (which I have not tried yet) and their Acai Damage Repair range. I am currently using the acai cleanser, which is quite nice and easy to rinse off, as it comes in mousse form. It is however not as moisturising and softening as I know some of their other products are.
Back to my original issue – keeping this darned red hair of mine red. I have asian hair, which is hardy and strong but not so great with holding colour. Back in my hair-bleachine/perming/straightening heyday, around year three into my student days, after I had my dark brown hair bleached ash blonde, dyed blue, then “plum”, highlighted, permed, bleached again – I’d gone to a hairdressers in my hometown wanting more highlights added to my SO unnatural honey blonde tresses (unnatural mainly because I am asian) to which she point-blank refused, warning me my hair would break off and die, pretty much. This was just from looking at my already-blonde hair with the permanent wave. She said hair that is bleached should never be bleached again, and was horrified when she heard what processes that poor head of hair had been through just in the past six months. Then she took a closer look and was amazed – nothing broken, not too many split ends – I mean, my hair was dry and not in great condition, but by all accounts there should not have even been much hair left on my head after the abuse I subjected it to. Point taken, hair strong as an ox but still looks a mess most of the time.
I have had a wee scout about for a good colour shampoo and conditioner with green credentials, paraben-free, SLS-free, and without the horrible lingering perfume smell I hate. Now I’ve had a few recommendations, and I have to admit I did a search online for reviews as well, and I think I may have come up trumps with one range – Aveda’s madder root shampoo and conditioner, which contains henna I think, and from what I remember from Civello, the Aveda salon in Toronto, smelling lovely, natural and earthy. I will be stopping by Jenners on my way home this evening to have a gander at the ingredients. If there are any nasties in there I may cry – or dye my hair back to brown.
Here is my list of nasties I try to avoid in my cosmetics – and the ingredients I squint to find on those labels.
1. Parabens - Methylparaben, propylparaben, butylparaben and ethylparaben
When Kate Lock wrote “Confessions of an eco-shopper”, she bemoaned the fact almost every product on the market contained parabens, and it was daned near-impossible to find a moisturiser or a cleanser that didn’t contain this nasty. However since the book was published in 2008, I’ve noticed quite a few products (especially in high-end department stores like Harvey Nicks and Jenners in Edinburgh) have had a “paraben-free” label. Parabens are preservatives used to extend the shelf life of a product and inhibit microbial growth. They are also hormone disruptors and may cause allergic skin reactions in many people. Oh, and they’re known to be toxic – always a bonus.
2. Diazolidinyl urea, Imidazolidinyl urea
Preservatives again. They have been shown to be a primary cause of contact dermatitis and can release formaldehyde, which is toxic. Formaldehyde you will probably know is what is used to preserve dead bodies - I have had the pleasure of visiting the dissection room at a well-known Paris institution back in my days as an art student, where pickled body parts were stored to be studied by medical students and to be sketched by art students.
3. Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone
More preservatives that I have noticed appearing on product ingredient labels. I have hard talk some companies are using these to replace parabens and some other common preservatives so they can slap a bag fat “parabenfree” sticker on their product. They may be cause neurotoxicity and allergic reactions.
4. Sodium lauryl sulfate, Sodium laureth sulphate (SLS)
SLS is VERY commonly used in cosmetic products, particularly shampoos. SLS is a cheap, harsh detergent used in shampoos and cleansers mainly for its cleansing and foam-building properties, but can cause skin irritation and allergic reactions. If your shampoo lathers up to a nice foamy lather, which in the 80s I believe people though was the mark of a good cleanser and not a foaming agent, it’s probably SLS. Just for the record, a thick foamy lather is not an indication your hair will be cleaner than with a less foamy product. Quite interestingly, I read an article about common misconceptions about natural shampoos that don’t contain SLS, which was very interesting and which you can find here. Apparently sodium laureth sulphate is slightly less harsh than sodium lauryl suphate, but both an cause scalp irritation and flakiness.
5. Diethanolamine (DEA), Triethanolamine (TEA)
These are emulsifiers and/or foaming agents. Again as with the foam-building properties of SLS, the addition of a foaming agent may create a thick lather but this will not clean your face or hair more effectively. DEAs and TEAs can cause allergic reactions, eye irritation and dryness, and they can also be toxic.
6. Petrolatum
Otherwise known as petroleum jelly, this is a cheap mineral oil that claims to be moisturizing but can actually interfere with the body's natural moisturizing mechanism, which can lead to more of the problem than it can sove. Petrolatum is often used in lip balms (although there are some good beeswax and cocoa butter ones available now), and is probably a large factor in why overuse of these balms can cause more dryness of the lips than not using anything at all.
7. Polyethylene glycol (PEG), Polypropylene glycol (PPG)
These are synthetic petrochemicals used as humectants which have been known to cause skin irritations. PEGs and PPGs are similar to propylene glycol, which isn’t that bad if formed from a veg-based glycerine mixed with grain alcohol. If the product is largely made up of natural ingredients and without other nasty chemicals, if propylene glycol is on the ingredients list the product may be ok. However if propylene glycol is not formed in this manner, it is probably best to avoid.
8. PVP/PVA Copolymer
This is an chemical derived from oil, most commonly used in hair sprays or styling products. It is toxic when inhaled, which may explain why you might have heard about idiots buzzing bottles of hairspray.
9. Stearalkonium Chloride
This was originally developed as a cheap fabric softener, but no appears in some hair conditioners. It can cause allergic reactions and is toxic.
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