Well I will let you be the judge.... so read on.....
I did a poll to see how many woman are not using Shampoo and only Co'washing. Out of 143 Voters here are the results:
108/75.52% Woman said yes they ARE using Shampoo
9/6.29% Woman said no they ARE NOT using Shampoo
26/18.18% Woman said SOMETIMES they use Shampoo
...I am currently doing a personal challenge of my own for a month which involves no use of shampoo. I read a article the other day that caught my attention. (See below) So far my hair has been liking it and it feels thicker but I am not sure should I give all the credit to that or the Boundless Tresses.
Shampoo Kills Your Hair (The Effects of SLS)
Nearly all shampoos cause hair loss. It is believed the ingredients in shampoo kill hair growth. My initial reaction was disgust — eeeughh But, to my surprise, countless people have reported the shedding of hair had reduced after giving shampoo the elbow. Some even sprouted fresh hair. This was enough to entice me off my well shampooed high horse and give grunge a go.
Is Shampoo Such a Bad Boy?
Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) is the ingredient in shampoo that has been singled out as the offending culprit. If you use shampoo then you’re drenching your head in SLS – it’s found in over 95 percent of commercial shampoos. SLS is a potent de-greaser, acting as a surfactant, binding to the dirt and gunk on your hair and scalp. After rinsing your hair, the grime is dragged down the plug hole by the SLS. SLS takes no prisoners, dirt is zapped away and your hair is left bright and bouncy. Yet even after rinsing SLS residue may have taken up camp in and on your scalp. Exposure itself may be enough to cause problems. SLS is also commonly found in detergents used for cleaning garage floors and engines. Some grungers cry foul: “if it is used for industrial cleaning what the **** is it doing to my hair?” But this argument is flawed. Many substances are used both industrially and by humans. Baking soda is used for high strength cleaning, yet we happily munch on cakes baked with it. The only side effect, a satisfied and bigger belly. One grunge theory warns we are laid bare to the effects of SLS just after a follicle has shed its hair. That those empty and open follicles die when exposed to the acidic nature of SLS for long enough, or in enough quantity. As part of the normal hair cycle the average person sheds over one hundred hairs every day. That’s ample opportunity to expose empty follicles to an SLS attack. When a follicle is dead you can say au revoir to that hair for good. Yet, there is no solid proof.
Common sense dictates, at the very least, if you are going to use SLS based shampoo, rinse thoroughly. Use less, rather than more shampoo. And whatever you do, don’t snooze in the bath tub just after you lathered your hair. On the other hand, SLS has been used in shampoo for over fifty years by millions of people, millions of times, repeatedly. So why isn’t everyone bald? There is a glut of possible reasons. Some people may be more sensitive to SLS than others, perhaps some sort of mild allergic reaction. It’s possible people with male pattern baldness may be more susceptible to the alleged evils of SLS. Some people may use less shampoo and so are less exposed, or maybe they rinse their hair more thoroughly, so there is less residue. Hair length could be a factor. The more hair you have the more dilute the residue will be on your hair and scalp, a possible reason why women don’t bald as much as men. There a hundreds of possibilities, alas nothing concrete.
Read more at: http://www.hairlossbuddy.com/20/sodium-lauryl-sulfate/
I did a poll to see how many woman are not using Shampoo and only Co'washing. Out of 143 Voters here are the results:
108/75.52% Woman said yes they ARE using Shampoo
9/6.29% Woman said no they ARE NOT using Shampoo
26/18.18% Woman said SOMETIMES they use Shampoo
...I am currently doing a personal challenge of my own for a month which involves no use of shampoo. I read a article the other day that caught my attention. (See below) So far my hair has been liking it and it feels thicker but I am not sure should I give all the credit to that or the Boundless Tresses.
Shampoo Kills Your Hair (The Effects of SLS)
Nearly all shampoos cause hair loss. It is believed the ingredients in shampoo kill hair growth. My initial reaction was disgust — eeeughh But, to my surprise, countless people have reported the shedding of hair had reduced after giving shampoo the elbow. Some even sprouted fresh hair. This was enough to entice me off my well shampooed high horse and give grunge a go.
Is Shampoo Such a Bad Boy?
Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) is the ingredient in shampoo that has been singled out as the offending culprit. If you use shampoo then you’re drenching your head in SLS – it’s found in over 95 percent of commercial shampoos. SLS is a potent de-greaser, acting as a surfactant, binding to the dirt and gunk on your hair and scalp. After rinsing your hair, the grime is dragged down the plug hole by the SLS. SLS takes no prisoners, dirt is zapped away and your hair is left bright and bouncy. Yet even after rinsing SLS residue may have taken up camp in and on your scalp. Exposure itself may be enough to cause problems. SLS is also commonly found in detergents used for cleaning garage floors and engines. Some grungers cry foul: “if it is used for industrial cleaning what the **** is it doing to my hair?” But this argument is flawed. Many substances are used both industrially and by humans. Baking soda is used for high strength cleaning, yet we happily munch on cakes baked with it. The only side effect, a satisfied and bigger belly. One grunge theory warns we are laid bare to the effects of SLS just after a follicle has shed its hair. That those empty and open follicles die when exposed to the acidic nature of SLS for long enough, or in enough quantity. As part of the normal hair cycle the average person sheds over one hundred hairs every day. That’s ample opportunity to expose empty follicles to an SLS attack. When a follicle is dead you can say au revoir to that hair for good. Yet, there is no solid proof.
Common sense dictates, at the very least, if you are going to use SLS based shampoo, rinse thoroughly. Use less, rather than more shampoo. And whatever you do, don’t snooze in the bath tub just after you lathered your hair. On the other hand, SLS has been used in shampoo for over fifty years by millions of people, millions of times, repeatedly. So why isn’t everyone bald? There is a glut of possible reasons. Some people may be more sensitive to SLS than others, perhaps some sort of mild allergic reaction. It’s possible people with male pattern baldness may be more susceptible to the alleged evils of SLS. Some people may use less shampoo and so are less exposed, or maybe they rinse their hair more thoroughly, so there is less residue. Hair length could be a factor. The more hair you have the more dilute the residue will be on your hair and scalp, a possible reason why women don’t bald as much as men. There a hundreds of possibilities, alas nothing concrete.
Read more at: http://www.hairlossbuddy.com/20/sodium-lauryl-sulfate/
I am a little wary of shampoos after I learned about SLS as well. But you do NEED shampoo in your hair care regimen, especially if you are doing conditioner washes and/or only using conditioner in your hair. The silicone buildup + no shampoo = asking for trouble.
ReplyDeleteThe only light at the end of the tunnel for me is that Aveda's shampoos do not contain any SLS (at least synthetic versions). If you read any sulfates or silicones in their ingredient list (depending on teh product and the line), there will be an asterisk next to it which notes at the bottom that it is coming from all natural and organic source. Hope that helps!
Shadow, thanks for responding. I hear alot of women raving about Aveda products. I have never tried it so I so not know what the hype is about....I might wind up trying it. I am all for products with natural ingredients. Oh yeah I know that is defintely asking for trouble so thats why I am just trying it out for a month. If everything goes okay and I like the conditioner washes I will stick to it and claify once a month.
ReplyDeleteThis is really interesting. Although I don't think I could give up shampoo but I will purchase one that doesn't contain chemicals. i just bookmarked your blog! You give such excellent information. Thank you again for replying my comment.
ReplyDelete♥ Dara aka (let it grow)
simply.dara,
ReplyDeleteAwww (gives Dara big hug) Thanks!
I defintely feel you about not giving up the Shampoo...its been something we have been trained to do since little. But yes giving up the bad ingredients is about the best thing to do. For this month I put myself on a strict no shampoo challenge.I just wanted to try it to see what my roots feel like. So far so good and it actually feels like my hair is thickening. Again thanks for stopping by. I will be checking for updates on your blog. "Let it Grow" girly! :)