Organic shampoos: their benefits and why choose them without sulfates?

Organic and sulfate-free shampoos now take up an important place in the market, which is good news for our hair, as well as for the planet. Industrial shampoos use chemicals whose purpose is not to provide better hygiene, but to play on the subconscious and encourage a purchase. The foaming power of sulfates is the best example of this. Here is the decryption of the composition of shampoos.

How are industrial shampoos are made?

Industrial shampoo smells great and offers a nice color, but all of this is of course artificial. Dyes and odoriferous principles are purely chemical and unnecessarily pollute our cosmetics.

But it's the basic ingredients that cause the most problems:

- sulfates ;

- silicone ;

- the “nasties” conservatives.

These substances have a deleterious action on the hair, but also on the whole body, because they penetrate it through the skin. They are also accused of being endocrine disruptors which sow discord in our hormonal production and participate in the phenomena of precocious puberty or infertility, among others.

These endocrine disruptors are present in many products that we use, such as household products, and even food. Organic shampoo allows you to at least avoid this source of contamination.

Why choose a sulfate-free shampoo?

Industrial shampoos use sulfates for their surfactant properties. These give the shampoo a cleaning and foaming power. And foam, it is well known, it washes!

In reality, foam exerts an unstoppable psychological impact, because we subconsciously associate foam with cleaning, which does not have to be. Whether you use a hand or shower soap, or a shampoo, if you choose organic products, they will only lather very little, and yet they will wash you just as effectively, without damaging your skin and your hair.

The problem with sulfates is their detergent power that is too offensive and strikes the hair more than it cleans it. As a result, the hair is weakened and its pigment is tarnished. It is even worse for dyed hair, as the sulfates break down the color. The most sensitive people feel the effects directly on their scalp. In addition, these products are not biodegradable and add to the pollution of the planet.

Here is a non-exhaustive list of sulfates to avoid when buying your shampoo:

- Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) ;

- Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES) ;

- Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate (ALS) ;

- Sodium Myreth Sulfate (SMS), etc.

Sulfates are also popular with manufacturers because they are inexpensive. To counter their stripping effect, they then add silicone.

Silicone, derived from petroleum

Silicone is present in many everyday objects, including in our cosmetics. It is a synthetic product, derived from petroleum. It has the disadvantages for the environment: the extraction of petroleum is polluting, just like the manufacture of silicone which ends up in nature, because it is not biodegradable.

Silicone is also a product that plays on our unconscious: it covers the hair with a beautiful varnish that shines and makes the hair shine. In return, this fat clogs the pores and suffocates the hair. In the long term, the most vulnerable people can suffer from dysfunction or even severe hair loss. Check the label on your shampoo. Do not look for the term silicone that does not appear, but rather the following names: Dimethicone, Cethyl dimethicone, Phenyl trimethicone, Stearyl dimethicone, Cyclomethicone, Cyclotertrasiloxane, etc.

The « nasties" conservatives ...

Butylparabens and isobutylparabens, methylisothiazolinones (MIT) and methylcloroisothiazolinones (MCIT) ... products from the petrochemical industry, therefore extremely polluting. They serve as preservatives and do not have a direct negative effect on the hair. On the other hand, they are accused of many ills on general health and serious studies place them on the dock for pathologies as serious as breast cancer.

By choosing an organic shampoo, you avoid all these chemicals whose negative effects are insidious. Your hair will lather less in the shower, but your hair will be perfectly clean and above all in much better health.