Want to get better at choosing products for your hair? Learn how to read the ingredients label on your cosmetic products.
In the natural hair world, we are all very occupied with ingredients. Rightly so. For so long products have been formulated in a way that makes it difficult to care for natural hair. After much trial and error, I finally learned the importance of knowing how to read the ingredients label on cosmetic products.
Tip Tuesday: How To Choose Products for Your Natural Hair
Federal Regulations require ingredients to be written in order of concentration. However, the majority of the product is usually the very first ingredient (40% – 50%). Thus, when reading product labels, the most important ingredients are the first three to five. Also, any ingredients that make up less than 1% of the product does not have to be labeled in order of concentration. This means that the last ingredients on the label are only there in drops. Therefore, when a product features a specific ingredient, if it is not in the first five ingredients, it’s barely there.
Another aspect of reading product labels is putting ingredients in categories. For example, conditioners vs emollients vs cleansers. Don’t just seek to know about a specific ingredient is in the product, try to understand why the ingredient is in the product.
For example, Isopropyl Alcohol alone is not great for natural hair. I would not recommend putting straight rubbing alcohol on your hair. However, in cosmetic formulations, the ingredient serves as a great binder and antibacterial agent. The amount of Isopropyl Alcohol used in hair care products is so small, your hair will be fine.
Read the Ingredients Label
Should you ignore all ingredients past the first five? Absolutely not! Make sure you look for ingredients you are allergic to, may be irritating, and or ingredients you may morally be opposed to. Personally, if silicones are in the first five ingredients, and the product isn’t a heat protectant serum, I stay away. I’ve noticed that formulations with silicones high on the list just do not work for my hair. I expect slip, and that’s usually not what the product gives. You can see an example of this in the last Does This Work video with African Pride products.
Another miss for me is Mineral Oil. If I see Petrolatum/Petroleum or Mineral Oil in the first five ingredients, its a no go. In my experience, products with that ingredient listed in the first five build up on my hair fast. I have to shampoo several times to get Mineral Oil build-up out of my hair. For me, that’s just not worth the trouble. Hence why I stay away from hair grease. Been there… done that.
As usual, I do not want to just share this information without receipts. Be sure to click the links below to learn more about reading ingredients labels:
The Natural Haven: https://goo.gl/ywxJnG
Naturally Curly: https://goo.gl/c2vaaA
Do you pay attention to the ingredients label on your cosmetic products? What ingredients are no go for you?
