Shampoo Ingredients
Printed From: HairBoutique.com
Category: Long Hair Happenings
Forum Name: Long Hair Support
Forum Description: Growing it long takes commitment and support.
URL: https://talk.hairboutique.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=632
Printed Date: July 29 2025 at 1:05pm
Topic: Shampoo Ingredients
Posted By: Holly
Subject: Shampoo Ingredients
Date Posted: May 30 2003 at 8:49am
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I recently bougth some new shampoo with Ammonium Laureth Sulfate as the second ingredient. Then I found on the web that it's a harsh cleanser. Should I use the shampoo anyway? Can the harshness of the cleanser really damage your hair? I shampoo about every other day. What would be good example of brands of shampoo that contain either Sodium Laureth Sulfate or TEA Lauryl Sulfate & TEA Laureth Sulfate? Also--I use a silicon shine enhancer in my hair almost everyday...would the two mildest cleansers get the silicon residue out of my hair just as well as the other "harsher" kinds? Sorry for all the questions--but I've been to the beauty supply store and none of the staff seems to have a clue as to what I'm taking about! =) But I figured almost every one here has been through the same thing trying to find an effective, gentle shampoo. * Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate - very harsh * Ammonium Laureth Sulfate- harsh * Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) - still rather harsh * Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES) - mild, great choice * TEA Lauryl Sulfate & TEA Laureth Sulfate- both are good choices |
Replies:
Posted By: Lyris
Date Posted: May 30 2003 at 11:04am
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Hi Holly, Great question. As my friends here know, geeky me gets really excited over ingredient questions. First, congratulations on deciding to cut through the marketing hype and make your buying decisions based on knowledge. You've already advanced one step toward better hair! I'm not surprised that no one at the beauty store could help. I have met gals who really have a gift for cutting, styling and coloring hair--truly amazing--but don't know their polyquarternium-11 from their phenyl trimethicone. I mean, really! But knowing product ingredients and shaping hair are two separate talents. A guy named Jerry used to work at my local Sally's, and while he was a very adept colorist, he also recommended Biolage shampoo for my dry hair. Biolage contains sodium lauryl sulfate. So much for the "hydrating" claim! He also told me Aussie Hair Insurance could repair my damaged hair after I stupidly dyed it crossing-guard orange. (NOTHING can repair hair since it lacks cellular regeneration--you can only mask the damage with conditioning agents to imitate a healthy look and feel.) Secondly, TEA-lauryl/laureth sulfate are NOT mild enough for dry hair. Of the common commercial surfactants, only sodium laureth sulfate takes that title. I highly recommend Paula Begoun's hair care book and Dr. Winter's cosmetic dictionary to learn more about specific ingredients. Also, I have compiled a rather lengthly ingredient glossary, and if you'd like I can email it to you. Send me your address via email if you want. I have a copy in my car at all times--you know, just in case a bottle of shampoo falls out of the sky and I need to check up on cyclopentaxilane! Third, is your hair dry, damaged, colored, frizzy, oily, normal, etc? This can help determine what products to use. SLS and the above mentioned cleansers won't destroy your hair or scalp but neither will they grant them any favors. If you are prone to dryness you're better of avoiding them altogether. There really is no such thing as a "clarifying" shampoo: Some just don't contain conditioning agents. If you stick with only shampoos containing sodium laureth sulfate and none of the harsher detergents, they will all clean the same since it's the SLES doing the cleaning. It is the addition of silicones, quaternary conditioning agents, protein, panthenol, film formers, etc., that can cause buildup. Find an SLES-based shampoo that omits these additives and it should work well as a clarifier. (Some chelating shampoos also include tetra/sodium EDTA to keep minerals from attaching to the hair shaft too.) Well, this response is reaching manifesto length so I should quit before fingers start dropping off. I hope this helps, Holly, and welcome to the board! :-) ------------- Look for beauty, and you will find no intelligence. Look for intelligence and you will find both.Proud member of the Cult of All Soft |
Posted By: claribuzz
Date Posted: May 30 2003 at 11:28am
hey Lyris could you send me your dictionary of ingridients. please You know I could just spend hours in a drugstore or any store that sells cosmetics. I just like to stand around and read. Read the ingredients. Its fun to know what they are and what they are for. Hehe  ------------- ARGHH |
Posted By: Lyris
Date Posted: May 30 2003 at 12:11pm
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You bet it's fun! Fun fun fun! :-) I'm such a nerd. Board mail me your email address and I will send it to you. Unfortunately I can't send it through board mail because it's very long and must go as a Word document attachment. ------------- Look for beauty, and you will find no intelligence. Look for intelligence and you will find both.Proud member of the Cult of All Soft |
Posted By: LetGoMommyHair
Date Posted: May 30 2003 at 9:15pm
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Lyris, Send it to me and I'll send you back a PDF (adobe acrobat) version of your document. This will make it smaller AND freely accessible to people who do not own Microsoft Word. Adobe Acrobat Reader can be freely downloaded from http://www.adobe.com - http://www.adobe.com I'll board mail you my email address! ------------- LetGo...sweetie...let go of mommy's hair... |
Posted By: HollyL
Date Posted: May 30 2003 at 10:01pm
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Lyris, I would say that my hair is normal...I know that encompasses a lot! It's just past my shoulders, average thickness. It does get a little greasy by the end of the day, but not excessive. I would consider it fine since it's pretty flat and limp, but it's also very resistant to styling. Usually in the morning I wash it and let it dry almost 80% and blow dry a little to give it some shape. The only products I use are a tiny bit of citri-shine silicon and a bit of hairspray. Oh--I also am getting quite a bit of grey (for my age--25!) I thinks it's about 10%-15%. So based on this would I be best with shampoo for "Normal hair" as long as I'm careful what surfactant is in it? ------------- |
Posted By: SuperGrover
Date Posted: May 31 2003 at 12:48am
ROTFL! You kill me, Lyris! But you're the guru. Thanks for the info! We can always count on you. ------------- "Hair is a part of you. It is not a part of me, because I am a frog." - Kermit the Frog on Sesame Street1b/N/ii ~ ??"/27"/32" |
Lyris wrote:Posted By: uzma
Date Posted: May 31 2003 at 1:08am
LYRIS ROCKS !!!!! ------------- Uzi |
Posted By: Lyris
Date Posted: June 02 2003 at 8:00am
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Well you KNOW I take my silicone derivatives quite seriously! We're talking life-or-death stuff here people! :-) Yes Holly I think you'll be okay with a normal shampoo as long as you avoid the harsher surfactants. That list I sent, as bulky as it is it carry around, is a great resource at the store. But a word of caution: People (especially other customers) look at you rather odd when you're intently reading the back of shampoo bottles. After awhile you get used to it. ;-) ------------- Look for beauty, and you will find no intelligence. Look for intelligence and you will find both.Proud member of the Cult of All Soft |
Posted By: Cyn1013
Date Posted: June 02 2003 at 10:39am
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hi lyris.. Can you also send me the ingredients? how do i bmail u my address? ------------- Cyndie |
Posted By: Lyris
Date Posted: June 02 2003 at 12:24pm
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Hi Cyndie, At the top right corner of this screen you should see a blue button that says "user options." Click on this, then click on "View Your bMail," then "Compose Message." Send it to my ID, Lyris. That way neither of us has to publish our address. Have a lovely week! :-) ------------- Look for beauty, and you will find no intelligence. Look for intelligence and you will find both.Proud member of the Cult of All Soft |
Posted By: claribuzz
Date Posted: June 02 2003 at 12:37pm
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Hehe i am also a nerd for reading ingredients in a drugstore You know, i never really noticed people staring at me when i read the ingridients But i cant do this hobby of mine  in a store near my college.Damn promoters keep bugging me with buying their products Once a lady dab the moisturizer on my face, there smack middle in the store with people around. When you are guy, it FREAKS you out] Thanks lyris for sending me the ingridients list to me YOu should copy right it ------------- ARGHH |
Posted By: Cyn1013
Date Posted: June 02 2003 at 1:08pm
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Hi Lyris, I just sent u a bmail with my address :) Thanks again! ------------- Cyndie |
Posted By: Jennifer
Date Posted: June 02 2003 at 2:09pm
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An extremely well-written book is "Don't Go Shopping for Hair Care Products Without Me," by Paula Begoun. In it, she lists all the ingredients found in shampoos, conditioners, and other hair styling products. She tells what the ingredient does and which ones are harsh and to be avoided. Her research is not funded by anyone but herself, so I feel that she is trustworthy. She does sell her own hair products (as well as cosmetics and make-up, and they're absolutely wonderful because they contain no perfumes or dyes that nearly every other company insists on using), but she does not promote them in her book and mentions specific companys by brand-name. I'd highly recommend the book! |
Posted By: uzma
Date Posted: June 02 2003 at 2:17pm
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I think our Lyris ate that book, chewed it and digested it. She was still hungry so she ate a few more books on chemicals in cosmetology. Then she ate about 10 or so product ingredient websites for dessert. Seriously, I would refer to our resident "Ingredients Guru" Lyris rather than any other single source. ------------- Uzi |
Posted By: Lyris
Date Posted: June 02 2003 at 2:27pm
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LOL...you're right Uzi, I have a very strange diet! You're very kind...though I don't consider myself a guru of anything (except shoe shopping. I'm unparalleled.) I did read Paula's Books and as a former journalist, I will say she's done a good job researching a very formidable field. While I don't think her books are perfect they shed an awful lot of light on a very sticky subject: the cosmetic/beauty industry and the flagrant lies they tell us. Whenever I am exercising in my basement, one of those noxious haircare commercials comes on with a shiny-haired teenager promising "healthy, repaired hair" if you only try this new hair dye! At this point in my workout I exercise my upper arm muscles by throwing the remote at the screen. I also give my vocal cords a good workout as I yell, "Bullsh***!" No hair color Dove or Clairol or L'oreal can mix up and package in an attractive little box can repair hair, since the alkalinity of dye makes it damaging by its very natures!!! Argh!!!!!! Sorry. Back to sanity now. Look what happens when I get into chemical talk! I'm all shook up :P ------------- Look for beauty, and you will find no intelligence. Look for intelligence and you will find both.Proud member of the Cult of All Soft |
Posted By: Cyn1013
Date Posted: June 02 2003 at 3:23pm
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LOL!! Hilarious Lyris simply hilarious! :-) ------------- Cyndie |
Posted By: uzma
Date Posted: June 02 2003 at 3:57pm
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I'm right with you, Lyris. The marketeers seem to think that the public is endlessly gullible to their packaging, psycho-manipulated imagery and life-style associations. Unfortunately, there is a self-fulfilling prophecy in operation as the repetition of the same message on our screens, billboards, radios, etc have a cumulative dulling effect on the brain and suddenly you find yourself reaching for that X brand hair-dye or whatever. Of course they are not all packaging lies. There are some excellent, high-quality products out there. Interestingly, the best commercial products I have used have been vey simply packaged and not advertised via the mass media. Still, I wonder how many people on this forum have been "woken up" by your informative interjections, Lyris. I, for one, have become an avid ingredient reader. Not of commerical hair products (don't buy any) but of every other chemically manufactured product that crosses my path!! ------------- Uzi |
Posted By: Jennifer
Date Posted: June 02 2003 at 4:24pm
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Lyris, thanks for reminding me why I haven't watched the boob tube for nearly ten years! Okay, it's nearly impossible to escape, unfortunately, as a lot of cafes, doctor's offices, and other public places seem to think that people will die without a boob tube fix! But I honestly haven't seen a shampoo or hair commercial for years. Hey, if you have accumulated even more info than Paula, you should write your own book!! ------------- |