8 Hair Products to Avoid Putting in Your Hair
Caring for your hair is an essential aspect of personal grooming, yet it can be frustrating trying a million products to find the one that makes your hair look perfect (without damaging it). With so many options on the market and conflicting information, hair care quickly becomes a confusing and misunderstood subject. Maintaining healthy hair […] The post 8 Hair Products to Avoid Putting in Your Hair appeared first on HUM Nutrition Blog.
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Caring for your hair is an essential aspect of personal grooming, yet it can be frustrating trying a million products to find the one that makes your hair look perfect (without damaging it). With so many options on the market and conflicting information, hair care quickly becomes a confusing and misunderstood subject. Maintaining healthy hair requires careful attention; however, with the plethora of hair care options and styling tools available, who knows what is truly ‘healthy’ and what causes harm? This list will help guide you on which chemicals, treatments, hair accessories, and other products you should avoid (and some safer alternatives to try).
Sensitivities and the Delicate Nature of Your Hair
Despite its seemingly strong and resilient appearance, hair is surprisingly delicate. The cuticle, which acts as a protective shield, can be compromised by various damaging factors. Given the multitude of products that can potentially harm your hair, it’s essential to first understand its sensitivity and how to maintain its health and vitality.
Products You Should Never Put in Your Hair
- Dry Shampoo
Dry shampoo is a lifesaver for those days when you don’t have time to wash your hair or want to extend your hairstyle another day. While convenient, the product can be harmful when overused. In 2022, an independent laboratory tested several dry shampoos, finding that 70% of the tested products contained some benzene. Benzene is a carcinogen that can cause cancer in individuals. Additionally, because we typically use dry shampoo indoors, we inhale the cancerous ingredient as we apply it to our hair. Benzene is known to have other adverse effects, including weakening the immune system, causing damage to the nervous system, and potentially causing congenital disabilities.
- Hair Ties and Other Damaging Accessories
For us long-haired girlies, elastic hair ties are a staple item that we always have on hand. Unfortunately, as convenient as they are, they can cause all types of damage. While in your hair, the elastic constantly pulls your hair back (often too tight), which strains your hair, causing damage to the follicles and ripping the hair out. Additionally, your hair becomes weak over time, leading to breakage, split ends, and hair loss.
However, hair ties aren’t the only culprit. Other damaging hair accessories include bobby pins, headbands, barrettes, hair extensions, and hats.
Here are some safer (less damaging) alternatives to use:
Hair ties: Scrunchies made of a soft material such as silk or velvet are a great option. (Make sure you don’t tie your hair too tight!) Spiral hair ties are also a good option for relieving pressure on the hair and preventing breakage.
Bobby pins: Make sure your bobby pins have rubber tips at the ends, and be gentle with your hair when using them.
Headband: Use a soft material like silk or satin that won’t cause as much friction when rubbing against your hair.
Hats: Adding a silk lining can help prevent damage. It’s also important to wash your hat and hair frequently so dirt and oils don’t accumulate on the scalp.
- Oils (on the scalp)
While oils can be beneficial in moderation, using too much or adding oil to the scalp can become heavy, causing buildup (especially if not washed out properly). Dermatologist and hair loss expert Hannah Kopelman says using oils (like coconut oil, for instance) can be both “beneficial and potentially problematic, depending on how it’s used.”
“It is excellent for adding moisture and shine to the hair and can penetrate the hair shaft, providing nourishment. However, it can clog pores if applied directly to the scalp, leading to issues such as folliculitis. To mitigate this, I recommend using coconut oil sparingly and focusing on the ends of your hair rather than the scalp.” All in all, just be careful where you put it, how much you put on, and most importantly, know your hair and skin type and needs before you start. Jojoba, argan, and avocado oils are also options that provide hair health benefits.
- Old Hairbrush
We often forget that part of a good hygiene routine is frequently replacing grooming items such as razors, makeup brushes, loofahs, and hairbrushes. But forgetting to replace these items, like a worn-out hairbrush, for example, can be harmful to your hair and scalp health. Broken bristles snag and tear hair, causing split ends. They also harbor a disgusting amount of bacteria, dead skin, and product buildup, which can transfer back onto your hair and scalp. Regularly replacing and cleaning your hairbrush can significantly reduce these problems.
In addition to keeping a clean hairbrush, it’s important to be gentle when brushing your hair, especially when it’s wet, as it’s more fragile and prone to breakage. A wet brush is a much safer alternative when you have wet hair. Kopelman agrees, stating, “These brushes help to gently detangle hair without causing excessive pulling or breakage.”
- Cotton Towel
Drying your hair with a cotton towel can be a mistake in many ways. If you’re accustomed to throwing your hair up in a towel after a shower, you know how heavy it is on top of your head (especially as the cotton absorbs the water, becoming even heavier). Doing this pulls on your hair, which can cause hair loss. Furthermore, rubbing your hair with the rough fibers of the towel can damage the cuticles. This causes friction, leading to frizz and breakage, making your hair appear dull and damaged. Instead of using a cotton towel for your hair, dry it with a microfiber towel or soft cotton T-shirt (both of which are much gentler on your hair).
- Using Hot Tools (Without Heat Protectant)
It’s no surprise that heat-styling tools, such as straighteners, curling irons, and blow dryers, cause significant damage to our hair. Most of us are guilty of using them more often than we’d like to admit. Regardless of frequency, if you’re using a heated styling tool, you need to apply a heat-protectant product first. High temperatures weaken the hair’s cuticle, leading to dryness, split ends, and breakage. Using a heat protectant product provides a seal around the cuticle, reducing the damage.
- Hair Products with Harsh Chemicals
Many shampoos, conditioners, and styling products contain harsh chemicals that can strip your hair of its natural oils, leading to dryness and damage. Some of the dangerous ingredients to look for in your products include:
Parabens: A popular chemical found in many cosmetic, hair, and beauty products, parabens work as a preservative in these products. Unfortunately, in addition to causing skin irritation and weakening of the follicles, they have been linked to potential cancer and fertility issues.
Sulfates: Another popular chemical, sulfates, strips the natural oils (sebum) from your hair, causing your hair to become dry, brittle, and damaged. It can also result in a dry and itchy scalp.
Polyethylene Glycols (PEG): PEG has many uses in hair, including thickening agents, enhanced penetration for hair color, and solvent (to name a few). It is often found in shampoos, conditioners, and hair creams to improve the product’s texture. However, using PEG can cause skin irritations, hair loss, and hair and scalp dryness.
Phthalates: Similar to parabens, phthalates are also found in many hair products, including shampoos, conditioners, and styling products. They are what’s known as endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDC), which have been linked to a long list of serious health ramifications. EDC examples include breast cancer, reproductive issues (for both men and women), obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular, and respiratory issues.
Hydrogen Peroxide: While it comes in handy for disinfecting and cleaning, it can damage your scalp and hair. Many use the chemical to lighten their hair, but doing so can damage the cuticle, causing hair to weaken and become dry, increasing the chance for breakage. It’s also dangerous for your scalp; not only can it make your scalp dry and itchy, but it can potentially cause burns.
What to Look For Instead:
Look for hair products that are natural and have beneficial ingredients. Kopelman suggests products that contain aloe vera, argan oil, keratin, panthenol (Vitamin B5), biotin, and glycerin.
- Bleaching, Relaxers, Brazilian Blowouts, and Perms
As someone who regularly visits the salon for bleach-blonde highlights, I can’t tell you (without sounding hypocritical) to give up your beauty treatments cold turkey. With that said, highlights and other hair treatments are terrible for your hair. “Bleach can cause significant damage to the hair shaft, leading to breakage and thinning,” Kopelman says. She continues, “It disrupts the hair’s natural protein structure, making it weak and prone to damage.”
Yes, chemical treatments like bleaching, relaxers, Brazilian blowouts, and perms cause extensive damage to the cuticle, changing the structure of your hair. This causes hair to become dry and brittle, increasing the chance of breakage. Also, frequently going in for chemical treatments can lead to long-term damage, potentially thinning your hair. Many hair treatments like perms and relaxers contain formaldehyde, which releases its gas during application. The International Agency for Research on Cancer has categorized the gas as a human carcinogen, additionally noting other potential side effects: nervous system and respiratory tract issues, nausea, chest pain, vomiting, rashes, headaches, and possibly cancer.
Things You Should Limit Putting in (or Doing to) Your Hair
When caring for your hair, certain things, like chemicals, should be avoided at all costs, and others, like washing your hair, should be limited. Even when using safe shampoos and conditioners for your hair, you don’t want to wash your hair every day. Overwashing your hair can strip its natural oils, leading to dryness and increased oil production from the scalp. Depending on factors like your hair type and lifestyle, you may need to adjust accordingly, but aim to wash your hair two to three times a week as a starting point.
Hot tools, even with heat protectants, should also be limited. After washing your hair, try letting it dry naturally and look into some styling options with non-heated tools. Hair ties or other hair accessories should be limited to non-damaging materials, but if all you have is elastic or steel, just be gentle styling your hair and don’t over-tighten anything. When you go to remove it from your hair, be gentle, so you don’t pull your hair out with it.
The Takeaway
Like any part of a healthy lifestyle, maintaining healthy hair requires a mindful approach. Taking HUMs Hair Strong is a must-have for maintaining healthy, strong hair. That being said, realistically, maintaining healthy hair means not every day is perfect (all the more reason to have Hair Strong in your daily routine). Sometimes, you have to do the best you can with what you have. There will be days when you only have an elastic hair tie to put your hair up with, or you oversleep and have no time to wash your hair, so you have to resort to dry shampoo. Avoiding or limiting harsh treatments, chemicals, and other harmful products as much as possible will substantially improve your hair health over time, giving you damage-free, glamorous hair.
The post 8 Hair Products to Avoid Putting in Your Hair appeared first on HUM Nutrition Blog.
