If your hair has been recently colored, chemically treated, or you naturally have dry or coarse hair, consider trying a sulfate-free shampoo to see if your hair health improves. You might want to avoid sulfate shampoos if you have sensitive skin or a skin condition such as rosacea.
Sulfate–free shampoo can make a difference to hair that is lacking in moisture, or hair that is color-treated. Normal shampoo with sulfates can strip the color out of your color–treated hair more quickly than sulfate-free shampoo and can be a contributing factor to dryness in frizzy or natural hair.
Sulfate free shampoo will get you feeling clean, but not stripped of moisture. The results? A healthier scalp with balanced oil production. Dry scalp types will find that their scalp is more moisturized (not oily), and oilier scalp types will find that their excessive oil production will be reduced over time.
For the most part, sulfates in shampoos are safe. They help the shampoo strip dirt and oil from the hair. For people with sensitive hair and skin, shampoos containing sulfates may cause some mild side effects, such as dry, brittle hair, and dryness or redness of the scalp.
People with dry or frizzy hair should also consider sulfate-free shampoo. Sulfate-free cleansers maintain the natural oils on the scalp and hair, which ultimately leaves your hair with more moisture. I can attest to that too; I've also noticed my tight curls stay more hydrated now.
It feels oily at the roots, like you didn't just wash it this morning. Don't worry - this is absolutely normal and very common! Your hair is going through an adjustment period as it adapts to your new, sulfate-free regimen. If you're like most Americans, you've been using sulfate-based products for years.
Sulfates are not necessarily harmful, however, they can be too good at their job, stripping the hair, scalp and skin of natural oils, and leaving it feeling dry and brittle. Because of this, certain people can benefit from avoiding sulfates in their self-care products.
Some forms of sulfates — like sodium lauryl sulfate — can cause significant scalp irritation, especially in people with sensitive skin. If sulfates cause enough irritation, they may contribute to hair damage and hair thinning in some people.
Are sulfates safe? There is no direct evidence linking SLS and SLES to cancer, infertility, or development issues. These chemicals may slowly build up in your body over long-term use, but the amounts are small. The highest risk of using products with SLS and SLES is irritation to your eyes, skin, mouth, and lungs.
Sulfate-free shampoos generally do not cause hair loss. Rather, shampoos that contain sulfates are more likely to cause thinning because they can irritate and inflame the scalp, and they break down your existing hair shafts.
If you introduce sulfate shampoo into the curly-picture, you may be making the situation worse, since sulfate lifts the hair cuticle, making it more likely to frizz. In this scenario, a shampoo without sulfate is best since it won't strip hair of as much moisture as a regular shampoo would.
Is sulfate-free shampoo good for fine hair? The short answer is yes. Sulfate-free hair cleansing options like Better Not Younger's Wake Up Call Volumizing Shampoo and Second Chance Low Suds Repairing Shampoo for Dry/Damaged Hair are superior solutions to treat the physiology of your aging hair.
DMDM hydantoin, a preservative in shampoos, conditioners and other water-based personal care products, is the focus of several class-action lawsuits against Johnson & Johnson and Unilever claiming exposure to the substance led to hair loss.
One more thing you may have noticed: many sulfate-free shampoos also contain tons of conditioning ingredients. This is to create a shampooing experience that feels less like you're shampooing and more like you're conditioning your hair. All too often, this leads to crazy buildup.
Whether from laundry detergent, soap, or shampoo, the sulfates can cause reactions in sensitive people. Sometimes, sulfates like SLS and SLES end up removing too much oil, washing off the skin's protective barrier and causing redness and dry, itchy skin. Dermatitis and edema.
Sulphate has a disadvantage: it can be drying and irritating to the skin and can cause tingling, itching and redness when it is present in a too large quantity in a product and when it is not combined with other mild surfactants.
Typically, sulfates appear on the labels as sodium lauryl sulfate, ammonium lauryl sulfate, and sodium saureth sulfate. In haircare, sulfates serve as the cleansing agent that makes shampoos sud up and cleanses the hair of dirt, oil, and debris.
To keep your oily scalp under control but still prevent damage caused by overwashing, it's best to limit hair washes to two or three times a week. You want to use a sulfate-free shampoo that can soothe, cleanse, and clarify your hair without stripping away beneficial oils.
Sulfate shampoos (and sulfate-free shampoos, in some cases) contain cleansers that decrease the hair's moisture levels. Every time you shampoo, you're removing natural oils from your hair and scalp, which can upset your moisture balance and give way to a straw-like texture.
The change can take up to 4-6 weeks depending on the amount of build-up in the scalp and hair, but in most cases, 2-3 weeks is enough to find a new balanced state in the scalp and hair.