Most of us think our hair products are made to fix problems, but what if they are actually the source of your distress? Can our hair products cause our hair to shed, thin, break, or just cause excessive damage?
It depends on who you ask: even the experts will disagree on this question because there are so many factors that come into play to determine if products can make your hair shed or thin or become weaker.
What is certain is that improper use of any product can possibly cause harm to your hair, scalp or body, but to know if regular use of a seemingly good product will cause damage is hard to determine simply because each person may use their hair products differently.
For example, there are several brands of conditioners that say to rinse, but I will use as a leave-in and I have often wondered, could that cause damage? Or can it just create massive build-up? One thing is for sure: even if two people do the same thing with the same brand, it doesn’t mean they will have the same outcome because they have different hair. They may live in different climates, and have different health situations.
Sometimes technique is key, and a gentle application can have a drastically different result from someone who tends to be rough with their tresses. With overwhelming differences in people, usage and products, you just can’t be sure on many things, but we can be sure about a few. Here are a few cases where hands down the products may be causing damage to your strands.
Commercial Hair Dye
Hair dye can be extremely harsh to your hair, and for good reason. Many or most commercial hair dyes have ammonia and hydrogen peroxide in them to give you the rich colors you want to achieve.
“A very popular way to achieve permanent hair coloring is through the use of oxidation dyes…The preparation (dye precursors) is in the leuco (which means colorless) form. Oxidizing agents are usually hydrogen peroxide, and the alkaline environment is usually provided by ammonia.
The combination of hydrogen peroxide and the primary intermediate causes the natural hair to be lightened, providing a “blank canvas” for the dye. Ammonia opens the hair shaft pores so that the dye can actually bond with the hair and speeds up the reaction of the dye with the hair. Now people can dye their hair without bleaching it.” [Source: Wikipedia]
yes doctor miracle temple balm burned away my edges.yup complete opposite of what its sapose to do.
Yes.
Why
Because these companies don’t care what’s going into their products they just slap natural and growth and people buy it
The only products I buy are my conditions and shampoo.
Everything else I make because these companies can’t be trusted.
Companies use gimmicks, gimmicks make you buy. Simply said if something says moisturizing and you read the ingredients and in the top four or five ingredients is alcohol its not moisturizing its drying… very! I encourage you to research the ingredients in your products as a hairstylist when a new professional product comes out I look at the ingredients every time if I’m not sure of one I consult my good friend Google 🙂
I had the miracle balm from doctor miracle. I thought I try it for my edges and it weakened my edges even more now I use castor oil and use lots of TLC. these companies are swindlers and everyone wants to make a product. Just be legit and help all who need certain hair products…but nope don’t get that at all. So I only use Shea Moisture products with castor oil, aloe vera juice, coconut oil, and other natural/organic products. Thanks for the article! Really makes you think
Yes.. That’s why I only use natural and organic… Stay far away from chemicals
What’s the best hair dye for natural hair?
I used a permanent dye,not bashing anybody but the product took my hair out and now my hair is shortet thn it suppose to be!!! I don’t use anything with chemicals,alcohol, moreone thn one ingerdent products and only uses products with real natural ingredients only!!! Also i stay away from heat as well to help to strengthen hair back to it best!!! :-
I guess just dePends on the person because I used organic coconut oil on my haIr for awhile and my hair broke off a lot in small pieces :/ had to stop using it but it helps a lot of other women.
I think poducts are unnecessary as far as health and growth goes – Hair likes water and oil. The only things I use that aren’t entirely organic/natural are conditioner (and mine happens to contain very few chemicals or unnatural ingredients). And I used to use sulphate free shampoo, but since I cut down on product use I’ve not used it at all. The bottle has been sat in my hair basket for months now and I’m quite happy that I no longer feel dependent on it. In fact, I’ve recently barely been using conditioner as my hair is peaking in health and my regimen repells tangles 😀