Peroxide is a permanent way to lighten your hair without using bleach, which is much harsher, but it isn’t necessarily good for your hair either.
It strips the hair of its moisture, and if you don’t re-moisturize your hair, you can be left with dry, brittle strands that will feel like straw and can easily break. Ammonia literally lifts your hair cuticle by elevating the pH of your hair, and once you have disturbed the cuticle, the damage can start because the cuticle is not meant to be lifted.
There are hair dyes that don’t use ammonia like Shea Moisture* Hair Coloring System, but they are limited in the color range they can give, and they are still bad for the hair because there are other chemicals in the dye.
The bottom line is hair dye is bad for your hair, especially if you do not combat the damages they can inflict with good hair practices of re-moisturizing, and adding protein after each use.
Too much protein
Proteins are needed in our hair products to give back what we take from our strands through manipulation and using certain damaging products like hair dyes, but using too much protein is just as bad as not using it at all. Using too much protein or too often can make the hair become brittle and break, so finding a balance with protein usage is necessary. Usually, getting a protein treatment once a month is more than enough, and even less if you are not doing any damage to your strands.
Long-lasting holding products
Styling gels, mousses, and hairsprays that give you maximum hold become necessary when you are planning on attending an event, and want your hair to stay in place, or hold those curls just right. The problem is they can be damaging to your tresses when you try and work them out, and over using them can be drying to your hair.
Many of these products use drying alcohols to keep your hair held in place, which means you have to always keep your moisture levels high, especially when using drying, holding products.
Edge Control Products
With these products, it isn’t the products themselves that are the issue, but rather the thought process behind it. When you find a great edge control, the temptation is always there to slick your hair back and make sure those edges are perfect. Edge control tends to make you want to manipulate your sensitive edges even more than if you did not use the product at all, leading to hair loss.
The point is we have to be smart with our hair products, as we use them to maintain our hair to make sure they do not affect our hair adversely, causing shedding, thinning, or breaking. Outside of medical conditions or allergic reactions to ingredients, hair products are not necessarily bad when used as intended, used sparingly, and with excellent hair upkeep.
Isha Walker says
yes doctor miracle temple balm burned away my edges.yup complete opposite of what its sapose to do.
Rochelle Corilette Liyah Warner says
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.
Bria Jones Loftis says
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 🙂
Steen H. says
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
Kelly White says
Yes.. That’s why I only use natural and organic… Stay far away from chemicals
Taira Glover says
What’s the best hair dye for natural hair?
Beverly TruelyBlessed Conover says
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!!! :-
Kelly Jamila says
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.
Kashmere Noel says
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 😀