All About Shampoo: The Sulfate Free Movement

For years, kinky curly coily heads everywhere have moved away from the use of most commercial shampoos. For many, this migration to other cleansing alternatives is due in large part to a common cleansing agent called Sodium Lauryl Sulfate or Sodium Laureth Sulfate. Many who have shied away from this ingredient claim that although this cleansing agent is extremely effective, it is overly drying to curly hair. But how is this cleansing agent overly drying? And why does it only effect curly hair in this manner? I decided to do some research to find the answers to those very questions.

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) and Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES), like all cleansing agents, are surfactants. Surfactants are materials that can greatly reduce the surface tension of water when used in low concentrations. This allows water to get underneath oil and dirt so that the impurities can be removed from the surface that one desires to be cleaned. (Surfactants can be used in a variety of different ways, not just as cleaning agents, but for the purposes of this post I am focusing only on the properties of surfactants as cleaning agents.) Both SLS and SLES are surfactants that are extremely effective for tasks requiring the removal of oil. This application is ideal for many cleansing purposes such dish washing detergents, floor cleansers, clothing detergents, and shampoo. Shocked that our hair is seen as having comparable amounts of oil as your floor? I was too, but after a little more research I discovered the logic behind it.

Everyone, regardless of whether you have kinky curly coily hair or straight hair, produces an oil called sebum. Sebum is an oily, waxy, naturally odorless substance produced to lubricate the skin and hair of mammals. For humans, this substance is produced in greatest abundance on the face and the scalp. Ideally, our scalp produces sebum, and the sebum glides down our hair shaft providing moisture to our hair. Overtime (depending on how your body personally produces the substance), sebum can accumulate in our hair, giving it that nasty, oily, and dirty appearance and feel. To rid our hair of this oily substance, a cleansing agent that is effective in removing oil is necessary. This is why many companies have chosen to use SLS and SLES in their shampoos.

So why do these cleansing agents effect curly hair differently from straight hair? Well, the difference in the physical properties of straight hair and curly hair provide some insight. For those with straight hair, the body's naturally produced sebum can freely flow down the hair shaft since there is nothing obstructing it from doing so. Curly hair, on the other hand, does not allow sebum to be moved so easily. With all of the turns and curves of curly hair, sebum does not have the ability to flow all the way down the hair shaft. Because of this, little to no sebum actually reaches the ends of curly hair. Using the same strong oil removing cleansing agent will therefore produce a different effect on straight and curly hair. Since straight hair will have excess sebum, the use of SLS and SLES shampoos will not excessively strip the hair of moisture. Curly hair, on the other hand, which usually does not have excess sebum, will usually be stripped of what little moisture it does have by the use of SLS and SLES based shampoos. For this reason, many kinky curly coily heads have chosen to forego sulfate shampoos.

This is not the effect that SLS and SLES based shampoos will have on all curly hair, but most people have experienced excessive dryness from its use. I have personally chosen to not use sulfate shampoos and I have noticed somewhat of a difference in the moisture levels of my hair. As always, use ingredients and products that work best for your hair.

All About Shampoo: Clarifying v. Moisturizing

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There are tons of shampoo’s out there on the market. Some claim that they can be used daily, others claim to be moisturizing, and still others claim to be clarifying. But what exactly is the difference between these classifications of shampoos? And how do they fit into a hair regimen? After asking myself these same questions, I did some research, and here are the conclusions that I came to.

Moisturizing/Daily Use Shampoo

Most shampoos that you pick up at your local drugstore or BSS are moisturizing/daily use shampoos. Shampoos within this category have the ability to clean the hair “gently” without drying it out. Since the ingredients aren’t nearly as harsh as clarifying shampoos, you should be able to use these shampoos frequently without running into too many problems. While these shampoos are good for removing dirt and excess oil, it is possible that they don’t completely remove all product residue from your hair and scalp. Depending on the amount and kind of styling products that you use, you could go weeks before product build up becomes an issue. A stronger shampoo is needed to rid the hair of product residue.

Clarifying Shampoo

Clarifying shampoo is a more potent shampoo that is designed to deep clean your hair and scalp. This type of shampoo has the ability to remove all product residues from your hair and scalp. If this product residue is left un-removed from your hair, it will cause your hair to lose its sheen, become limp, and hard to style. This residue can also build up on the scalp both preventing the hair follicle from “breathing” which slows hair growth and causing scalp issues such as dandruff. Although clarifying shampoo is

Shampoos categorized as moisturizing or daily use are shampoos that have the ability to clean the hair and scalp, but aren’t as potent as clarifying shampoos. These shampoos usually contain things that your strands can handle on a daily or weekly basis without being overly drying to the hair.