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Hair Care Product Ingredients
by Audrey Sivasothy
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Overview
The many different types of hair care ingredients in our products play an important role in hair care. When used at the proper time, products containing different ingredients can work together to produce an amazing head of hair. Unfortunately, if you've ever scanned the back of your favorite shampoo or conditioner bottle, you know that decoding the ingredients in hair care products can be a very daunting task.
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Significance
Very few products actually contain "everyday" household ingredients. Instead, they contain tongue-twisting chemical compounds with complex scientific names. In recent years, however, there has been a trend toward incorporating more common-sounding organic ingredients into hair care products. This article will help demystify the common ingredients found in your favorite hair care products.
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Moisturizing Ingredients
After water, the most common moisturizing ingredients in shampoos, conditioners, and moisturizer crème formulas are called humectants (or water drawing/attracting compounds). Humectants include ingredients like propylene glycol and glycerine that pull moisture into the hair from the environment. Some light proteins like silk and hydrolyzed wheat protein also act in a moisturizing capacity. These proteins add elasticity to the hair, rather than rigid structure or "hard strength" as most proteins typically do.
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Strengthening Ingredients
Typically, strengthening ingredients are some form of protein. Some examples of common proteins in hair care are keratin, panthenol, cystine, biotin and animal protein. The "building blocks of proteins," or amino acids, are also considered strengthening agents when added to hair product formulas. These strengthening ingredients work by binding to and patching up the cuticle in vulnerable places along the hair shaft. By repairing the hair shaft temporarily, strengthening ingredients help the hair retain the moisture it should have gained from the moisturizing ingredients in the product formula.
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Cleansing Ingredients
Cleansing agents, or detergents, are found primarily in shampoos; however, it is not uncommon for them to spring up in conditioner formulas or other products. These cleansing agents work by chemically binding to dirt and debris. The detergents carry the residue away as they are rinsed from the hair. If the hair is especially dirty, multiple latherings will need to take place so that the cleansing agents can bind to more sources of product or debris. Alternatively, a clarifying shampoo that contains multiple, high-level detergents can be used to remove tough product buildup in just one lathering.
Examples of detergent or cleansing agents in products include disodium laureth sulfosuccinate, sodium laureth sulfate, sodium lauryl sulfate, ammonium lauryl and -laureth sulfates, cocamidopropyl betaine and cocamide DEA.
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Ph Balancers
Ph balancers are an important part of the hair ingredient list. These ingredients help stabilize the product and help the other ingredients work together under optimal chemical conditions within the formula. Most Ph balancing agents are formulated to help keep the hair in its naturally acidic state. Examples of Ph Balancers include sodium chloride, glycolic acid and citric acid.
