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I think I remember reading that shampoos containing ammonium laureth sulfate and/or ammonium lauryl sulfate are harsh on hair. Anyone have any idea if that's true? I also noticed many shampoos contain sodium laureth sulfate and/or sodium lauryl sulfate; are they also bad?
Also, if anyone can summarize generally what shampoo ingredients are "good" and which ones are "bad," I'm sure many users would find that useful.
Thanks,
dino
Sodium laureth sulphate = least harsh.
Sodium lauryl sulphate = harsher
Ammonium laureth sulphate = harsher still
Ammonium lauryl sulphate = harshest
In that report the chemical was left on the rats skin I believe, where as in shampoo like you said the levels are ten times lower, as well as being diluted, and the shampoo is only on our head for less than a minute mostly, and the scalp is covered by hair, so the shampoo doesn’t have much contact with the skin.
I wouldn’t worry about it if I was you.
Hi,
sulfates are harsh no mater ammonium or sodium (Ammonium lauryl/laureth sulfate is gentler than the sodium ones). So a lot of producers in Europa now replace them with sulfosuccinates which are much more gentle. For example in all the shampoos from Palmolive are used sulfosuccinates.
About DEA. It's very gentle to hair, it's not harsh. There is no scientific proof that DEA compounds are cancerogenic. Personally I'm not afraid to use shampoos with DEA, MEA and TEA.
Cocamide DEA means "diethanolamide of coconut fatty acids".
The ingredients are thousands, but in two words: be careful with the preservatives - avoid bronopol (2-bromo-2nitropropane-1,3-diol), formaldehyde and isobutylparaben. First two combined with DEA can cause formation of nitrosamines, the third one can cause breast cancer even to men.
I remember reading that the majority of (non-natural) shampoos contain essentially the same ingredients as dishwashing liquid. Perhaps someone can elaborate on this. My chemistry ineptitude precludes it.
Here's what's in johnson's baby shampoo:
water, cocamidopropyl betaine, peg-80, sorbitan laurate, sodium trideceth sulfate, peg-150, distearate, fragrance, polyquaternium-10, tetrasodium edta, quaternium-15, citric acid, yellow-10, orange-4
i have always heard that sodium compounds are less harsh than ammonia. anything laureth less harsh than lauryl. have no idea if any of this is true.
Dino, If I can't pronounce it I don't put it in my hair!!
In fact I only use mild conditioner and plain old water.
That's probably the soundest advice of all, Dave!
My thanks to all the guys who responded; it's all helpful.
dino