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Which is it that is the worse ingredient in shampoos?
Is it ammonium laureth/laurel sulfate or sodium laureth sulfate that is the "bad", i.e. - harsher ingredient?
I remember seeing some discussion on this a some point, but can't remember which is which.
I was looking at my shampoos; Garnier contains sodium l.s., and Suave and Pert contain ammonium l.s.
Now that I am going to go for broke with length, this could come into play as a factor.
It's ALS (Ammonium LS) that's worse for hair. Our hair's balanced pH is 5.5 (same as our skin); it's in a slightly acidic range at it's most natural state.
Ammonium's basic (pH about 8 to 11) and sodium's neutral (about 7 tp 8). Hence, ALS will alter the hair's pH the wrong way and therefore, resulting in lifeless, dry and brittle hair as compared to SLS.
It would be good if LS could be avoided altogether, but shampoos that are LS-free will leave the hair with a not-so-clean feel. Hence, if you have to use LS, the milder version would be SLS :).
I dont know of any shampoo that doesnt have SLS in it... what else can you use besides LS type chemicals (after all its the soapy stuff that makes shampoos what they are)
Hey since you are in Asia no doubt you have been in Taiwan right? know of any good shampoo that can be bought in Taiwan that doesnt cost an arm and a leg? I have been using head and shoulder but I think in the long term it left my hair somewhat coarse... I am using dove now and I actually like it, but the problem is that I got dandruff! The only problem with dove is that I have to shampoo everyday because dove is oily.
Incidentally, I've stayed in Taiwan for a continuous 6 months in 1999. I absolutely love the weather and the food there :). Singapore's too hot and humid for comfort, especially with long hair.
I personally think Mane 'n' Tail is an excellent shampoo, and it certainly doesn't cost an arm of a leg. It's readily available OTC in most pharmaceutical stores. In Singapore, it's exclusively held by Watson's. Each bottle costs about SGD11.00 (equivalent to about NT210). I've managed to get two large bottles (one shampoo and one conditioner) at Walgreens in California a couple of months ago, for only USD6.99.
On the dandruff part, since I do not have dandruff problems, I don't know about the effectiveness of this shampoo against that. What I can say is that this shampoo clenses and at the same time, makes your hair soft and manageable, without the heavy feeling.
I've also read somewhere that you could solve dandruff problems by alternating the shampoos that you use, dunno how true is that, but no harm trying.
Hey I have stayed in Taiwan for 4 months during 2005 and went crazy looking at those people having such beautiful straight hair. My hair is wavy in nature and I use Garnier (Sleek & Shine).
I am not very sure about by hair type as it is curly after bath, wavy in evening and gets straight when its oily. Its kind of weird ... however it is very very very thin. Should I switch to some other shampoo that will give that crispy feel after bath but still keeps my hair soft and well hydrated?
Please let me know if you have any tips for this.
Any help will be much appreciated.
Srini
Were you there when 9/21 earthquake happened?
I returned home in June 1999, three months before the earthquake. Interestingly, when I was on my civil engineering attachment there, I mentioned to a site engineer about drastic earthquakes occurring in Taipei. He simply brushed it off and said that severe earthquakes only occur in the Taidong-Hualian area. The reason I mentioned that to him is that I realised their design for the mountain pass bridge was under-designed for earthquake.
Upon returning home, I came to know that the bridge's supports all collapsed during the 9/21 earthquake and the design was deemed inadequate by the authorities. All 5 years of their work went down the drain.
Pardon me for the OT :).
I found mane and tails at Watsons for about 150NT dollars (discounted from 200). As much as I like head and shoulder for their dandruff removing quality I hate the way they make my hair feel somewhat rough. I found that you can keep dandruff under control by washing more often...
NT150 is cheap (at least cheaper than in Singapore). Hope it will work well for you, I usually follow up the shampoo with a mane n tail conditioner, it makes the hair soft and manageable, and not flat.
Still, each head of hair will react somewhat differently to the same products, some had found mane n tail to be not-so-good for their hair, but I personally found it excellent for mine.
Good luck.
You may want to try a shampoo that doesn't have either of those substances.
I personally tied Johnson's baby shampoo a while back, but it really dried out my hair.
Yet I have seen a whole range of natural shamppos that don't contain any of these synthetic materials.
I usually see them in health food stores, but also at chemists too.
Isn't it exciting that you're "going for broke" now!?
Si, signore, buono, E MOITO BUONO!
Scrivi in Italiano per me...grazie Signor Brown e certamente molto bene!!
Many do not know this, but Baby Shampoo is not all that gentle on an adult as one might think. Why? Because it is targeted towards the toddler in mind and the condition called "Cradle Cap!"
I was led a while ago to believe that Baby Shampoo would be the most gentle of all. The reaction it had on myself echos exactly what happened to Deanof316.
I'm afraid I may have unintentionally mislead people about baby shampoo because there was a period back in the spring or summer when I was using it and I genuinely thought it was pretty good and mild. my hair is fairly oily and it took awhile, like around two months for me to discover baby shampoo isn't as mild as its reputation would have you believe. I posted a correction awhile back but I would also like to apologize if my earlier opinions caused some problems. I now realize that I have to use a product for several weeks at least before concluding whether it is any good or not.
Thanks for the concise answer. I will finish using the Pert and then be more wary of ingredients. The crazy thing is that the Pert with ammonium makes my hair really nice and the Garnier stuff with sodium makes it seem all dry and limp! Who know? Perhaps I try something else.
I don't honestly know enough on this topic, other than one thing I have learned over the years: Health Food stores ARE very knowledgeable and consistent about not keeping in-stock products that have dangerous or bad ingredients, --- including shampoos and conditioners. So, I purchase my hair care products pretty much from there and there only (unless I see a name brand that I trust sold at a cheaper store, like Trader Joe's).
My personal favorite shampoo & conditioner is made by a company called, "Avalon Organics". They have about 5 or so different types: lavender, lemon, rosemary, etc., --- each with slightly different properties for different purposes or hair types. I occasionally give other brands a try; but I keep coming back to this one, --- I love love LOVE it (and has no sodium lauryl or laureth sulfate, parabens, or other harsh ingredients)... Enjoy!!
- Ken
Ken, Thanks for the information. I will try to seek out some of the Avalon organic shampoo and give it a try. Obviously, whatever it is you are doing is working!
...is the good stuff. If your shampoo contains only sodium laureth sulfate as the main ingredient, then it is a high quality shampoo.