I have always been advising you to take care of your hair when you travel. But when I say, “take care of your hair”, I don’t mean use unnecessary hair products and spoil them. I mean, nourish them and take care of them. Men use different types of hair products to style their hair and eventually, spoil them. Many of you guys might not even know the difference between hair wax and hair gel or difference between pomade and clay. You use these products for styling but they do much more than just styling.
Who doesn’t like to style their hair and look good while travelling or while partying? But before applying these products on your hair, you should know what effect do these hair products have on your hair. I will talk about the different hair styling products that men use and will tell you what each one of them does.
Hair Wax
Hair wax is a thick hairstyling product containing wax such as beeswax, castor wax, candelilla wax etc. Since it contains wax, it helps the hair to stay in place for a long time. Usually, people with straight hair use wax for styling but it does not only use wax. It contains chemicals as well. It uses chemicals such as Sorbitol, titanium oxide, tin oxide, preservatives, mineral oils and butylated hydroxytoluene and many more such chemicals. And these are definitely not good for your hair. Keep reading to know how.
Hair Gel
Hair Gel is a hair styling product and is used to make your hair stay in place. Since it is gel based, it is a little sticky and when applied on the hair makes the hair sticky as well. It gives a wet look to the hair when applied. Eventually, it makes the hair hard and that helps in keeping the hair stay in place for a longer time. Hair gel contains alcohol which dries hair faster than any other hair product.
The composition is usually based on polymers. Other components are carbomer, Di-sodium EDTA, Glycerine, Benzophenone- 4, Diazolidinyl Urea, Oleth-20, Aminomethylpropanol and synthetic polymer or styling polymer. Aminomethyl Propanol acts as a neutralizer for your hair gel. But again, its alcohol! It will dry out your hair and make it brittle and hard.
Yaa it can be dangerous, for your girl’s fingers as well…
Hair Clay
Hair clay is another hair styling product that has different consistencies. The consistencies vary from very thick to very creamy. The good thing about hair clay is that it actually contains clay as their key ingredient. But that doesn’t change the fact that the clay mixed with all the chemicals that are of no use to the hair. The most commonly used is “bentonite”. Bentonite is a clay that is formed from the weathering of volcanic ash. It is known for adding thickness to your hair. It gives a matte finish to your hair. The composition of hair clay is mineral oil, Paraffinum Liquidum, Stearic acid, Microcrystalline, Bentonite, PEG-20 Hydrogenated Lanolin, Synthetic Wax, Kaolin, Dimethylaminoethyl Methacrylate copolymer and many such chemicals.
Hair Pomade
Majorly, there are two types of pomades; petroleum based and water based. The petroleum-based product is made from real grease and fatty ingredients that makes it easier to wash out the pomade from the hair. I must tell you that pomade contains petroleum jelly and apart from that many natural ingredients.
So, if you have to do something wrong, do it right.
Other ingredients like sesame seed oil, pumpkin seed oil, cypress oil, basil sweet oil, rosemary oil, black pepper oil, lemon oil. These oils will replenish your scalp even if petroleum jelly makes it brittle and dry. You need to understand that less harmful does not mean not harmful at all. Preservatives are used in every product which is NOT good.
The choice is up to you now…
Hair Spray
If anything is more harmful than the above-mentioned products, its the hairspray. The most active ingredients are polymers and solvents. Polymers are responsible for the glue effect that hair spray has. Since it is a spray, even if you don’t want it, it will still get absorbed in the scalp and you won’t even know about it. Commonly used polymers are PVP (Polyvinyl pyrrolidone), vegetable gums while alcohol and hydrocarbons make up for the solvent portion. Few other ingredients are propylene glycol, isobutane, propane. Hair spray after instant use can make your hair feel hard and crisp.
Think what something that instantly has a bad effect on your hair can do in the long run.
Let’s Talk About The Ingredients That They Use
I told you about the chemicals that are used in these hair products. Let’s discuss a few chemicals they use.
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SORBITOL
Sorbitol is basically the sugar alcohol derived from fruits and nuts. It can be used as a mild surfactant as well as a fragrance ingredient. Sometimes it is added to retain moisture in the container. But too much of it can cause inflammations.
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TIN OXIDE
Tin Oxide is used to provide shine to the product. Some tin compounds can cause neurotoxic effects. Most of the companies avoid using them. But a few still do use them instead of using other alternatives.
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BUTYLATED HYDROXYTOLUENE
Too much use of BHT in hair products can cause free radicals in the scalp and can damage the cells which can lead to hair damage and hair loss. It is used in cosmetics to slow down the autoxidation process that can decolourise the product. It does not help your hair.
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POLYMERS
Typically derived from petroleum oil, they are made of a large number of similar units. In layman language, it’s called PLASTIC! They are used to make the product appear creamy and smooth. It can carry contaminants in them that can be carcinogenic. They are large chemical complexes that can harm your scalp and can cause hair loss.
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DI-SODIUM EDTA
Di-sodium EDTA does not get well absorbed in the skin and can cause a problem by blocking the pores. That way it disrupts your skin surface and causes scaling and skin cell disruption. And if this happens, chemicals in the hair products can penetrate in the skin or scalp very easily.
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AMINO-METHYL PROPANOL
It is an alkanol amine and has a hydroxyl group. It can cause mild irritation and is usually used in their concentrated forms which can be really harmful.
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PARAFFINUM LIQUIDUM
It is derived from mineral oils and too much use of it can clog pores so the skin doesn’t receive enough oxygen it can also dry up the scalp and lead to scalp irritation.
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PVP
It is a versatile ingredient used in cosmetics but can cause dryness. It forms a thin coating on the skin that restricts oxygen from reaching the skin. Also, it can dehydrate the scalp and cause many other problems.
Sorry… But someone had to burst the bubble!
Few Truths That The Hair Product Companies Won’t Tell You
- You can not use these hair products every day.
- Your scalp contains essential oils that can get ruined if you use too much of these hair products.
- Hair products can ruin your hair quality in the long run.
- Avoid alcohol in your products, it dries up the hair and eventually damages it and makes it brittle.
- Give your hair time to recover from the damage.
- Even if you apply the product on the body of your hair, it will trickle down to your scalp and eventually get absorbed in it, because of sweat.
- Oil your hair twice every week. Nourishment is important for the scalp.
- Stop using cheap products on your hair.
- Saving money is fine, but not when it comes to grooming products.
- Last but not least, you can look good without these products as well.
Your hair is not a living thing but it is still growing on your scalp. It is better to take care of it now than regret later. I would love to help you with answers if you have any questions regarding these products.