Toxins to Avoid For Healthy Hair Care
A walk along the health and beauty aisle of your local grocery store will showcase dozens of popular hair care products. Unfortunately, most of the ingredients in these products are actually toxic chemicals that damage hair follicles and leach into our bloodstream causing further toxicity in our bodies. Healthy hair depends on healthy circulation and nutrition. Many natural plant based oils are incredibly beneficial for a full head of healthy hair.
Some of the most toxic beauty supply ingredients include sodium lauryl sulfate, propylene and polyethylene glycol, and parabens (methylparabens). Sodium lauryl sulfate is linked to eczema, dry and irritated skin, hair loss, urinary tract infections, and cancer (1, 2).
Polyethylene glycol is a petroleum based product that has been linked to cancer (3, 4). Parabens are known estrogen mimickers that can lead to estrogen dominance and cause many symptoms such as PMS, uterine fibroids, and breast cancer (5, 6, 7).
Toxins in Popular Hair Products:
Many products advertise themselves to be natural or made with herbal extracts, etc. However, a closer look at the ingredient label shows the toxic trio I listed above along with mineral oils, phosphates, petroleum products, ammonium salts and many other dangerous chemicals.
Many of these chemicals will make your hair and skin look nicer in the short-term…however, the toxic load they lay on your body will eventually cause your organs to rot, your skin to wrinkle and your hair to fall out later in life.
It is so very important to look through every ingredient. If you cannot pronounce it or you have no idea what it is…chances are it is bad for you. Be very careful!
Truly Natural Care for Your Healthy Hair:
Whatever you apply to your skin or hair will at some level diffuse through the skin and into your bloodstream. A general rule to follow is that anything you put on your skin, body, hair, etc. should be something you would naturally eat.
Healthy fat sources, herbal tinctures, and antioxidant rich essential oils are especially nourishing to the scalp and hair. These sources provide incredible nutrition to the scalp and hair follicle and protect these regions from oxidative stress (8).
Dry hair usually comes out from prolonged dehydration, malnutrition, or the excessive use of toxic hair care products. The best oils for dry hair include olive oil, basil & peppermint essential oils (9). Mix these oils together and apply to the scalp.
Treating Dandruff Naturally:
Dandruff usually comes about due to malnutrition, dehydration, extreme temperatures, fungal growth, psoriasis, blood sugar imbalances, and food allergies (10). Some great essential oils to apply to the head for dandruff include a mixture of olive oil, bay oil, and tea tree oil. Mix these together and apply to the scalp.
Hair loss is a common problem due to hormone imbalances, disease states, malnutrition, toxicity, & chronic dehydration. Several great essential oils are good for helping to re-grow hair include jojoba, burdock, & rosemary. These oils help to improve circulation into the scalp and hair follicle. This improves nutrient delivery to the region keeping the follicles strong.
Coconut Oil and Your Scalp:
Perhaps the best all-round oil to apply to the scalp and hair is coconut oil. Coconut oil is primarily made up of medium chain triglyceride (MCT) fats. These MCT’s have the perfect molecular structure to penetrate into the scalp & hair follicle to quickly and efficiently enhance nutrient delivery (11, 12).
One of the key fats within coconut oil is lauric acid and microflora on the scalp interact with lauric acid to form monolaurin which has powerful anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties to destroy various forms of candida and other infectious agents that damage hair follicle formation.
Another great MCT fat within coconut oil is caprylic acid which kills candida, yeast and bacteria and helps to support healthy skin. The amazing stability of the MCT’s acts as a natural antioxidant shielding & protecting the follicle from free radical damage.
Introducing CollagenMax For Healthy Hair:
A great product that is extremely helpful for healthy hair is CollagenMax. Collagen is the major protein within hair that gives it volume and strength. You can improve collagen production through healthy diet that is rich in collagen proteins from bone broth and sulfur compounds found in onions, cruciferous veggies and mushrooms.
This product is the best I have found for helping to regenerate the tensile strength of skin, hair, nails, bone and joint structures. I recommend this product for anyone that is looking to improve these features, prevent injuries and/or relieve the suffering of joint degeneration and arthritic conditions. It is also an exceptional product for beauty and anti-aging!
Bone Broth Protein For Healthy Hair:
Another awesome product is our bone broth protein. This is full of collagen protein and the amino acids proline and glycine which are key for healthy hair growth. For great hair and skin, I recommend consuming 30-60 grams of bone broth protein daily.
This could be in the form of true bone broth you make at home or purchase pre-made such as Kettle and Fire here which has 12 grams per 16.9oz carton. It could also be in the form of a high quality bone broth collagen protein powder that you can add to smoothies, various recipes, coffee, etc.
Sources For This Article Include:
1. Cowley NC, Farr PM. A dose-response study of irritant reactions to sodium lauryl sulphate in patients with seborrhoeic dermatitis and atopic eczema. Acta Derm Venereol. 1992 Nov;72(6):432-5. PMID: 1362835
2. Agner T. Susceptibility of atopic dermatitis patients to irritant dermatitis caused by sodium lauryl sulphate. Acta Derm Venereol. 1991;71(4):296-300. PMID: 1681644
3. Wali RK, Kunte DP, Koetsier JL, Bissonnette M, Roy HK. Polyethylene glycol-mediated colorectal cancer chemoprevention: roles of epidermal growth factor receptor and Snail. Mol Cancer Ther. 2008 Sep;7(9):3103-11. PMID: 18790788
4. Roy HK, Kunte DP, Koetsier JL, Hart J, Kim YL, Liu Y, Bissonnette M, Goldberg M, Backman V, Wali RK. Chemoprevention of colon carcinogenesis by polyethylene glycol: suppression of epithelial proliferation via modulation of SNAIL/beta-catenin signaling. Mol Cancer Ther. 2006 Aug;5(8):2060-9. PMID: 16928827
5. Darbre PD, Aljarrah A, Miller WR, Coldham NG, Sauer MJ, Pope GS. Concentrations of parabens in human breast tumours. J Appl Toxicol. 2004 Jan-Feb;24(1):5-13. PMID: 14745841
6. Final amended report on the safety assessment of Methylparaben, Ethylparaben, Propylparaben, Isopropylparaben, Butylparaben, Isobutylparaben, and Benzylparaben as used in cosmetic products. Int J Toxicol. 2008;27 Suppl 4:1-82. PMID: 19101832
7. Harvey PW, Darbre P. Endocrine disrupters and human health: could oestrogenic chemicals in body care cosmetics adversely affect breast cancer incidence in women? J Appl Toxicol. 2004 May-Jun;24(3):167-76. PMID: 15211609
8. Hay IC, Jamieson M, Ormerod AD. Randomized trial of aromatherapy. Successful treatment for alopecia areata. Arch Dermatol. 1998 Nov;134(11):1349-52. PMID: 9828867
9. Keis K, Persaud D, Kamath YK, Rele AS. Investigation of penetration abilities of various oils into human hair fibers. J Cosmet Sci. 2005 Sep-Oct;56(5):283-95. PMID: 16258695
10. Hay RJ, Graham-Brown RA.Dandruff and seborrhoeic dermatitis: causes and management. Clin Exp Dermatol. 1997 Jan;22(1):3-6. PMID: 9330043
11. Ruetsch SB, Kamath YK, Rele AS, Mohile RB. Secondary ion mass spectrometric investigation of penetration of coconut and mineral oils into human hair fibers: relevance to hair damage. J Cosmet Sci. 2001 May-Jun;52(3):169-84. PMID: 11413497
12. Rele AS, Mohile RB. Effect of mineral oil, sunflower oil, and coconut oil on prevention of hair damage. J Cosmet Sci. 2003 Mar-Apr;54(2):175-92. PMID: 12715094
