Don’t use natural hair products?

A Sydney hairdresser has said we should not use natural hair products.

Jules Peacocke, Director of Lily Jackson Hair & Makeup says Natural Hair Products may not be good for you:

“People think  choosing “certified organic”, natural or organic haircare will be the best and healthiest option. But my first hand experience both as a hairdresser and a consumer shows that it isn’t always the case and consumers should spend more time informing themselves about ingredients and the context of their use,” Jules says.

“Terms like “natural” and “organic” are widely used in the marketing of personal care and beauty products to appeal to people whose underlying motivation is to seek out healthier ingredients or products that contain fewer man-made chemicals.

Unfortunately, these terms are not regulated by the government and in many cases use inappropriately or even deceptively by-products. The term “Certified Organic” is regulated and must meet the specified criteria of certifying organization such as ACO (Australian Certified Organic) and NASSA (The National Association for Sustainable Agriculture, Australia).”

“I have seen client’s hair health deteriorate using “natural” products as these products don’t seem to be formulated to support the changes to hair strands as a result of hair colouring. At the same time, if my health was compromised, I would seek out “natural” products or products that did not have the nasty products (mentioned  below).”

Jules says uncovering the reason for sensitivities is the real issue, understanding labels and not relying simply to words like “organic” or “natural.”

The ingredients she says to avoid are, “parabens, non-water soluble silicones and any other ingredients that have been derived from petrochemicals.”

“These ingredients are known endocrine disrupters that cause damage to your cells and may lead to major health problems” she says.  “Any ingredient ending in ‘ben’ is a paraben. There is a lot of controversy around parabens and lots of misinformation especially on the internet.

For as many people saying to avoid one thing, there will be another saying not to worry.  My personal opinion is to be sceptical about people who say chemicals like parabens are OK. Websites like http://www.endocrinedisruption.org and http://www.ewg.org , indicate that even minute amounts of parabens disrupt our endocrine system in a negative way and you should be especially careful during pregnancy.

Mineral oils or any ingredient ending in “in” or “um” are derived from petroleum-based ingredients.

All the chemicals used in hair care will be confusing but stick to the 80/20 rule – most products that work well won’t be perfect in their ingredients, and at a minimum products should be free of Parabens and SSL.

Avatar photo
Renae Leith-Manos

Editor and Founder of Bondi Beauty

Renae Leith-Manos loves fitness, new beauty products, long chats and long flights. She is at her best when traveling the world writing about luxury hotels and Michelin Star restaurants (www.renaesworld.com.au). She has had a colourful media career as a journalist inmagazines and newspapers, in Australia and Asia. She spends her time writing, cooking, consulting to new businesses, running and working out.

No Comments Yet

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.