So a few weeks ago, a friend of mine who recently transitioned from a weave to her natural hair, bought this book on Amazon called Thank God I'm Natural. She'd heard about it in a lot of natural blogs and chatrooms online, and people said it changed their life! So she decided to check it out. She thought it was okay, but didn't think her hair had grown out enough to try some of the styles it showed, so she let me borrow it for a while. After finals were over, I decided to start looking through it, and the reviewers online were right--my life will never be the same. Not because of its witty tone or inspirational vibe, though those elements are definitely there: I've been changed forever because I found out that I didn't know it, but I've been killing myself for the past 15 years or so.
Some of the most commonly found ingredients in hair care products not only are secretly bad for your hair, but could cause CANCER and other diseases.
I had 19 hair products. I laid them all out in front of me and decided to, for the first time, take a look at what exactly is in them. Here are the shocking results of what I found:
About 5 bottles contained a substance called TRIETHANOLAMINE, which can interact with nitrites, which are often contaminants in hair care products, and when these things interact all kinds of chemical badness starts to happen and it can lead to the creation of nitrosamines, which are CARCINOGENS.
18 contained some kind of PARABEN, either Methyl, Propyl, Butyl, or Ethyl, which recent studies suggest might cause breast cancer. Those studies have yet to be confirmed, however, so these products may or may not be safe.
One had IMIDAZOLIDINYL UREA, which can lead to dermatitis.
12 had either PETROLEUM or MINERAL OIL, which, along with LANOLIN, as opposed to moisturizing your hair, actually weigh it down and prevent hair's natural oils from being absorbed. They won't kill you though.
3 products had PROPYLENE GLYCOL, which can cause allergic reactions, dermatitis, dry skin, hives, and eczema. The EPA requires that all workers who come into contact with this product wear protective gloves, clothing, and goggles--and yet we're rubbing it into our scalps! This product has also been shown to cause brain, liver, and kidney abnormalities.
16 contained the ambiguous word FRAGRANCE. While fragrance may seem harmless, the ingredients used to create fragrances may cause headaches, dizziness, rashes, skin discolorations, coughing, vomiting, and skin irritation.
6 of my products had SYNTHETIC COLORS. I thought they'd be okay, since they're in tons of the foods we eat too, right? I was wrong. Synthetic colors are derived from COAL TAR, which is a known carcinogen. They may cause skin sensitivity and irritation as well.
I threw away everything except the stuff that only had parabens in it, because they might not be harmful. If they are, I'll get rid of that stuff too. I then went online to Carol's Daughter and NaturallyCurly and got all natural products, looking through the ingredients to make sure that this stuff can't hurt me. I love my life. I wasn't trying to hurry up and end it. I am not suicidal or masochistic, and I don't want to be inadvertently giving myself cancer by trying to do my hair. So I've taken being natural to a whole new level, and now even my products are generally all natural.
Be wary, ladies.
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