A Beginner’s Guide to Hair Care Ingredients

Turn over a shampoo bottle and you will find a long list of unfamiliar names. You do not need a chemistry degree to make sense of it. Most hair care ingredients fall into a handful of groups, each with a clear job. Knowing the groups helps you understand why products behave differently on your hair.

How to read the list

Cosmetic labeling rules in the United States and many other countries require ingredients to be listed in descending order of predominance. The first five or six ingredients make up most of the product. Water is usually first. Ingredients present in very small amounts, such as fragrance, colors and preservatives, appear toward the end.

The main ingredient groups

Cleansing agents (surfactants)

Surfactants lift oil and dirt so water can rinse them away. Sulfates, such as sodium lauryl sulfate and sodium laureth sulfate, clean thoroughly and lather well. Other surfactants, such as cocamidopropyl betaine, are often used in milder formulas. Stronger cleansing suits oily scalps; milder cleansing suits dry or color-treated hair.

Conditioning agents

These reduce friction and static so hair is smoother and easier to comb. Examples include silicones such as dimethicone, conditioning compounds such as behentrimonium chloride, and fatty alcohols such as cetyl and stearyl alcohol. Despite the name, fatty alcohols are moisturizing, not drying.

Humectants

Humectants such as glycerin and panthenol attract and hold water, helping hair feel softer.

Proteins

Hydrolyzed proteins, for example keratin or wheat protein, coat the hair and can make damaged strands feel stronger temporarily.

Oils and butters

Plant oils and butters, such as argan oil, coconut oil and shea butter, add shine and help seal in moisture. They can weigh down fine hair.

Preservatives, fragrance and color

Preservatives stop bacteria and mold growing in the product. Fragrance and color affect how the product smells and looks, not how it performs.

Ingredients and sensitivity

Any ingredient can cause a reaction in someone, but fragrances, preservatives and hair dye chemicals are among the more common causes of allergic skin reactions to cosmetics. If your scalp reacts to a product:

• stop using it;
• note the ingredients so you can compare them with other products;
• ask a doctor about patch testing if reactions recur.

“Fragrance free” generally means no fragrance has been added, while “unscented” products may contain ingredients that mask odor.

Putting it into practice

• Oily scalp, fine hair: a thorough cleanser and a light conditioner.
• Dry, curly or coiled hair: a mild cleanser, plenty of conditioning agents, humectants and oils.
• Damaged hair: conditioning agents and proteins, for example in a weekly Repair Hair Mask.

A note on marketing

Phrases such as “natural” or “chemical free” have no fixed legal definition for cosmetics in many places. Judge a product by what it contains and how your hair responds.

The bottom line

Read the first few ingredients, know your sensitivities and match the formula to your hair’s needs. You can compare products in our hair care range.

Sources

1. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Cosmetics Labeling.
2. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Allergens in Cosmetics.
3. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Hair Products.