Is your styling gel damaging your hair?

Since curls thrive on moisture, avoid sulfates at all costs when singing in the shower. 

Sulfates (i.e., sodium lauryl sulfate, sodium laureth sulfate, ammonium lauryl sulfate) are harsh salt-based detergents. They do not clean the hair. They strip all oils out of your hair, which can cause your scalp to overproduce oils leading to oily hair. 

Conditioners are less strict than shampoos, but you want to watch for ingredients such as silicones that build up on the hair and can’t be removed with a sulfate-free shampoo. 

How to Style!

Now that the foundation for your scalp and curls is set, let’s focus on styling gels! Gels provide more hold, definition, and control.   

What you need to know about gels: As a stylist behind the chair for 20+ years, gels (and curly hair) can have a host of nuances. Hair gels are often full of unwanted chemicals that include parabens, phthalates, and other substances that can do your hair and health harm. 

Many gels are made with - Alcohol, Acrylates, Butylaminoethyl Methacrylate, Copolymer, Ferric Ferrocyanide, and Sodium Chloride (Salt). These are used to lower the cost of production and increase profits. These chemicals may remove moisture from your hair, leaving it dry, weak, and prone to breakage and fall.

Here are a few negative side effects of gels that contain these chemicals:

Dries Out Hair: Gel can contain the wrong alcohol, and alcohol is a drying agent. This means it strips moisture from the hair and scalp, leaving it rough and dehydrated. The oils and moisture become unbalanced because it reduces the amount of oil production, leaving you with a dry scalp. It’s the leading cause of flaking and dandruff.

Weakens Hair: Dry hair and a suffocated scalp can cause weaker hair prone to break and fall out.

Overall Damage: With the moisture and nutrients ripped away from the hair, hair follicles will inevitably get damaged in the form of split ends and thinning hair.

The NATURALISTA’S Solution for Styling 

  

We’ve departed from chemical-laden ingredients and built a gel that contains natural moisturizing ingredients like aloe vera that’s rich in antioxidants, vitamins, aminos, and minerals -  which gives a light hold and more shine.

This means you won’t experience flaking, dandruff, breakage, or split ends when you use our gel. 

Our gel truly caters both voluminous curls blowout or the softest wave or tight curly coils. 

My favorite mixer with our gel is our argon shine serum - adding a little more slip and shine.