the essentials A survey of 60 million consumers about these everyday products shows major differences between shower gels and shampoos. Here’s what ingredients to avoid.
Shampoos and shower gels, often with colorful packaging and names reminiscent of travel, are not without risk to your health. Some products can therefore harm the environment or your health: how can you sort out the good and the bad shampoos when buying?
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Logically, shower gels and shampoos with extended ingredient lists are the ones that pose the greatest risk. In a survey of 60 million consumers on the quality of several shampoos and shower gels, a powder shampoo that “only” contains 11 components without preservatives took first place. A short list actually protects against the addition of several preservatives, chemical agents that have a significant impact on your health.
Lots of components to see
We can list several ingredients that you should avoid, whether because of their danger to you or to the planet. Shampoos rich in conservativeespecially the paraben, can trigger or aggravate allergies. They can be distinguished with the addition “paraben”, e.g. B. butyl paraben.
Products containing surfactants, agents combining various shampoo components are ubiquitous, but sometimes irritating and harmful to the environment. Above all, we must avoid sulfates such as Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS), Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate (ALS), Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES) or those that simply mention sulfate, peel off too much and thus damage the scalp.
The same goes for the silicones : These cover the hair with a layer, preventing their hydration and damaging them with regular use, in addition to being polluting. They can be recognized by the acronyms “peg” and names ending in “xane”, “ane”, “thicone” or “hiconol”, as Doctissimo explains.
Substitutes for silicones include the quaternary ammonium compounds often also problematic, such as Quaternium, Polyquaternium, Behentrimonium Chloride. products included the alcoholDrying the hair and indicated by their usual designation are also to be avoided.
Can we trust models marketed as “organic” and “natural”? These stand out among the best in the ranking of 60 million consumers, without clear labels providing an overview. Homemade shampoos and shower gels also get good marks: the criterion remains the same: avoid long lists of ingredients.