Why is it so important to use a Sulfate Free Shampoo?

If you care about your hair and are interested in protecting it, you have probably heard that sulfates are really harmful substances. Even though some of the rumors about them may be a little exaggerated, using a sulfate-free shampoo could really help your hair. Nowadays more and more of these shampoos are produced because hair care specialists have been starting to educate masses about sulfates and their impact on hair. So what exactly are the advantages of using a shampoo which is sulfate-free? Let’s take a closer look!

Sulfates and hair

The term sulfate is used in chemistry to denote a salt of sulfuric acid. Shampoo manufacturers use different types of sulfates but Sodium Lauryl Sulfate is the strongest and most popular one. This is the sulfate type which can be found in many cleaning and hygiene products including shampoos. The main reasons why it is added to shampoos are because this sulfate produces foam and is a powerful detergent. Sulfates attach themselves to all the grime which can be found in your hair which makes it easier to remove this grime from your hair with the help of water. The disadvantage is that it also strips your scalp of its natural oils which means that regular use of shampoos containing sulfates can lead to dry scalp, dandruff, skin and eye irritation. Sulfates can dry out your hair as well as cause your hair color to fade.

Many people call sulfates filler ingredients when talking about shampoos because they are cheap and can be replaced with other less harmful but more expensive substances which also have good cleansing properties. That’s why sulfate-free shampoos are usually more expensive than regular ones and more than 90 % of all shampoos contain sulfates.

Different sulfate types

There is a difference between different types of sulfates with Sodium Lauryl Sulfate being the strongest one. Even switching to shampoos which contain other less harmful sulfates can make a difference. For example, most of baby shampoos have Sodium Laureth Sulfate in them instead of the aforementioned Sodium Lauryl Sulfate and even though the names may seem almost the same, in reality there is a big difference. A lot of people say that baby shampoos are much less harmful because they don’t dry out your scalp as much. On the other hand, there is a possibility that baby shampoo won’t work as well in terms of removing the dirt from your hair because the detergents most of baby shampoos use are often not powerful enough.

Who should use sulfate-free shampoo?

You should definitely consider switching from regular to a sulfate-free shampoo if:

• You swim a lot – sulfate-free shampoo is great for washing out the chlorine without drying out the hair too much. It will also help you to avoid the “swimmer’s green hair”.
• You want to keep your hair color vivid – sulfates will strip your hair of its colour sooner than you think and that makes sulfate free shampoo a great choice for protecting your hair color from fading.
• Your scalp skin is sensitive – skin irritation is definitely a serious and very unpleasant problem so if you have a sensitive scalp then sulfates are among your worst enemies.

How to choose the best shampoo?

If you always look for shampoos which smell good and make a lot of foam then you have chosen the wrong approach. A lot of foam and bubbles are signs which often indicate that the particular shampoo contains a large amount of sulfates. Hair manufacturers understand that any ingredient which is cheap and effective at the same time is definitely a great choice for them (unfortunately, not for consumers) even if it has some side effects.

In the past few years the importance of using sulfate free shampoos has been emphasized by many hair care specialists. There have been a lot of researches which show that sulfates can be harmful for your hair and scalp and in addition to that, many people report significant improvement after switching to a shampoo which is sulfate-free.

It may sometimes be difficult to choose the best sulfate free shampoo, so it would be suggested to try out different options to see which works the best for you. Nowadays there are tons of sulfate free shampoos available, however, they are usually not too cheap. Even though it is possible to buy some of these shampoos for less than 10 dollars, qualitative, organic and sulfate free hair care products which contain a lot of natural moisturizers usually cost a little more than that.