By Nancy Chandia

 

 

A good wash day isn’t complete without a great shampoo.But for us type 4 naturals, finding a shampoo that keeps our hair hydrated and our scalp supple can be like finding a needle in a haystack. A lot of shampoo brands made for natural hair claim to be hydrating but often miss the mark. Shampoos may also contain natural oils, extracts, fragrance, hydrolyzed protein, and many more ingredients in very small quantities.

 

1. Humectants – Glycerin, Aloe Juice, Panthenol, Allantoin, Sorbitol, propylene glycol,
Honey and Castor Oil are popular humectants used to draw moisture to the hair
strands. Glycerin and Panthenol in particular are widely used because they are highly
effective, easily available humectants. Most affordable shampoo brands contain the
above-mentioned humectants. Hydrating shampoos feature humectants like these
usually in the first 5 ingredients on the ingredients list.

 

2. Emollients – Hair Nourishing Natural Oils like Avocado, Almond, Coconut Oil and
butters like Mango, Shea and Cocoa butter are often added in small quantities to
shampoos to help retain moisture and soften natural hair. They also create a rich,
slightly thicker, creamy shampoo that will clean your hair without stripping it. Hydrating
shampoos containing these nourishing oils in good quantities will leave your hair soft
and manageable instead of dry and stripped.

 

3. Creamy Co-emulsifiers (fatty alcohols) – Cetyl Alcohol and Cetearyl Alcohol are
popular co-emulsifiers with hair conditioning properties. Emulsifiers are ingredients that
help water and oil bind to form a creamy, lotion-like substance also known as an
emulsion. Co-emulsifiers like Cetyl alcohol help to thicken shampoos and give them a
creamy texture. They also add great slip to your shampoos, helping to minimize any
potential tangling. Naturalistas should look out for creamy shampoos that contain j co-
emulsifiers as they do a great job of aiding manageability, reducing frizz, and also give an
overall softer feel after a shampoo.

 

4. Polyquaternium-10 – Polyquaternium-10 is a high-performance conditioning agent with
light-weight conditioning properties added to shampoos to promote shine, reduce frizz,
improve manageability without weighing your hair down or causing build-up. Although
ingredients like co-emulsifiers and Emollients are great, they can cause build-up over
time..

5. Mild Surfactants – Surfactants or cleaning agents are the main ingredient in all
shampoos.

Some surfactants like Sodium Lauryl Sulphate and sodium laureth sulfate
are very popular choices in most shampoos. But these surfactants tend to be quite harsh
and drying if not paired with gentler surfactants and humectants. In recent years,
Sulphate-free shampoos have been a popular alternative. They are generally better for
natural hair as they are milder and do not dry your hair out. Surfactants (cleansing
agents) like Cocamidopropyl betaine, Decyl Glucoside and Coco Glucoside are mild
surfactants used in most sulfate-free shampoos. These are also less irritating to your
eyes and gentle on your scalp. Most baby no-tear shampoos are made using these
types of surfactants.