Did you know that many women thought to suffer from heredity hair loss can actually be suffering from inheriting bad habits and damaging practices? Habits, good and bad, are passed on from generation to generation the same way traditions are. Many years ago hair pomades and hair grease was introduced to our grandparents as the best thing since sliced bread; we also fell in love with the bone straight look relaxers offered. In gravitating towards these "solutions" to our hair "problems", we forgot to do the research on the ingredients found in them.
Many ingredients in our hair products such as sodium lauryl/laureth sulfates (shampoos), paraffin, petrolatum, triethanolamine (TEA), mineral oil or propylene glycol are extremely toxic and can cause side-effects as minor as itching to excessive dandruff, stunted hair growth, dry hair, excessive hair loss/shedding, temporary to permanent damage to the follicles, scalp lesions, and more. Relaxers contain dozens of ingredients that should not even touch the skin at all, which is why we are instructed to wear gloves when applying. The degree of damage depends on your sensitivity to the ingredients, how often you are applying them, and how long you have been using them. Some people will notice immediate and severe effects and others will not notice anything for years, but because these ingredients are toxic and not made to be used on our body and in our hair, most of us will have some adverse effect one time or another during our life time.
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Check out this list of ingredients and see what potential damage you are causing.