Why is it so important to look at the label on a shampoo bottle?

Since more active ingredients are absorbed through the skin than through the food chain, it's important to pay attention to what we wash our hair with, what we put on our skin and face, and what cosmetic products we buy and use. Even if something says natural or organic on it, it's no guarantee.

It is important to pay attention to the ingredients on the label, because all cosmetics now have these words written on the bottle to make them more marketable, so it is always worth studying the label before buying and avoiding products that contain any of the substances listed below!

Even though the shampoo is only on your head for a few minutes, it can still get into your eyes and many of the ingredients listed below can damage your eyes if they get into your eyes.

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Even if you wash your hair once or twice a week, it gets on your scalp, on your skin and in your eyes a lot, so imagine the amount of hair conditioner ingredients that can be absorbed into your body in say a year.

Not to mention the other things, body lotions, face creams, toothpaste, facial cleansers, make-up removers, which also contain these substances and we use them many times in a day.

Let's see what shampoos are usually made of!

Shampoos are based on foaming surfactants, detergents.

To make a shampoo foam, you need to add tensides, detergents. These substances are responsible for the cosmetic's ability to dissolve dirt and grease from the surface to be cleaned.

All cleansers, detergents and cleansing products are based on this substance, so it is the highest percentage of this substance, in addition to water.

Unfortunately, in most cases, the same aggressive degreasing tensides are used in industrial degreasers, car shampoos, dishwashing detergents, washing powders, mops, as in shampoos, hair conditioners, bubble baths, shower gels, toothpastes, baby wipes, shaving creams.

So, unfortunately, there is not much difference between car wash and shampoo, only in consistency, colour and smell, but the basic is the same, water and surfactant.

Cosmetics containing the following substances should therefore be avoided:

• Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS)
• Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES)
• Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate (ALS)
• Ammonium Laureth Sulphate (ALES)

They are identical in their effects, only the way they are produced is different.

Here is a brief summary of the effects that SLS and its compounds can cause:

• Mild to moderate skin irritation, dermatitis. Due to its aggressive degreasing effect, it dissolves the hydrolipidic film covering the skin surface, destroys everything on the skin surface, causing skin dryness, weakens the immune system, resulting in skin irritation, in severe cases eczema or dermatitis.
• It can cause allergic respiratory reactions such as asthma.
• It accumulates in one or more organs, leading to organ damage in the heart, liver, lungs and brain.
• It has a detrimental effect on reproductive abilities.
• Causes moderate eye irritation.
• May cause permanent damage to the eyes of infants and young children.
• Damages hair follicles, leading to hair loss.
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Emulsifiers are the next ingredient in shampoos.

In cosmetic products, emulsifiers are used to ensure that the aqueous and oily substances are combined into a homogeneous mixture, without the oil separating out in the product.

Such emulsifiers are TEA (Triethanol amine), used in the cosmetic industry, and their derivatives. These can be identified on the cosmetic product label by the presence of the word TEA in the name of each one. The effects of TEA and its relatives are skin irritant, kidney and liver irritant and carcinogenic.

The ingredients in shampoos are synthetic fragrances and dyes.

According to the Cosmetics Regulation in force, the composition of fragrances and flavourings and their raw materials are referred to by the terms "parfum" or "flavouring"" on the label of the cosmetic product.

But unfortunately, the composition of the fragrance is not mandatory on the label unless the substances listed in the Annex to this Regulation are present in the product. For this reason, synthetic fragrances do not have to be labelled, but if, for example, 100% lavender essential oil is used as a fragrance, its natural ingredient is Linalool, which is listed in this Annex to the Cosmetics Regulation and therefore has to be labelled.

Fragrances act through the human central nervous system on the limbic system and therefore have a direct effect on the brain.

Fragrances are the most likely to trigger allergic reactions, not only in the skin but also in the brain. They can trigger headaches, migraines, epilepsy, and may play a role in the development of diseases such as dyslexia, Altzheimer's, Parkinson's.

The situation is no better with synthetic dyes.

All of them are harmful, allergenic and have adverse effects. On the label, the C.I. in the composition of the ingredients is indicated by many, many numbers.

Synthetic hair dyes are also all harmful, the darker the colour of a hair dye, the more harmful it is to the body.

Cosmetics containing synthetic fragrances and colourants should be avoided, because they only add fragrances and colours to the product to make it more marketable, but it is not at all clear what negative effects their long-term use has on the human body.

And last but not least, the preservation of shampoos must be addressed.

All cosmetic products need to be preserved, otherwise they will spoil, become rancid, mouldy and ferment.