Read this if you use Head & Shoulders
The products we use on our hair and skin can have serious health consequences, especially if they are made with toxic ingredients that can cause diseases and other health risks. Shampoos are no exception, and in this post, I will share with you the serious health risks of using Head & Shoulders shampoos. To make commercial shampoos, there has to be preservatives, fragrance/perfume and surfactants, which makes the hair lather/foamy. However, the average shampoo - like Head & Shoulders classic - has about 30 ingredients, and most of them are toxic chemicals that are linked cancer, organ toxicity (more on this later), skin and eye irritation as well as neurological damage.
What's in your Head & Shoulders shampoo
Let's take a closer look at the effects of these toxic chemicals;
1.Methylisothiazolinone (MIT)
This chemical is known to damage the nervous system. A study conducted by researchers at the National Institute of Health revealed that the brain cells of rats that came into contact with this ingredient suffered from neurological damage, which blocks neurons from communicating with each other. Exposure of this chemical causes other concerns for researchers, especially in pregnant women as their unborn baby faces the risk of having unnatural brain development. This chemical could also trigger the development of Alzheimer's disease.
2. Selenium Sulfide
This ingredient is used in many anti-dandruff shampoos, but is known to cause cancer. Research conducted the National Institute of Health found that the exposure of this chemical to mice developed liver cancer as well as malignant lung tumours.
3. Zinc pyrithione
This ingredient has many side effects including nausea, irritation to the eyes, skin rashes and in some cases, hair loss. But one of the most serious side effects is organ toxicity. Exposure to chemical that cause organ toxicity effect the following;
Liver and kidney
The liver and kidneys can be damaged as a result of exposure to toxic chemicals. In many cases, it leads to liver or kidney failure.
Respiratory
Exposure to the toxic chemicals also cause asthma, which is rapidly becoming more common. In fact, asthma related deaths are increasing, and one of the main reasons is people being ignorant of the chemicals they expose to themselves or their children. One example of this is those who work in the hair and beauty industry. A hairstylists spends hours, at least five times a week, and is continuously exposed to different and extremely harmful toxins that are impacting his/her health in ways they do not perceive.
Cardiovascular & Hematologic
Exposure to toxic chemicals directly target these two systems, and can affect blood pressure/cardiac contractility and heart rate. In some cases, they might cause acute or chronic leukaemia.
Nervous system
Neurotoxicants can cause a host of health issues that include seizures, dementia, parkinson's disease, coma and even death.
Reproductive toxicity
There are countless toxic chemicals out there that have organ toxicities. This includes chemicals that affect the reproductive system. The effects are serious and can include the following;
infertility
early pregnancy loss
impaired fetal growth
fetal death
low birth weight
premature birth
birth defects
learning difficulties
early and delayed puberty
menstrual irregularities
Need I go on???
4. Sulfates
This agent includes Sodium Lauryl Sulfate and Sodium Laureth Sulfate amongst others. Sodium Lauryl Sulfate and Sodium Laureth Sulfate have been linked to neurotoxicity, cancer, endocrine disruption and skin irritation.
Endocrine disruptors
These are chemicals that have the potential to interfere with the body's endocrine system by producing immune, neurological and reproductive effects. Studies show that the risks increase when organ and neural systems are forming during prenatal and early postnatal development.
Next time you are out, and browsing the supermarket shelves for a shampoo, don't see the options as freedom to 'choose' a good product, but rather the freedom to choose your next disease or health complication. To protect yourself and your family, it's safer to make your own products at home. They don't take long and cost much less!
Check out here how I make my own shampoo at home with natural ingredients.
Not only Head & Shoulders, but almost all shampoo brands are in the same boat. I am myself very much concerned about my hair and It is no less than a depression for me when my hair falls. The solution I thought is that we should move back to the time when there were no shampoos. What did people use then? We should search out. I can bet to say that there were fewer people with hair problems in ancient times than they are now due to the usage of toxic brands.
Thank you for your comment. Yes, it's all shampoos, (I have written about this in a previous posts) but in this post I focused on Head & Shoulders because it's a global brand and used by the poor and rich. You made a good point, people in the past must have used other things. I am sure they used natural ingredients. Sorry to hear about your hair fall; it's horrible. I hope you it;s better now,
I am thinking of washing my hair with neem water extract. The process is to boil neem tree leaves in a container of water and when the leaves are dissolved in water then filter the leaves out and use the water to wash your hair. Let's see what happens.