Spike, Slick, Fringe, Wet, Pompadour. Choose the hairstyle and make it last. Mousse, Gel, Wax, Pomade, Clay or Spray. Cool. Stylish. For men and women. Using styling aids may cost you in the long run.

Sadly, too many of ‘commercial’ hair style products are an almost guarantee of losing one’s hair and or causing other serious issues. This does not mean that you cannot style your hair, it just means you must choose your fix carefully.

Let’s take a look at mousse

Think of liquid plastic in a bottle. This polymer goes right through your scalp pores into your body.

If your mousse has a shimmer or a glimmer, it contains mica.  Inhaled, the mica irritants the lungs.

The texture of the mousse is achieved by the addition of acrylates/C10-30 alkyl acrylate cross polymer. It is an irritant.

If you have ever suffered with hives or eczema, it might  be the  PEG 32, PEG 40 in your mousse

Or maybe the hives resulted from the ingredient benzophenone 4 which made the mousse smell so good all day.

Eyes watering? Hair strands breaking?  Blame it on the ammonium hydroxide. 

Or blame the eye irritation on the  polyquaternium-11. This ammonia compound is used as a preservative and is why you can keep your mousse around for 3 years.

And what makes the mousse foam? The propellant , dimethyl ether glycerin. Besides being highly flammable it also is an irritant on eyes, nose, throat, can cause headaches and dizziness. And since it is highly toxic to aquatic life, avoid swimming in a  lake or ocean while wearing your mousse.

As an alternative to chemically laden commercial mousse, you might try making your own. DIY offers recipes with shea and coconut and essential oils like eucalyptus or lavender or lemon or blends.  When whipped with an electric beater, it will come closer to the desired foamy mousse, without the toxins.

Mousse is just one of the dangerous hair products. The sprays, gels, waxes and pomades need careful scrutiny too.  

From Earth to Body, use one of our butters, Sheamu or Shargan. You can’t get much better or healthier than that and your hair will love you.

 

 

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