Sounds scary, right?

I'm sure you've heard the term "detoxify" when it comes to your hair, or some other beauty routine. But that word would suggest that you had toxic things you need to remove from your body. If we're going to buy in to products that claim to detoxify, we first need to define what "toxic" even means. 

A quick search online pulled up the Merriam Webster definition of toxic:

TOXIC: containing or being poisonous material especially when capable of causing death or serious debilitation 

Well jeez. That sounds intense. I'm pretty sure your hairspray doesn't contain ingredients that are going to kill you or cause serious debilitation. Although I don't have a lot of faith in the FDA, or companies that make these products, I'm certain they don't want lawsuits on their hands from killing or maiming anyone. And I'm pretty sure product companies that claim to "detoxify" would agree. So if they're not talking about things that will kill you or seriously harm you, what are they referring to when they mention toxicity???

I think it's easiest to put "toxic" concerns into categories:

• Environmental concerns
• Immediate health concerns
• Long-term health effects
• Annoying but harmless
• Total hogwash

Let's start with the easy to distinguish environmental concerns. Within the realm of hair products, there's some concerns about how these affect the environment. Things made from petroleum are definitely a concern for some. Wether it's the ingredients that make up the product itself, or the plastic container it's in. These concerns circle around supporting petrochemicals in general, and how they affect the world around us. Another environmental concern is how our aerosols are affecting the depletion of the ozone layer. In products, these are labeled as VOC's. Some states have required alternative ingredients, or low amounts of VOC's in aerosol products because they acknowledge their effect on the environment.

Let's move on to immediate health concerns. With personal allergy to ingredients aside, there can be different types of immediate health effects from beauty products. And although these can be irritating, you won't be killed. Things like, fumes in haircolor making your eyes burn (yuck), hairspray making you cough, or gel making your scalp itch and flake. Some brands use less irritating ingredients that are more pleasant to use. But again, being irritated doesn't make something "toxic".

Long-term health effects. There is current research that supports the idea that some ingredients that are present in beauty/personal products can be very unhealthy with long term use. Things like phthalates and parabens (among others) are now known to cause problems with liver function, and hormone disruption. These are sneaky long term effects that are hard to pin down. And even as horrible as this sounds, it still doesn't meet the criteria for the definition of "toxic". 

Annoying but harmless effects. With the increase in popularity of the "curly girl method" of styling, so has the aversion to ingredients like silicones. There's a theory that silicones build up on the hair and stifle hair growth and the ability of your hair to absorb moisture. In my experience, this is only true if you never shampoo your hair. And how many of us are never washing our hair with shampoo or other detergent based cleansers? The number is low. So most of us are in no danger of a "build up" of ingredients in our hair or scalp. And even if you did get a build up, it's not toxic. 

Total hogwash: I'm going to flip the script for a second. Just because something is labeled as an "organic" hair product does not mean it will be better for you or your hair in any way. There are still loads of ingredients in organic products that could cause some of the effects from above. 

That being said...I love supporting companies that think about the environment, use gentle yet effective ingredients, and consider my long term health... all while abstaining from making absurd accusations about other companies. And I'm constantly moving the goal post for my needs as well. I'm a tough audience. But I've had practice.

So what's the takeaway here? I want you to take a deep breath. Think about what's important to you. Research your ingredients. I want you to be informed. Don't let scare tactics and clever marketing suck you into buying products you don't need, or don't work for you.

Wish you knew what your hair needed? I'm working on it girl. I'll have it all ironed out for ya soon. 

Yours in style, 

Crystal