Why do popular hair care lines use so many unnecessary ingredients?

[Tangles]

I feel like only about a third of people do better with cones than without, and many, MANY of us have protein issues. My question is simple. What kind of long term benefit does this give the hair care companies? :confused: It's not like stopping cones would stop people from shampooing and using products, if anything stopping cones allows you to use more products without buildup. Is it just that shampoos and conditioners have contained these things so long that they don't see a reason to stop?

I am not saying don't make products with these ingredients, but rather re-market cones as something that "makes your hair smooth but requires clarifying products" and proteins as "something for damaged hair." In this way, people who needed those things would know when to buy them and what other products to use with them, and people who didn't need them would buy cone free products in the same line.

Sorry, just rambling here.

[Rosepatrice]

I guess they feel like they need to be like all the rest?

I've wondered the same thing!

[Rebelkat]

I feel like only about a third of people do better with cones than without, and many, MANY of us have protein issues. My question is simple. What kind of long term benefit does this give the hair care companies? :confused: It's not like stopping cones would stop people from shampooing and using products, if anything stopping cones allows you to use more products without buildup. Is it just that shampoos and conditioners have contained these things so long that they don't see a reason to stop?
IMHO, the answer is simple: GREED. They probably use unnecessary ingredients because they're significantly cheaper than natural ingredients. The more unnecessary ingredients they put in there to mask the actual condition of the buyers' hair, the fewer natural ingredients they have to put in the product. The hair care companies probably could not care less about the true condition of their clients' hair as long as they're making the most profit that they possibly can. Also, as the majority of people don't know that these unnecessary ingredients can do more harm than good, they will continue to buy these products, so of course the companies are not going to change their ways. Of course, I could be wrong, but that seems to be the theme of business today. Make as much profit possible at the cost of the consumer.

[Flynn]

Arms race. They've got to have the latest ingredient, the "killer app" if you like, and they only need your first wash with their product to be better than your last wash with your previous product. After that, it's probably an advantage if your hair doesn't do so well: it means you'll buy their detangling serum, their magical shaft smoothing cream and their pre-wash deep-cleansing oil-releasing treatment.

[BranwenWolf]

Probably cheaper.
Also, a lot of stuff is texture, color, and bubbles. Mainline shampoos are weird colors, often pearly for some reason, and are expected to have a certain texture and smell. People like suds for some reason, all they do is irritate me since I have softened water. (not by choice!)

I got a free sample of Kiss My Face shampoo and noticed that while it did what shampoo does, it didn't feel like regular shampoo at all.

I'm actually one of those people that does better with cones. Whenever I go natural I have a terrible shed-out and knots galore.

[spidermom]

I read the back of my styling creme recently, put it down in horror, and reached for the aloe vera gel and coconut oil. I don't even know what half that stuff is or how it's supposed to give me great hair. So good question - why DO they do it? Somehow I don't think greed is the entire answer. It has to cost less to put 6 ingredients into a formulation as opposed to 20.

[Tangles]

I read the back of my styling creme recently, put it down in horror, and reached for the aloe vera gel and coconut oil. I don't even know what half that stuff is or how it's supposed to give me great hair. So good question - why DO they do it? Somehow I don't think greed is the entire answer. It has to cost less to put 6 ingredients into a formulation as opposed to 20.

Exactly. I truly think it's more than just greed. :shrug:

[manderly]

IMHO, the answer is simple: GREED.

I wouldn't call it greed, I'd call it business. They want to make money. If using top of the line ingredients makes your product soar in price to the point you're limiting your market, then you are losing money. I'm not spending $30 a bottle for shampoo because it has only 4 ingredients and they're all natural. It's a matter of making a competitive product that is profitable.

None of these businesses are non-profit.

And I agree with Flynn, that it is an "arms race" of who has the new fabulous ingredient or gimmick. Remember no one had heard of acai berries 5 years ago? Now they're in EVERYTHING. I just saw a commercial for Glade airfreshners that use acai. I don't even know what acai smells like! :confused:

And you have to remember the consumers. The brainwashed masses. The ones who think that oil=greasy, the ones who think that you need to use poo 2 times a day to be clean, the ones who think that they must use the gel, mousse, anti-frizz, heat protector, hairspray, and shine serum just to leave the house.....when all we need is some Suave and coconut oil.....and they wonder why they "can't" have long hair. :silly:

[BranwenWolf]

Some of the hair stying gels I used gummed my fingers together better than superglue.

Which is why I stopped using them. Oy!

I also noticed that the expensive salon shampoos have most of the same filler ingredients as Pantene or Suave. It's like all the horse feeds that are basically some variation of corn, oats, and a mineral pellet but they all vary wildly in price.

[Rebelkat]

I wouldn't call it greed, I'd call it business. They want to make money. If using top of the line ingredients makes your product soar in price to the point you're limiting your market, then you are losing money.
Well, I know that it's business, but somehow I think that quality should be an issue. Also, you have to admit that they probably don't give a flying one about their customers as long as they're making as much money as possible. Besides, if their customers' hair is being damaged, then said customers will "have to" buy anti-frizz serum, detangler, pre-wash deep conditioner, and other things to make their hair "presentable." Even though I'm paying $10 a bottle for conditioner, I've noticed I'm saving a lot of money on things I would normally have to use to make my hair look healthy after using a lot of the popular products out there. I hope I'm not offending anyone; I'm just saying...

[Runzel]

I wonder if part of the reason is to make the ingredients sound so "up there" that it's worth the money. No mainstream customer is going to pay a huge amount of money for a product with familiar ingredients that can actually be pronounced, right? :rolleyes:

[SheWolf]

Actually, gimmicky marketing sells. It appeals to the masses that want to keep up with the Joneses, it appeals to those who believe that unpronounceable is scientific and therefore better.
Also cones for example work instantly. Their downside doesn't become obvious right away, it takes a while.
So people will keep on buying and using it until disaster strikes and their hair ends up looking like a demented Brillo pad.
... That's how I found out! :o

[Heidi_234]

Can't you see? They want your hair more needy and damaged, so you'll buy more products to "help" it! So if cones mask damage and without them your hair feels awful, the common that-doesn't-care-about-hair-that-much will go back to that coney so his/hers hair will feel nice again!
OR - if the consensus is that shampooing is a must (because you must keep you hair squeaky clean! Otherwise it's gross! Of course!), and conditioner is an option, they would want to put cones in the conditioner, so that the shampoo will wash out the cones instead of drying out the hair itself (as there's nothing else to wash). That's why they say on the bottle "for better results use our blah-blah-blah conditioner".
The conspiracy theories can go on and on.
Fact is - most people (most of us too, before we joined LHC :p) don't know what does it made of, and don't care what's made of. So whatever makes hair feel great will be there, regardless to the fact that it doesn't really makes the hair great. Build-up from these feels like damaged ends, and with the way people handle their hair nowadays, they don't even question if it indeed damaged ends that are due for a trim.

[RancheroTheBee]

Can't you see? They want your hair more needy and damaged, so you'll buy more products to "help" it! So if cones mask damage and without them your hair feels awful, the common that-doesn't-care-about-hair-that-much will go back to that coney so his/hers hair will feel nice again!
OR - if the consensus is that shampooing is a must (because you must keep you hair squeaky clean! Otherwise it's gross! Of course!), and conditioner is an option, they would want to put cones in the conditioner, so that the shampoo will wash out the cones instead of drying out the hair itself (as there's nothing else to wash). That's why they say on the bottle "for better results use our blah-blah-blah conditioner".
The conspiracy theories can go on and on.
Fact is - most people (most of us too, before we joined LHC :p) don't know what does it made of, and don't care what's made of. So whatever makes hair feel great will be there, regardless to the fact that it doesn't really makes the hair great. Build-up from these feels like damaged ends, and with the way people handle their hair nowadays, they don't even question if it indeed damaged ends that are due for a trim.

The language they use in marketing is also quite persuasive. Note the way that words sometimes play on your emotions: Your hair is damaged; this conditioner can rescue your hair. Protect your hair from heat styling. Instead of just saying, this shampoo contains silicone derivatives and coats the hair shaft, temporarily masking split ends or damage, which doesn't pack the same kind of punch.

That said, I think a lot of people do care what's in their products, but there's practically no mainstream avenue for information regarding what these marketing terms actually mean. I remember when I was in high school, I wanted to grow out my hair, and I would pick up anything that sounded the most appealing. I never figured out that there's this secret code for hair products.

Fortifying: Contains protein.

Repairs damage: Contains 'cones.

Imparts shine: Low sulphate content, to preserve natural oils, or high sulphate content, washing away buildup from the last two mentions.

I should write an article on that.

[Heidi_234]

The language they use in marketing is also quite persuasive. Note the way that words sometimes play on your emotions: Your hair is damaged; this conditioner can rescue your hair. Protect your hair from heat styling. Instead of just saying, this shampoo contains silicone derivatives and coats the hair shaft, temporarily masking split ends or damage, which doesn't pack the same kind of punch.

That said, I think a lot of people do care what's in their products, but there's practically no mainstream avenue for information regarding what these marketing terms actually mean. I remember when I was in high school, I wanted to grow out my hair, and I would pick up anything that sounded the most appealing. I never figured out that there's this secret code for hair products.

Fortifying: Contains protein.

Repairs damage: Contains 'cones.

Imparts shine: Low sulphate content, to preserve natural oils, or high sulphate content, washing away buildup from the last two mentions.

I should write an article on that.
That's what I meant. I didn't knew any better before LHC, so yeah, when the commercial said it makes the hair stronger, sure thing I'd want that because I want my hair to grow long.
Most people just don't know any better, even if they care for their hair. I really cared about my hair, but I didn't know that dry damaged ends can be protein overload (I always trimmed them!!), and that conditioners that made my hair super smooth actually hid the damage under the cones.:shrug:
For most customers, making it 'look like' it's fine is good enough. That's why companies can get away with all this nasty stuff in their products. For us, people who plan to have that same hair for years now (as it will just grow out instead of getting cut), making it 'look like' it's fine is not enough. We need our hair healthy so that it would remain with us for as long as possible.

[aisling]

Most people don't have LHC hair :) People generally dye, blowdry, style their hair a lot more than the common LHC:er and might very well need those cones and that protein or do not see the difference when using cones or not.

[Jeni]

Technically I don't think companies put unnecessary ingredients in their product since I would imagine everything they use is necessary to make that particular product. Adding something for the hell of it doesn't really make a lot of sense money wise. Now could they use different possibly better ingredients? Maybe.

Anyway, I think some man made ingredients are used instead of natural ingredients because they are cheaper to use/easier to get/last longer/smell better/bubble more/etc. I really don't think companies are trying to ***** people over since their products work great for many people. Besides would you keep using a product if it didnt help/made your hair worse? I wouldn't, I'd move on to something else. I also don't necessarily think natural ingredients are always better then man made ones but that is just my opinion.

FWIW I Honestly didnt care what was in my hair care product before LHC and I don't really care now. Chemicals don't bother me and cones don't seem to build up on my hair. I like sparkly shiny shampoos with lots of suds that smell good. I think you can get healthy long hair with chemical riddled products, it just depends on your hair. I currently wash everyday with DW and coney conditioner. I have no idea what is in DW (there are pages and pages on the DW thread about the ingredients), it may or may not contain detergents/chemicals, either way it doesn't matter to me. My conditioner has a ton of unpronounceable ingredients but it works for me. Better living through chemicals is my motto.

[Rapunzal2Be]

I wouldn't call it greed, I'd call it business. They want to make money. If using top of the line ingredients makes your product soar in price to the point you're limiting your market, then you are losing money. I'm not spending $30 a bottle for shampoo because it has only 4 ingredients and they're all natural. It's a matter of making a competitive product that is profitable.

None of these businesses are non-profit.

And I agree with Flynn, that it is an "arms race" of who has the new fabulous ingredient or gimmick. Remember no one had heard of acai berries 5 years ago? Now they're in EVERYTHING. I just saw a commercial for Glade airfreshners that use acai. I don't even know what acai smells like! :confused:

And you have to remember the consumers. The brainwashed masses. The ones who think that oil=greasy, the ones who think that you need to use poo 2 times a day to be clean, the ones who think that they must use the gel, mousse, anti-frizz, heat protector, hairspray, and shine serum just to leave the house.....when all we need is some Suave and coconut oil.....and they wonder why they "can't" have long hair. :silly:

That right there is exactly how I thought until I found this forum a few days ago! I thought that to have gorgeous hair you needed the best [read: most expensive] products and you needed to heat protect, blow dry, flat iron, and then serum your hair just to get it to look presentable.

I actually started to really appreciate my hair recently after stumbling upon benign neglect for the simple fact that I was tired of beating my hair up and just didn't care what it looked like for a while. So I cut out the blow drier, flat iron, and products except for one shine serum and just let my hair be. After a week or two I actually started to LIKE the way my hair looked when it was doing its own thing!!

Duh!;)

[Rapunzal2Be]

Technically I don't think companies put unnecessary ingredients in their product since I would imagine everything they use is necessary to make that particular product. Adding something for the hell of it doesn't really make a lot of sense money wise. Now could they use different possibly better ingredients? Maybe.

Anyway, I think some man made ingredients are used instead of natural ingredients because they are cheaper to use/easier to get/last longer/smell better/bubble more/etc. I really don't think companies are trying to ***** people over since their products work great for many people. Besides would you keep using a product if it didnt help/made your hair worse? I wouldn't, I'd move on to something else. I also don't necessarily think natural ingredients are always better then man made ones but that is just my opinion.

FWIW I Honestly didnt care what was in my hair care product before LHC and I don't really care now. Chemicals don't bother me and cones don't seem to build up on my hair. I like sparkly shiny shampoos with lots of suds that smell good. I think you can get healthy long hair with chemical riddled products, it just depends on your hair. I currently wash everyday with DW and coney conditioner. I have no idea what is in DW (there are pages and pages on the DW thread about the ingredients), it may or may not contain detergents/chemicals, either way it doesn't matter to me. My conditioner has a ton of unpronounceable ingredients but it works for me. Better living through chemicals is my motto.

What is DW? I tried using search, but the term is too short...

[Jeni]

sorry its dairy whip. Its a soft solid "soap" that people have been using as a shampoo as well as the regular body wash.

There is a debate over what it actually is (since not everything that cleans and bubbles is soap, or something) and what is in it. Some say it must have detergents in it but the women selling said it doesn't. You can get it scented with EOs or FOs but some people say when they ask for EOs only they get something with what they feel are FOs, it takes a long time to get it and she isn't always good at answering emails and phone calls, etc.

It's a long thread but that is the gist of it.

I have been using it as a shampoo for like a month or so and have really liked it. Its a nice body wash too.

That was probably more then you wanted to know huh....

[Rapunzal2Be]

sorry its dairy whip. Its a soft solid "soap" that people have been using as a shampoo as well as the regular body wash.

There is a debate over what it actually is (since not everything that cleans and bubbles is soap, or something) and what is in it. Some say it must have detergents in it but the women selling said it doesn't. You can get it scented with EOs or FOs but some people say when they ask for EOs only they get something with what they feel are FOs, it takes a long time to get it and she isn't always good at answering emails and phone calls, etc.

It's a long thread but that is the gist of it.

I have been using it as a shampoo for like a month or so and have really liked it. Its a nice body wash too.

That was probably more then you wanted to know huh....

Thanks, I'm going to check out that thread!

[Elbereth]

Have you noticed that no one ever promotes their products saying that they help you to achieve healthy hair? Instead it's healthy looking hair.:rolleyes:

My hair is healthy, and when I walk out on the street, the folks' hair in general looks nothing like it.

Methinks I will continue to make my own shampoo bars, from oils I get from my village's grocery store. :stirpot:

[mellie]

Have you noticed that no one ever promotes their products saying that they help you to achieve healthy hair? Instead it's healthy looking hair.

My hair is healthy, and when I walk out on the street, the folks' hair in general looks nothing like it.

Isn't that so true? The last time I was at a salon (and ever will be!), about a year ago, I noticed that right away. My hair looked WAY healthier than anyone else's there, including the stylists (and it was a REALLY upscale salon!). I looked at myself in the mirror and was so surprised how glossy and ALIVE my hair seemed to be in comparison to theirs! I should have followed my gut instinct right then, and walked out...oh well!!! Live and learn!

Sometimes we are so eager to believe that someone else knows better than we do, you know? :sad:

[morguebabe]

Cheap fillers.

I used to work at a contract forumlation company. They would give me and assignment from company "X". Company "X" would send me an idea of what they wanted. "we want it to contain a, b, c and D and sorta of be like *insert product already in stores*". I would play around and finally make said item. I would send said item to them. They market test on volunteers and play with it. They then contact me. "we love your formula could you make it the same way but using cheaper ingredients?"

The markup is out of this world. Theres things I know how much I spent making per ounce (less than a dollar) and I've seen in the mall at 35 dollars for 7 ounces.

[lora410]

Companies are out to make money, so they use the cheapest ingredients available; most could really care less about our hair.

[plainjanegirl]

Technically I don't think companies put unnecessary ingredients in their product since I would imagine everything they use is necessary to make that particular product. Adding something for the hell of it doesn't really make a lot of sense money wise. Now could they use different possibly better ingredients? Maybe.

Anyway, I think some man made ingredients are used instead of natural ingredients because they are cheaper to use/easier to get/last longer/smell better/bubble more/etc. I really don't think companies are trying to ***** people over since their products work great for many people. Besides would you keep using a product if it didnt help/made your hair worse? I wouldn't, I'd move on to something else. I also don't necessarily think natural ingredients are always better then man made ones but that is just my opinion.

FWIW I Honestly didnt care what was in my hair care product before LHC and I don't really care now. Chemicals don't bother me and cones don't seem to build up on my hair. I like sparkly shiny shampoos with lots of suds that smell good. I think you can get healthy long hair with chemical riddled products, it just depends on your hair. I currently wash everyday with DW and coney conditioner. I have no idea what is in DW (there are pages and pages on the DW thread about the ingredients), it may or may not contain detergents/chemicals, either way it doesn't matter to me. My conditioner has a ton of unpronounceable ingredients but it works for me. Better living through chemicals is my motto.



I agree to that you can still get long healthy hair even using shampoos or conditioners or etc. that people think have bad stuff in them.

[morguebabe]

Technically I don't think companies put unnecessary ingredients in their product since I would imagine everything they use is necessary to make that particular product. Adding something for the hell of it doesn't really make a lot of sense money wise. Now could they use different possibly better ingredients? Maybe.


I used to work as a formulation chemist I was involved in making things for very big name companies.


They are unnecessary in the fact they are fillers and do nothing what so ever for your hair, what they do it hold a product together, or mimick something tactilely (to the touch) that does do something. Most products are full of cheap uncecessary fillers that cost less therefore it's not really "for the hell of it" but they do nothing for YOU.

[rhubarbarin]

90% of the products in hair products are superficial and unnecessary because they enhance the experience of using the product. It's is all about the smell, the feel of the product in your hands, the quality of the lather in shampoo, the way your hair looks right after you apply it (most people wash and style every day).

As far as shampop-just about any ingredient that's actually moisturizing/strengthening in an SLS shampoo never makes any contact with your hair, since surfactants surround and hold molecules of oil, etc. So - even if an SLS shampoo is full of 'good' ingredients like oils and botanicals, they are just getting washed away along with the dirt and sebum in your hair. This is why I buy the cheapest shampoo with the fewest ingredients and then use expensive conditioners. That's what is really going to affect the moisture level in my hair.

I wouldn't call it greed, I would call it business (which is about making as much money as you can in a certain market, but we're capitalists after all). There's a certain standard for these products and all products are held to this standard by the vast majority of consumers.

And the vast majority of consumers want something that feels nice to use, acts in a way that they are familiar with, and gives them immediate results: a great smell. Squeaky-clean hair. Super-shiny, glossy, silky, less-tangled hair (nothing wins like cones here). Unlike LHCers they don't take a long-term view of their hair and guard it like a resource they are going to use for many, many years.

If someone came out with a shampoo that literally did repair your hair (catnip tea?), but was thin, watery, didn't sud, smelled like herbs - very few people would be buying. Of course LHCers would be crazy for it, but even 20,000 members aren't enough for a company to market a product like that.

[marialena]

I feel like only about a third of people do better with cones than without, and many, MANY of us have protein issues. My question is simple. What kind of long term benefit does this give the hair care companies? :confused: It's not like stopping cones would stop people from shampooing and using products, if anything stopping cones allows you to use more products without buildup. Is it just that shampoos and conditioners have contained these things so long that they don't see a reason to stop?

I am not saying don't make products with these ingredients, but rather re-market cones as something that "makes your hair smooth but requires clarifying products" and proteins as "something for damaged hair." In this way, people who needed those things would know when to buy them and what other products to use with them, and people who didn't need them would buy cone free products in the same line.

Sorry, just rambling here.

If they informed us for these things how many of us would keep on buying their products? If f.e the company informed you that in order to use a cone conditioner you need a clarifying shampoo too ( more cost) and that proteins are good only for damaged hair ( that you are not sure if you have) would you buy their products?

I doubt.
As long as we stay uninformed we can be good and obedient consumers. If we knew that half of the things that the companies claim are lies.. bye bye consuming, bye bye profits for them.. ! :eyebrows:

[Fethenwen]

I'll just repeat what someone said here, those ingredients makes your hair look healthy. But it isn't. So you will need all those hair repair products and also styling products.
And they also enhance the experience of using their products, it's amazing how many products even have artificial colors in them.

'omg, it lathers so much, my hair feels squeeky clean!' = that can't be good for ones hair.

Edit: I forgot to mention my point :P My point is this, it's cheap and people fall for it. Makes a lot of money.

[florenonite]

Have you noticed that no one ever promotes their products saying that they help you to achieve healthy hair? Instead it's healthy looking hair.:rolleyes:

My hair is healthy, and when I walk out on the street, the folks' hair in general looks nothing like it.

Methinks I will continue to make my own shampoo bars, from oils I get from my village's grocery store. :stirpot:

I agree, they just say it'll look healthy. I suppose this way they can't be accused of lying :shrug: