PDA

View Full Version : What are sulfates? My hair loves them



mizsunshyne
October 27th, 2010, 08:07 AM
I see alot of mentioning of cones and sulfates so I decided to try some organic shampoo and conditioner that were sulfate free. What exactly do sulfates do? Because I'm halfway through the bottle and I don't like it. My hair is greasy and stringy and feels like it needs to be washed everyday. Why is that?

aenflex
October 27th, 2010, 08:12 AM
sulfates use a chemical reaction to stick to oil and release it from surfaces, ie - rinsing it down the drain :) Other things people use to cleanse hair are herbs, oil or lye soaps, water or just plain conditioner, well that's just a few of many things but those seem the most mentioned her. Personally I wash twice per week, once with Suave Naturals which does have SLS, and then once with CV shampoo bar which is just super-fatted soap.

mira-chan
October 27th, 2010, 09:05 AM
Sulfates are a type of detergent chemicals. Sulfate free shampoo will also have detergents or surfactants (things that break up oil). Soap is a surfactant.

Sulfates tend to be stronger detergents than the ones in sulfate-free shampoo. If sulfates work for you then by all means use them. No need to fix something that's not broken.

Marjolein
October 27th, 2010, 10:18 AM
Yes, Sulphates work great for some, and not so great for others.I personally kinda like them.

I do want to stress though, that you shouldn't write off cone-free / sls-free products, just because you've tried one of them and didn't like it. Every shampoo behaves differently because there are what? 20-30 other ingredients in there?

UltraBella
October 28th, 2010, 01:07 AM
My biggest question is : what is in your conditioner ??
You can be using the nicest sulfate free shampoo ever, but if your conditioner is full of cones your hair can end up feeling awful. A sulfate free shampoo will often not be able to strip the cones from your hair, leaving a buildup. Hair feels greasy, stringy and lifeless. It looks dull, etc. If I am using a coney conditioner, I use a sulfate shampoo. Non-cone conditioner, sulfate free shampoo. You have to get the combination right for best results.

UltraBella
October 28th, 2010, 01:07 AM
Argh ! Double post........