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On different forums and blogs people are continuously saying they threw out a product because it had alcohol in the ingredients. Tressbuzz wants to do her part to stop this madness! Not all alcohols are created equal. There are indeed alcohols that are stripping, drying and detrimental to hair growth. However there are also what we call fatty alcohols that are actually very good for the hair, so check those labels before sending products to the landfill! Here is a breakdown:
SHORT CHAIN ALCOHOLS - Highly evaporative and may lead to dry tresses as they can cause other forms of moisture to evaporate away as well:
Ethanol
SD alcohol
SD alcohol 40
Denatured Alcohol (denat)
Propanol
Propyl
Isopropyl
FATTY ALCOHOLS - Higher carbon ratios cause these alcohols to be fatty and have lubricative properties. These alcohols are emollient and have a smoothing and softening effect on the hair's cuticle:
Lauryl alcohol
Cetyl alcohol
Myristyl alcohol
Stearyl alcohol
Cetearyl alcohol
Behenyl alcohol
OTHER ALCOHOLS IN HAIR PRODUCTS
Benzyl alcohol - Used as a preservative. Found to have little to no effect on hair health.
Propylene Glycol - Used as a humectant which attracts and binds water to the hair; as such it is extremely moisturizing.
So the next time you see the word "alcohol" listed on a product remember there are good ones and bad ones. No worries with beneficial alcohols but seriously limit the use of bad alcohols.
On different forums and blogs people are continuously saying they threw out a product because it had alcohol in the ingredients. Tressbuzz wants to do her part to stop this madness! Not all alcohols are created equal. There are indeed alcohols that are stripping, drying and detrimental to hair growth. However there are also what we call fatty alcohols that are actually very good for the hair, so check those labels before sending products to the landfill! Here is a breakdown:
SHORT CHAIN ALCOHOLS - Highly evaporative and may lead to dry tresses as they can cause other forms of moisture to evaporate away as well:
Ethanol
SD alcohol
SD alcohol 40
Denatured Alcohol (denat)
Propanol
Propyl
Isopropyl
FATTY ALCOHOLS - Higher carbon ratios cause these alcohols to be fatty and have lubricative properties. These alcohols are emollient and have a smoothing and softening effect on the hair's cuticle:
Lauryl alcohol
Cetyl alcohol
Myristyl alcohol
Stearyl alcohol
Cetearyl alcohol
Behenyl alcohol
OTHER ALCOHOLS IN HAIR PRODUCTS
Benzyl alcohol - Used as a preservative. Found to have little to no effect on hair health.
Propylene Glycol - Used as a humectant which attracts and binds water to the hair; as such it is extremely moisturizing.
So the next time you see the word "alcohol" listed on a product remember there are good ones and bad ones. No worries with beneficial alcohols but seriously limit the use of bad alcohols.
