Conventional masks can offer a good result at the moment, but they contain ingredients that are not beneficial in the long term. Your hair deserves masks with natural ingredients.
In winter, we long for a warm bath or a hot shower. However, too hot water damages the hair, deprives it of moisture and this causes it to dry out and become brittle. Changes between dry and hot environment indoors and cold and wet outdoors don’t help either. So, we look for solutions in “repairing power”, “deep care” masks and with other properties with which manufacturers want to sell their products. However, not all masks are able to offer something positive to our hair.
The truth is that, in recent years, the quality of the ingredients of hair masks has improved a lot. More and more manufacturers are removing dubious or harmful substances from their formulations.
However, there are still inadvisable products that should not be on the shelf of drugstores and supermarkets. We explain what are the problematic substances found in these products and how to choose the best hair masks.
UNHEALTHY HAIR MASKS
Conventional hair masks contain suspicious substances. The first problem is musky perfumes. It is possible to find in the masks synthetic aromas that incorporate galaxolid and tonalid, odor-fixing substances, which accumulate in human adipose tissue and in the environment, and are suspected of being endocrine disruptors. The Environmental Working Group, which maintains a major database on cosmetic ingredients, considers them “unacceptable.”
Also unacceptable are preservative ingredients such as chloromethyl isothiazolinone (CLMI) due to their irritating and allergenic potential, the use of which is already legally limited to products that are then rinsed. In addition, it is an organ halogenated compound that, once released into the environment, behaves as a persistent pollutant.
Other organ halogenated preservatives are chlorphenamine and chlorhexidine Di gluconate, which are equally undesirable.
HOW DO HAIR MASKS WORK ON THE HAIR?
Apart from aromas and preservatives, masks contain natural or synthetic oils that confer shine and manageability. Or substances such as keratin and panthenol, which penetrate deeper into the hair and make it flexible.
In the long term, hair treatments can protect against damage, what they cannot do is repair those that have already occurred in the structure of the hair, no matter how much they claim it in their advertising.
Some manufacturers speak of “immediate repair”, of “90 percent less hair breakage” or that “it helps repair six months of damage in a single application”. Of course, they cannot provide evidence supported by independent laboratories or publications.
What they can do is simulate the repair. To do this, they include among the ingredients silicones that form a thin film on the hair. In the long run, however, they can weigh down the hair and prevent really beneficial substances from penetrating it.
Silicones are harmless to health, but in the environment, they degrade very slowly and can interfere with the balance of ecosystems.
HOMEMADE AND NATURAL HAIR MASKS
To avoid encountering undesirable or toxic components, especially if you suffer from allergies or have sensitive skin, it is a good idea to bet on certified natural or organic cosmetic products, which are made only with natural substances without side effects.
Natural products include vegetable oils, such as coconut, almond or avocado oils, essential oils and plant extracts with softening properties, and moisturizing substances such as aloe vera gel.
Another option is to prepare your own mask with ingredients that you can have in the pantry. For example, mix 2 tablespoons of coconut aceie, 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise and a teaspoon of yogurt (it can also be honey). Apply the mixture to damp hair and let it act for 20-30 minutes. Then clarify and observe the change. The best results are achieved with regular use.