#1 My Virgin Hair Journey; Do you have any hair product that contains these harmful ingredients?

SUMMARY:

• My virgin hair journey

• Contents of homemade/organic hair care products

• List of things not to use on your hair.

• Ingredients to avoid when purchasing your products

Fortunately, I am on the #teamvirginhair, #teamnatural and so I can confidently talk about this.

Eighteen months ago, I noticed that the growth of my hair came to a halt.

I kept applying hair relaxers and washing with regular shampoo and conditioner to straighten out the virgin under growth.
I did not mind the receding hair line because I was already tired of dealing with it and I felt that as long as I could cover my hair with a weave or braid or even a wig, I am good to go

I woke up one morning, went to the salon to cut my hair. Yes, I joined the team.

Then I went on the internet to research about maintaining virgin hair.
The information I got was useful for a start but was not enough for my virgin hair journey.
The suggestions I got from short hair professionals was still centered around the regular hair products.

It is been eighteen months and I made it through.

I will share my progress report, The products I avoided and why.

My Virgin Hair Journey

6 months into my virgin hair mission and I had the hunger to fix a weave on my hair and I went to meet my stylist, she give me the options of using;

The hair bonding glue

 This would damage my hair and my scalp or even leave me bald for a while,

A wig, 

It looked beautiful in the first few day but i was not ready to put up with it because it would make me sweat in my hair and a lot of itching

The third option is what we call "kobo kobo" or nutting of the hair into small parts.

This was the one I settle for.

She fixed my weave on and it looked good

Afterwards, I tried a lot of different styles that looked good.

At 12 months, I already had a grow hair that could conform with any sort of hair style I wanted to wear.

Here are;

The List Of Things I do Not Use On My Virgin Hair

Hair relaxer;

Relaxers are very strong chemical and they will sure change the basic structure of any hair
I am not thinking of using it now and i still want to enjoy my virgin hair.

Hair texturizer; 

Like relaxers, hair texurizer are chemicals. I see them as a milder version of relaxers
It's essence is to make the virgin hair softer but the result is beyond just softer. It is almost relaxed.

My colleague who "was" on virgin hair had troubles combing it because her hair is very thick. she was convinced to use the texturizer but the result jumped form virgin to relaxed.
Most guide on the use of most texturizers says 10 minutes,but ten minutes is too much so why try at all.

Non-Organic Base Hair products:
this is a very dicey one because a lot of products in the market do not contain what they claim to have. It is also not very easy to find that original product over the counter. I always opt to buying directly from the manufacturers website by order or preparing my home made products, organic base which contains essentials like Coconut oil, Shea butter and Olive oil. (don't forget I am a chemist by academics).
The most used  of all hair product is shampoo, conditioner and hair cream.

Here is a list of ingredients to avoid in your shampoo

Sulphates: e.g Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate, Mureth Sulphate.

It is used as surfactants and foaming agent. it is a strong irritant to the skin and scalp.
It is important to also avoid all the derivatives of Lauryl Alcohol

Parabens: 

It is used as preservatives and a strong antibacterial and anti-fungal. Its bad side is that it disrupts hormonal functions. other preservatives to avoid are DMDM hydantoin and imidozolidinyl.

Phthalates: 

They are used to make fragrance in Shampoo. It causes early puberty in girls and increased asthma in children. avoide products that just say fragrances with listing the contents of the fragrance.
Also watch out for Triethanolamine (TEA) and Coal Tar dyes They are carcinogenic

Others are; Propylene Glycol (Antifreeze), Olefin Sulfonate (deodorized Kerosene)

Hair Grease:

I have developed a habit of looking out for the contents of whatever I buy over the counter. i have noticed that a whole lot of regular hair creams do not contain the very essentials for a healthy Virgin hair.
Petroleum jelly is not good for an African hair. It makes the hair, stiff, dry and greasy. It doeas not add moisture to my hair.

Heat: 

I totally avoided heat and heat related products. zero to once a month is my maximum.
I apply enough moisturizer or serum before using a flat ironing this protects my hair from direct heat Direct heat on the hair, damages the hair quality, reduces the surface moisture of the hair and breaks the hair.

It is a lot of work to style my virgin hair but the outcome is always worth it. The simple things I avoid makes it easier to maintain my virgin hair.

And you have it.

Do you have any hair product that contains these harmful ingredients? Please share.