For many years, there was almost a golden rule in the field of hair care: sulfate is the devil. This kind of active agent contained in the vast majority of shampoos on the market has almost become the number one public enemy of the beauty industry, is the "pure" beauty movement was resisted harmful ingredients, but also the most controversial synthetic ingredient in the early "ingredient party" mind, most toiletries in the advertising will be "sulfate-free" banner, in the late 90s, the media undertaking beauty science tasks began to promote information about the potential carcinogenicity of certain chemicals found in shampoos (including sulfates and laboratory-made spices).
The "sulfate-free" program initiated by the brand will clearly mark the product with the word "Sulfate Free" to inform consumers
However, recently, The Ordinary, a functional skincare brand owned by Theciem, a Canadian skincare group, has launched a new shampoo that clearly labels Sulfate 4% (containing 4% sulfate ingredients) in its name, and Deciem Group has stated that if the formula is correct, sulfate does not damage the skin barrier, but has better cleaning ability than other ingredients. This ingredient is a controversial ingredient that is explicitly banned in beauty retailers Credo and Sephora's "pure" ingredient standards.
Sephora's "pure" beauty plan
Industry insiders believe that The Ordinary's move is intended to trigger a revolution in the field of "pure" beauty, redefining the standard of global beauty and skin care products and changing the status quo of long-standing consumer misconceptions about some ingredients.
The Ordinary launches a new hair and body cleanser product
Why is this ingredient, which most beauty consumers don't like, being re-emphasized by The Ordinary? The company's chief scientific officer, Prudvi Kaka, said in an interview: "In order to clean hair effectively, sulfates are absolutely necessary. In my opinion, the anti-sulfate message can be attributed to a brand's marketing strategy, the brand has sent the wrong message to consumers, causing consumers to have a serious misunderstanding of the safety of an active ingredient, and for many years consumers have not only gradually believed that sulfates are harmful, but also struggled to find sulfate-free washing products. ”
A washing product can really play a cleaning effect of the substance is surfactant, the common surface activator on the market is generally divided into three kinds: soap-based, sulfate and amino acids, in general, sulfate can effectively decompose and remove dirt and other impurities, mainly including sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) and sodium laureth sulfate (SLES), according to the cleaning strength of SLS> SLES, the latter is a derivative of the former, due to low cost, strong cleaning ability and rich foam, It is naturally widely used in all kinds of detergents, such as shampoo, shower gel, cleanser, toothpaste and various kitchen and bathroom cleaners.
Cosmetic chemist Perry Romanowski says sulfates have been used in personal care products since the 1950s and are "the most commonly used detergent ingredient in the beauty industry." Multiple scientific bodies have reviewed SLS as a personal care and cleaning product and determined that its typical uses in these applications are safe for both consumers and the environment.
Many chemists, product formulators and doctors say that sulfate surface activators are one of the most effective and affordable ingredients for cleansing hair and producing rich foam when used in low safe concentration ranges, and they are not allergens, hormone disruptors or carcinogens.
In years of popular science practice, consumers have been able to find ingredients they do not approve of from the ingredient list very sensitively and put them directly back on the shelves
Dermatologist Dr. Chimento points out that sulfate components can cause local and internal irritation, including the eyes, lungs and mouth, as well as the ability to strip the skin of its natural oils, which can lead to irritation or dryness. Studies have also shown that sulfates can cause adverse reactions such as dermatitis and eye irritation, but these conditions are rare. To ensure that the shampoo is cleansed without causing damage, body and hair cleaners can use sulfates (SLES-2) at a concentration of 4%.
Kora Organics, a natural organic skincare brand that excludes sulfates in all of its products, believes that sulfates break the skin's protective barrier while disturbing the skin's pH balance, so the brand chose plant extracts like glycosides as an alternative.
Kora Organics shower gel
Aveda, a wash brand that has both sulfate-containing and sulfate-free products, said that the use of sulfates is based on the different characteristics of the product, but the brand also said that the product uses a safer and milder, ammonium lauryl sulfate (ALS) extracted from coconuts instead of SLES.
Industry experts pointed out that from the current research results that can be relied on, it is not possible to give an accurate answer to whether the sulfate surface activator is good or bad, because it depends on many factors, such as different people's skin responds to it differently, and the risk of irritation depends largely on the molecular concentration of the product, so the higher the concentration of the product, the more likely people's skin is to be stimulated.
At this time, the quote "regardless of the dose to talk about toxicity is 'hooligan'" is the most appropriate, the study confirmed that a concentration of 4% can provide better cleaning results, and will not cause harm to unpainted hair, while the current research has not yet confirmed the degree of damage of sulfate to hair-colored hair, industry experts believe that if your hair is healthy, unpainted and needs deep cleaning, using a shampoo containing a low-concentration sulfate formulation is the best choice.
Aveda is a sulfate-free repair shampoo
A Sephora spokesperson said The Ordinary's shampoo won't be sold in "pure" beauty programs, while Uta Beauty said it would launch The Ordinary's shampoo and conditioner first, and Jessica Phillips, Ulta Beauty's vice president of marketing, said that for most consumers, the efficacy of shampoos usually comes first.
Prudvi Kaka also pointed out: "The brand's R&D team is working on marketing strategies that are often used to deliberately mislead consumers, and is trying to fill this gap by providing reliable information with scientifically based information, and we hope to replace the unknown with reliable information so that the fear behind the unknown ingredients is not used as a form of marketing." ”
In an era when the content of ingredient science is so detailed, the number of content creators is so large, and the knowledge involved is so extensive, brands and content creators have the responsibility to provide scientific and impartial evidence for the chemical substances used in beauty and personal care products, objective explanations, and effective resources to help consumers clarify what is available and what is harmful, and it is more necessary to "turn around" for ingredients that are insulted for no reason but continue to play a role in the beauty industry, and not to follow the tide dominated by "pure" beauty. BINC
Written by: Lucy Geng
Edit: Lee
Image source: Network