Blame It On The Alcohol!
Dry, Frizzy, Brittle...a curly hair nightmare!
It is always shared in the hair care world that alcohol is bad for hair! It is very dehydrating and dries your hair, making it brittle and can lead to hair loss. Weak hair damaged by alcohols can suffer breakage and contribute to split ends. Everything you will want to avoid when you have curly hair!
But not all alcohol is bad for your hair! There's short chain alcohol (BAD FOR YOUR HAIR) and there's long chain alcohol (GOOD FOR YOUR HAIR)!
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Why is alcohol in hair products? Which are “BAD” alcohols?
Short-chain alcohols are not curl friendly for the most part. It is added to hair products to promote quick drying as in quick setting hair spray, gel, mousse,etc.
Drying or bad alcohols also dehydrate the hair to maximize absorption of hair color and other products made to deeply penetrate the hair shaft. These alcohols are also added for their antiseptic properties and to assist the emulsification of oil and water present in hair products.
Alcohols listed below have lim
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Isopropyl alcohol
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Isopropanol alcohol
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Ethanol
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Ethyl denatured
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Propyl alcohol
What is “GOOD" alcohol?
Long-chain or fatty alcohols are good alcohols. These types of alcohols usually come from natural sources like coconut or palm oil. They are usually plant-based, are extremely moisturizing and will leave your hair soft and smooth. The oil present is why they are called “fatty” and the oil or fat properties in these types of alcohols allow you the benefits of alcohol without the drying aspect.
Fatty alcohols are added to hair products to give them a thicker consistency, to provide more slip (as in conditioners and creams) and to draw in moisture.
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Cetyl alcohol
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Cetearyl alcohol
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Stearyl alcohol
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Lauryl alcohol
Check out which long-chain alcohols (GOOD ALCOHOLS) we use and why: here!
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