Do you need sulfates in your shampoo or not

You have most likely seen the word "sulfates" on the label of a shampoo you are purchasing. These components have been the subject of a hair care controversy for many years. Sulfate-free products are highly regarded by some, while others think they’re essential for a thorough cleaning.

Determining whether sulfates should be a part of your routine requires an understanding of what they actually do and how they affect your hair. Are they dangerous, or is all the hype about them fear mongering?

The benefits and drawbacks of sulfates in shampoo will be discussed in this article to help you decide if they will work well for your goals and hair type.

Contents

What is SLS
SLS Functions in Shampoos
Disadvantages
Who is not recommended to use shampoos with SLS
How to reduce the harm of SLS
SLS and SLES
Sulfate-free shampoos
Who sulfate-free shampoos are not suitable for
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What is SLS

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, sometimes known as lauryl sulfate or sodium salt of lauryl sulfuric acid, is a surface-active agent that cleans and foams. Shampoos, soaps, bath foams, shower gels, and household chemicals all contain SLS.

SLS is employed in the food industry in addition to the cosmetics industry. It functions as an emulsifier in products and, if required, encourages uniform whipping.

SLS Functions in Shampoos

The purpose of sulfates in shampoo:

good foaming. Sulfate promotes the formation of thick, stable foam;
cleansing. Products containing sulfates do an excellent job of deep cleansing and are effective against silicones, wax and other components of hair cosmetics;
does not lose its properties even in hard or cool water.

Disadvantages

Adverse characteristics of sulfates:

aggressive to proteins, and hair is 80-90% protein compounds. Skin has a similar reaction – proteins are destroyed, but the skin has the ability to quickly restore them;
SLS irritates the eyes – this can be confirmed by anyone who has ever had foam in their eyes;
destroys the hair cuticle. As a result, the hair loses its shine, moisture evaporates, and split ends appear;
the scalp begins to peel. This is due to the fact that lauryl sulfate aggressively affects the protective layer of the skin, which provokes the same loss of moisture, the consequence of which is peeling.

Sulfates are wrongly associated with a number of unpleasant characteristics. For instance, no formal research has been done to date to support the claim that using SLS products increases the risk of developing cancer.

Typical sulfate myths include the following:

allergic reactions. Studies conducted around the world have never confirmed that SLS provokes allergic reactions. Negative manifestations are possible if the manufacturer of a particular product decided to save money and use sulfate as a raw material in the form of a liquid solution. For the preservation of the raw material, formaldehyde is added to it, and it, in turn, can very well cause severe allergies;
high toxicity. And this fact is also unfounded. In order for pathological changes to occur in the body of a person weighing 50-70 kg from SLS, he needs to drink about 0.5 liters of shampoo. Conclusion – no need to take shampoo inward;
carcinogenicity. This is the very first drawback that was attributed to lauryl sulfate when they began to study it. As we have already said above, there are no confirmed links between tumor formation and sulfates, but such reactions can occur due to formaldehyde added as a preservative to the liquid solution;
accumulation in the body. Here, it is necessary to distinguish between the concepts – sulfates can accumulate in hair follicles, but the negative impact on the functions of the bulbs has not yet been proven. But SLS cannot get inside the body – for this it needs to get into the bloodstream. Negative reactions of sulfates are associated, first of all, with external changes.

The amount of SLS present in the product’s composition determines how much of an impact it has on the body. Although concentrations can differ between manufacturers, cleaning product categories generally contain roughly the same amount of sulfate:

Funds for cleansing the skin and demague – 1%;
toothpaste – 1-2%;
shampoo – 10-25%.

You must realize that all research is done in "exaggerated conditions" in this instance. For instance, the American Institute of Toxicology used rats in its experimentation in 1983. The study’s findings indicate that when the SLS concentration was 15% per kilogram of body weight, four of the twenty animals perished.

Furthermore, a 2002 study by the UK’s CIR commission demonstrated that most of the harmful effects of SLS only manifest themselves after extended skin exposure. Dehydration and mild inflammation are possible side effects if the skin is exposed to a 2% SLS solution for longer than a day.

Who is not recommended to use shampoos with SLS

Although many countries, including the USA and Russia, have listed SLS as a safe ingredient, there are certain groups of people for whom using hair products with aggressive sulfates in the formula is not advised:

girls with curly hair. Lauryl sulfate increases the fluffiness of hair, which curly girls will not need;
people with sensitive scalp;
people with dermatological diseases. The Department of Dermatology in Copenhagen found that lauryl sulfate has a much more aggressive effect on such skin. This is primarily due to the fact that diseased skin loses more moisture due to its evaporation into the environment;
comedones. Sulfates can provoke an increase in their number;
children due to the high risk of irritation.

In other situations, you must rely on common sense, any current scalp issues, and the requirements of the hair. The next time you wash your hair, your detergent won’t be able to remove the silicones from your hair if you, for example, wash it with a sulfate-free shampoo and then apply a silicone mask. It just doesn’t have the cleaning power to do so.

You can completely avoid sulfates in cosmetics if all of the products are "clean"—that is, free of silicones, waxes, and other difficult-to-wash ingredients—in order to protect the integrity of your hair’s structure and minimize the chance of peeling.

SLS is not the largest risk in cosmetics, but it is still worthwhile to take advantage of the opportunity to avoid the harmful effects of sulfates.

How to reduce the harm of SLS

If you simply don’t want to or are unable to avoid sulfates, you can attempt to lessen the damage they cause to your hair and scalp. To carry out this:

rinse the shampoo thoroughly. Most negative reactions from the use of sulfates occur with prolonged exposure to the skin and hair. Do not keep the shampoo on for a long time – lather, apply and rinse thoroughly so that particles of the product do not remain on the hair and skin;
do not wash the length. Shampoo is intended for the root part of the head – the bulk of all impurities accumulates there, the hair along the length will be washed with the amount of foam that will flow down when rinsing the shampoo. This will allow you not to expose the hair shafts to unnecessary stress and the negative effects of sulfates;
choose shampoos with a lower concentration of sulfates. You can determine this by the position of the ingredient in the composition – the closer to the end of the list, the lower the concentration. The main part from 40 to 80% is taken by the first 2-3 ingredients. Also, soft surfactants can soften the effect – we wrote about them in the types of shampoos;
alternate sulfate and sulfate-free care, so that the scalp and hair do not "get used" to the aggressive chemical composition. You can change the product every 3-4 months or after the end of the next bottle;
try solid shampoos with sulfates. Unlike the liquid format, when using solid shampoos, only the foam affects the skin and the root part of the hair, which means that the degree of impact is reduced;
do not ignore scalp problems. If after a couple of washing procedures the skin itches and peels, at least temporarily replace the shampoo with a sulfate-free one;
do not get carried away with washing your hair – the procedure is necessary as it gets dirty, and not just because “I wash my hair every day”. If the root part is clean, there is no need to expose it to SLS, even if it is not so dangerous.

SLS and SLES

Sodium laureth sulfate, or SLES for short, is a surfactant made from palm or coconut oil.

While SLES and SLS are both fairly aggressive substances, SLES behaves differently, acting more gently and causing less damage to skin and hair. Even though SLES seems to have a natural origin, it is actually created chemically through a process called ethoxylation, which involves mixing with ethylene.

Important SLES characteristics are:

good foaming and cleansing properties;
high compatibility with mild surfactants;
less irritating to mucous membranes compared to SLS.

However, less aggression does not mean that it is totally safe for skin and hair. Prolonged exposure to SLES also breaks down proteins, which causes the hair to become dry and lose its shine.

Like SLS, SLES is not advised for curly girls, those with sensitive skin, or those with problematic skin on their faces or heads.

Sulfate-free shampoos

Sulfate compositions have been discussed extensively; please feel free to ask any questions in the comments section. Now for a secure substitute: shampoos without sulfates that have the same composition.

In these products, saponified oils or mild surfactants serve as cleansing agents. Because they function differently from sulfates, these types of shampoos exhibit distinct behaviors.

Benefits of sulfate-free care include:

provide gentle care – do not irritate the scalp, do not provoke dryness, do not wash out dyes;
There is less chemistry in such shampoos, but you should not rely on its absolute absence. The fact is that even plant ingredients of shampoos are obtained chemically;
do not destroy protein bonds, and therefore do not damage the hair structure.

Additionally, there are drawbacks to sulfate-free products:

foam poorly and are used up quickly. Here one disadvantage follows from another – due to the small amount of foam, you have to take a larger portion of the product. By the way, the lack of foam also affects the quality of rinsing the hair, because it is quite difficult to understand whether the shampoo has been completely washed off;
useless in relation to styling products and silicones – they simply do not wash them off;
require getting used to. At first, the hair will seem dirty, dull, stiff. The transition period requires from a couple of weeks to several months.

I should mention separately how common it is to experience allergic reactions to sulfate-free shampoos. Since there are no allergens stronger than those with a natural origin, the risk of a reaction increases with compositional naturalness.

Who sulfate-free shampoos are not suitable for

girls with oily skin. Since sulfate-free shampoos are not intended for heavy dirt, they do not wash oily hair well enough;
for styling lovers. Gels, foams, varnishes – sulfate-free shampoo will not be able to wash off all this, since deeper cleansing is required here;
with seborrhea.

These products are especially important for girls who color their hair, for those with brittle and dry hair, and after keratin straightening.

It turns out that the debate over sulfate and sulfate-free shampoos is not clear-cut; one cannot claim that a particular product category is a cure-all. Every girl should select her own personal care regimen, paying particular attention to her skin and hair types and habits.

The question of whether sulfates are required in shampoos is centered on how well they clean. Sulfates aid in the removal of buildup, dirt, and oil, but they can also deplete hair of its natural moisture, which can irritate or dry out the scalp, particularly in people with sensitive skin or hair that has had color treatment. Because of this, some people might benefit from using a sulfate-free shampoo, while others might prefer the deep clean that sulfates offer. In the end, the choice is based on your needs, hair type, and scalp’s reaction to sulfates.

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Started using sulfate-free shampoo!Found at a good price in Magnit Cosmetics, Gamma shampoo! For 180 rubles!I really liked it!I have oily scalp but the shampoo copes well with dirt!A couple of days, hair is clean!I wash it after 1-2 days!By the way, it foams beautifully!And the smell is super, koromel!And the foam, even very I liked it, it"s so thick and nice!The main thing is to properly prepare your hair for washing, yes, there are nuances!I have deduced the correct washing, I do everything correctly, and the shampoo, sulfate-free, works perfectly!
And I decided to switch to Sulfate-Free Shampoo because I lost a lot of hair!I always had a fairly thick hairstyle!I couldn"t understand what was going on!I didn"t know about sulfates yet, but I felt that my hair was falling out and getting damaged because of the Shampoo!I started losing a lot of hair and decided to study!And as soon as I found out about Sulfates and their effect, I immediately switched to Sulfate-Free Shampoo!I was shocked that we live, wash our hair and no one ever told us that Shampoo is, roughly speaking, the enemy of hair!I really like the soft Sulfate-Free Shampoo!Hair comes back to life!It washes out chemicals!Also as a Mask, I will do a Mask with Gelatin!It creates a Lamination effect, it is useful for the hair itself and makes the hair thicker!And therefore, externally, there will be more of it!For now I will restore the hair that has fallen out and always use it only with sulfate-free shampoo, and I will do a mask with gelatin once a week!It is beautiful, useful, not difficult, inexpensive!

Argument	Details
Why Sulfates Are Used	Sulfates create a rich lather that effectively removes dirt and oil, leaving hair feeling clean.
Potential Drawbacks	Sulfates can strip natural oils, causing dryness and irritation, especially for sensitive scalps.
Who Should Avoid Sulfates	People with dry, curly, or color-treated hair may benefit from sulfate-free shampoos.
Alternatives	Sulfate-free shampoos use milder cleansers that are gentler on the hair and scalp.

Knowing what works best for your hair and scalp is crucial when selecting a shampoo. Although sulfates are useful for deep cleaning, some people—especially those with sensitive skin or color-treated hair—may find them to be excessively harsh.

A sulfate-based shampoo could keep your hair clean if you use a lot of styling products or if it tends to be oily. On the other hand, a sulfate-free product might be more advantageous if you suffer from dryness or irritation.

The choice ultimately boils down to your hair type and personal taste. The secret to keeping vibrant, healthy hair is choosing a high-quality product that suits your needs, whether you choose to use sulfates or not.