Curlsbot List of curly hair Ingredients

Silicones

Avoid

All ingredients that contain the following words. The reason these are discouraged on curl friendly routines is they can build up on the hair and it is not possible to remove them with just a cowash.

botanisil
cone
dimethcione
dimethicon
microsil
silane
silicon
siloxane
siloxysilicate
silsesquioxane
silylate

So for example "dimethiconol" is forbidden because it contains "dimethicon"

Caution

Any silicones that start with these words are water soluble, so they should wash out with cowashing. Some believe they are OK but others say to avoid them. It's up to you:

Waxes/Hair Coating Ingredients

Avoid

All ingredients that contain the following words. The reason these are forbidden on curl friendly routines is they can build up on the hair and it is not possible to remove them with just a cowash.

cera
cire
dodecane
dodecene
isododecane
isohexad
isohexadecane
isohexanedecane
lanolin
mineral oil
paraffin
petrolatum
shellac
wax

So for example "almond wax" is marked "avoid" because it contains "wax". Cire is a French word for waxes and Cera is a Latin word for wax.

Approved Waxes

There are a few exceptions which are these water-soluble waxes:

emulsifying wax
emulsifying wax nf
peg 8 beeswax
peg-75 lanolin
peg-8 beeswax

Sulfates (and other cleansers)

See our Cleansers article for more info

Avoid

The following are sulfates or similar cleansers and not recommended because they can dry out hair. How drying a product is depends on more than if it contains sulfates or not, but it's easiest just to avoid them.

alkyl benzene sulfonate
alkylbenzene sulfonate
ammonium cocoyl sulfate
ammonium cocoyl sulphate
ammonium laureth sulfate
ammonium laureth sulphate
ammonium lauryl sulfate
ammonium lauryl sulphate
ammonium xylene-sulfonate
ammonium xylenesulfonate
ethyl peg-15 cocamine sulfate
sodium alkyl sulfate
sodium alkyl sulphate
sodium c12-18 alkyl sulfate
sodium c12-18 alkyl sulphate
sodium cetearyl sulfate
sodium cetearyl sulphate
sodium coceth sulfate
sodium coceth sulphate
sodium coco sulfate
sodium coco sulphate
sodium coco-sulfate
sodium coco-sulphate
sodium cocosulfate
sodium cocosulphate
sodium laureth sulfate
sodium laureth sulphate
sodium laureth-40 sulfate
sodium laureth-40 sulphate
sodium lauryl sulfate
sodium lauryl sulphate
sodium myreth sulfate
sodium myreth sulphate
sodium polystyrene sulfate
sodium polystyrene sulphate
sodium xylene-sulfonate
sodium xylenesulfonate
tea dodecylbenzenesulfonate
tea lauryl sulfate
tea lauryl sulphate
tea-dodecylbenzenesulfonate
triethanolamine lauryl sulfate
triethanolamine lauryl sulphate

Caution

Some find these drying, but they are NOT sulfates. We recommend you do your own research to find out if these are good for your hair.

dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate
disodium cocoyl glutamate
olefin sulfonate
oliefin sulfonate
sodium c 14-18 olefin sulfonate
sodium c 16-18 olefin sulfonate
sodium c12-14 olefin sulfonate
sodium c14-15 olefin sulfonate
sodium c14-16 olefin sulfonate
sodium c14-26 olefin sulfonate
sodium cocoyl glutamate
sodium cocoyl sarcosinate
sodium lauroyl methyl isethionate
sodium lauroyl methyl lsethionate
sodium lauroyl sarcosinate
sodium lauroyl sarcosine
sodium lauroylmethyl isethionate
sodium lauryl methyl isothionate
sodium lauryl sarcosinate
sodium lauryl sulfoacetate
sodium myristoyl sarcosinate

Gentle Detergents

ammonium cocoyl isethionate
babassuamidopropyl betaine
capryl glucoside
caprylyl glucoside
cocamidopropyl betaine
cocamidopropyl hydroxysultaine
coco betaine
coco glucoside
decyl glucoside
decyl polyglucose
disodium 2-sulfolaurate
disodium cocoamphodiacetate
disodium cocoamphodipropionate
disodium laureth succinate
disodium laureth sulfosuccinate
disodium lauryl sulfosuccinate
lauryl glucoside
lauryl hydroxysultaine
sodium cocoamphoacetate
sodium cocoyl isethionate
sodium lauroamphoacetate
sodium lauroyl glutamate
sodium lauroyl hydrolyzed silk
sodium lauroyl lactylate
sodium lauroyl oat amino acids
sodium lauryl glucose carboxylate
sodium laurylglucosides hydroxypropylsulfonate
sodium methyl 2-sulfolaurate
sodium methyl cocoyl taurate

Other

Curlsbot also detects the following questionable ingredients

Soap

Soap can be as drying as sulfates. Check out our article on soap for more info. We detect by looking for the following, but this may not catch all soap. We recommend contacting the manufacturer to ask if something contains soap :

potassium hydroxide
saponification
saponified
saponifying
soap
sodium carboxylate
sodium palm

Parabens

Lorraine Massey cautions against these in the curly hair Handbook saying "In recent years, they’ve become controversial as experts question whether they are safe. (Some say they may be linked to cancer.)" We recommend we do your own research.

Witch Hazel

Most types of witch hazel contain alcohol. Contact the manufacturer to see if the witch hazel in this product contains alcohol. Even if it does not contain alcohol, many people find witch hazel drying. Use with caution if you have hair prone to dryness.

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