How Sulfates Are Bad for Curls?

To sulfate or not sulfate, that is the question that haunts and triggers women with naturally curly hair. Women with curly hair learn early on that shampoos with sulfates are bad for their hair and especially for their curl pattern.

However, most of them are not aware of the actual damage that curly hair products with sulfate does to their hair. They need to be aware of what this seemingly common ingredient in shampoos does to their hair and why they need to avoid it.

Here is everything you need to know.

What Are Sulfates?

Sulfates are a very common ingredient in shampoos. You will find it in almost every hair care product in the market. It is very common because it is used to make your shampoo bubble up and give you a nice, rich lather to clean your scalp. While it feels wonderful to shampoo your hair with a nice lather, you don’t need that when you have naturally curly hair.

Why It Is Not Good for Your Curls?

While sulfates are fine on straighter hair, it does an overly good job of cleaning the scalp. This ingredient removes the natural oil from the hair so that it can look clean. This is not something that girls with curly hair need. Straighter hair gets greasy very quickly, which is why shampoos with sulfates work for them, but it is too harsh on curly hair.

Since natural oil takes a little longer to reach the length of curly hair, sulfates can make the hair even more dry and brittle. The curls and the pretty coils in your hair make the travel time for your natural oils long, which is why you have dry ends.

When you use such a shampoo, it will remove the little moisture your hair has that is not good for your hair. Prolonged use of that will make it hard for you to maintain clean and pretty hair edges. The ends of your hair will dry out more rapidly and can easily break, leading to uneven hair.

How to Avoid Sulfates?

The answer to that is pretty easy. All you have to do is read the list of ingredients on your shampoo and see what it says. If it says it has Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLEF) or Sodium Laurel Sulfate (SLF), you need to put that back on the shelf and look at the next.

There was a time when women had a hard time finding a sulfate-free shampoo but things are different now. Many brands are dedicated to provide products for curly hair and make sure the product they use on their hair is safe for them to use.

Get familiar with the brands that make sulfate-free products and advertise them right at the front of the bottle. Finding such a brand is not difficult at all, all you have to do is go to the nearest supermarket or hop online and get a shampoo that is good for your hair, does not destroy your curl pattern, and is gentle on your hair.