What's in your shampoo?

Have you ever looked at the ingredients in your shampoo? What's cocamidopropyl betaine? Or methylisothiazolinone? Keep reading if you're curious about what you're washing your hair with!

At my last hair appointment, I was telling my stylist what shampoo and conditioner I was using. I told her that since I had started using the shampoo, I felt that my hair had dried out, and it was much harder to brush through. She told me that a lot of shampoo companies (even high quality!) will put waxes into their shampoos in order to cover up damage. Putting wax on my hair? No thank you!

So I went home, and I decided to look at the ingredients in my shampoo (it's typically in very small letters on the back of the bottle.) When I read the ingredients, it looked like scientific words. What were these things? So here, I'll explain.

My shampoo at the time was the L'Oreal EverStrong Reconstruct Shampoo. My hair wasn't damaged, but I just wanted to strengthen it a little more since my hair is so thick and can be hard to brush out. I've picked five of the ingredients to show you. For a full list of the ingredients in this shampoo, click here!

Ingredient definitions:

1. Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate is an ingredient derived from coconut oil.
2. Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate is an organic salt with a sweet, pleasant odor.
3. Cocamidopropyl Betaine is a synthetic surfactant (a substance that tends to reduce the surface tension of a liquid in which it is dissolved.)
4. Methylchloroisothiazolinone is a preservative with antibacterial and antifungal effects
5. Decyl glucoside is a mild non-ionic surfactant. It is biodegradable and is gentle on all hair types.

So you decide. Do you like what you're putting on your hair? I looked up some of the other ingredients in this shampoo, and it's impossible to find what it is...some are just chemicals! Typically, pricier shampoos are better for your hair, but this shampoo is only $7 at CVS! In case anyone is wondering, I switched shampoos about a month ago. I am now using the Tri-Design Moisturizing Shampoo. It smells wonderful. It has definitely moisturized my hair, and it was recommended by my hair stylist.

Information on product ingredients is from Google and does not belong to me. All opinions are my own.