Are There Harmful Sulfates In Your Hair Care Products?

Keeping your hair healthy is simple. All you need is a good daily care routine and a few facts about the right styling tools, hair care products and hair clips appropriate for your hair type.

Getting the facts about what products will work best for you can be difficult, though. There is a lot of misinformation about shampoo ingredients in particular. A quick search round the internet will immediately suggest all kinds of hidden dangers in your hair care products. Are there really chemicals in your shampoo that will damage your hair ... or even your health?

After water, the greatest concentration of ingredients in shampoo are detergents. These are used, of course, to help lift oil and dirt from your hair when you wash it.

Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate (ALS) and Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) are the most common primary or secondary detergents found in commercial shampoo formulas, usually in a concentration of roughly 4-5%, although there can be wide variations between different brands of shampoo. What is the difference between these two ingredients and should you be looking for one or the other in the shampoo you choose for your hair?

In terms of chemists working up a formula for a shampoo, the biggest difference between the two is how soluble they are in water. Compared to SLS, ALS is over three times more soluble in water, which makes it a good choice for chemists in formulating clear or colourless products.

As to how they perform in your hair removing oil and dirt, they are identical. Recognised as effective detergents, both are particularly good at lifting oily dirt.

Is either ingredient toxic? SLS and ALS both share similar pH and toxicity profiles. So if you have an urge to drink your shampoo or rub it into your eyes, the effects will be the same. Basically, they will both taste awful, are very unlikely make you sick, and sting quite a bit if you leave it in your eyes for over four seconds. In terms of long lasting effects, however, because both ingredients are so soluble in water, they rinse away quickly and easily and leave no residue on your hair or skin.

Is there a connection between sodium lauryl sulfate and cancer? No, this is an urban myth. In 2000 a report on SLS from the Journal of the American College of Toxicology originally published in 1983 was altered heavily to falsely imply that SLS caused cancer. This bogus report has since been widely copied and circulated on the internet.

This falsified report is still frequently cited by small, independent shampoo companies trying to promote sulfate-free shampoo as an antidote to female pattern hair loss, among other health issues. No connection to date has been demonstrated between ill health and the use of sulfates in shampoos.

The culprits that are most likely to cause irritation to your skin or eyes are perfumes and preservatives. However, the concerns raised by sodium lauryl sulfate is largely unfounded and you can be assured that your shampoo is safe both for your hair and for your long-term health.


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Melissa Hill is founder of Stone Bridge, the UK's premier designer of luxury French hair accessories and clips. Melissa is regarded as the UK's leading expert on "everyday hair care and styling," teaching techniques to thousands of women every year on how to achieve healthy and manageable hair.