We often (very often) get questions from clients asking us our opinion on someone else’s “natural” relaxer. Our policy is that we do not comment specifically on other people’s products. We cannot be experts on products we do not sell and have not used. And, as a professional courtesy, we choose not to disparage our competitors.  However, we can comment on natural relaxers, in general.

Treasured Locks was in business for a couple of years before we began selling anything like a relaxer.  To this day (after almost 7 years), the only product we sell that relaxes the hair is Baka Beauty’s atural-Laxer MIX and Natural-Laxer Plus.  However, this product is not a traditional relaxer in that it does not straighten the hair, does not have a permanent effect on the hair and is very mild.  We believe in the motto “First do no harm.”.  We simply do not feel it is worth it for us to sell products that could potentially do major damage to a client’s hair and/or scalp.  Even a good relaxer, in the wrong hands, can cause serious damage to your hair and scalp.  We believe that putting permanent relaxers into the hair is best left to a professional.

Because of the way black hair is structured, it is simply not possible to permanently straighten it with a mild product.  While what someone calls “natural” is debatable, what we have found in common with every natural relaxer we have researched is this.  If it permanently straightens the hair, it is either extremely “basic” (high
pH) or extremely “acidic” (low pH).  What this means is it is very chemically reactive and works pretty much the same way a chemical” perm does.  Many of the companies selling these natural” relaxers will not tell you what the ingredients are.  And, we have found a few dressing up the ingredients to sound more natural than you would think.  As we’ve said elsewhere, sodium laurel sulfate (derived from coconuts) could be termed “coconut
oil derivative”. Every chemical is derived, ultimately, from something natural.  Lye is produced by running water across ashes from  burned wood.  So, lye is “natural”.  But, instead of calling it lye, you could call it something like “natural ash extract”.

A natural, mild product that would straighten black hair would be the “Holy Grail” in this business. Black women would be beating our doors down if we found one.  And, if we ever do, we’ll be sure to let you know!  As
we’ve examined the claims of people trying to sell their products to us, we look for clues like ingredients that aren’t straight forward as o what they really are, extreme precautions on how to use the product, not listing the ingredients at all, etc.  These, to us, are clues that these products are probably every bit as caustic as a
traditional perm and we steer clear of them.

Why Use Preservatives in Natural Products?

People sometimes ask us why we use preservatives in our natural products. As a manufacturer and distributor of natural products, we strive to make our products as natural as possible. However, one reality of modern life is that we need preservatives in certain products. To get many (especially natural) products from the manufacturer to you requires some sort of preservative. Products are often shipped from manufacturer through distributors, shipping warehouses and other places that add time (and often heat) before the product ever reaches you. To get that product to you and to have a reasonable shelf life requires that certain products be preserved, in some fashion. Otherwise, you’d shortly end up with some pretty funky stuff instead of the product you paid for. Is it inconvenient to have a rotting product? Yes. But, even worse, some of those nasties that can grow in your products are harmful to your health. Preservatives of some kind will almost always be needed in products where water is present. Water is the basis of all life, including bacteria, fungi and molds. Products without preservatives may have a short shelf life, even if refrigerated. Products that are not properly preserved, even if made in a pristine environment and free of microbes when shipped, can become a health risk when exposed to the yeast, mold, fungi and bacteria present in all of our homes.

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A question that we are asked pretty often is about alcohol in hair care products. People have been told that alcohol is drying for hair. This is an example of a case where a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing. It has been commonly reported that alcohol in your hair products is bad for you. You’ve been told “alcohol is drying”. This is both true and not true.

Alcohol is a family of chemicals, not a single chemical. Instead of referring to a chemical as alcohol, it should be called an alcohol. Or, it should be referred to by its more descriptive name. Most of what you’ve been told about alcohol was probably people referring to ethanol. Ethanol is only one alcohol. It’s commonly used in hair spray products. It’s also quite handy in a beer or a margarita. Another alcohol you’re probably familiar with is isopropyl alcohol or rubbing alcohol. While they’re fairly similar, if you were ordering a margarita, you’d definitely want ethanol, not the isopropyl alcohol. Technically speaking an alcohol is a substance containing an OH group attached to a hydrocarbon group. You probably don’t care about that. But, what you should know is that alcohols can have very, very different properties. Different alcohols are used in different products for different reasons. There are literally thousands of alcohols. Some are solid. Some are liquid. Some alcohols can be ingested. Other alcohols would kill you if you drank them. So, a blanket statement like “Alcohol in your hair products is bad” is inaccurate.

Many alcohols are downright healthy for hair. Others are not so good for hair and skin. Alcohols used to make a product more volatile (evaporate quickly) are not good for hair. Ethanol is one of those alcohols. However, alcohols that are “fatty” actually help add moisture to hair and skin and soften them. You will find these alcohols in the finest, hydrating (moisturizing) hair products. The following alcohols are some examples. They are waxy substances, not liquids. They are far from drying.

cetearyl alcohol- This alcohol is derived naturally. It is often found in hair conditioners. It provides the creamy consistency and makes it easier to distribute the product throughout the hair. This is an especially beneficial ingredient in Black hair care products because it also lubricates the hair making it easier to comb.

cetyl alcohol- This is a fatty alcohol that is derived from coconut and palm oils. Far from drying, this alcohol is actually an emollient (makes hair and skin softer).

stearyl alcohol- another fatty alcohol. It is nothing like ethanol, it is is actually a white solid and is insoluble in water. Stearyl alcohol is often used in conditioners and shampoos and acts as an emollient (softener).

So when you’re looking over those product labels, you’ll need to know a little more about the specific type of alcohol in the product before you can make an informed decision about the product. Many fine shampoos and conditioners contain some very good alcohols.

There are several “ingredients to avoid” lists out there. Here are some of the ingredients we found on those lists and why they’re there. This should not be taken as a recommendation from us that you should avoid all of these ingredients. Some of the products we offer contain ingredients on the “avoid” list. Why? Frankly, there are very, very few products that do not contain at least some of these ingredients. It has been estimated that 99% of cosmetic products contain some form of paraben (a preservative). If you think that’s scary (we don’t), after looking at this list, look at your toothpaste and deodorant ingredients.

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First of all, natural is a relative term. How you define “all natural” may vary from how the next person will define it. Once you mix two ingredients together, one could argue the product is not “all natural”. We believe that God put many wonderful things on this earth to take care of our bodies inside and out. Generally, speaking the less refined or manipulated a product the better. However, we also believe God gave man the ability to improve on his environment and some chemical formulations (especially medicines) are extremely beneficial. Swamp water is natural. But, I wouldn’t drink it. Aspirin is not as natural (it is an extraction of a natural compound found in willow bark), but it’s a fantastic drug. Blood pressure medications are not natural, but many of use could not live without them.

We promote products that we believe are healthy for your hair and body. All things being equal, we prefer natural products over highly refined products. Even when man tries to recreate nature by manufacturing or refining products. Time and time again, man has made “extracts” of things proven to be beneficial and research comes along later saying the supplement is not as good as the whole fresh fruits or vegetables. Often, there are delicate trace substances, a balance of substances or some other thing that we cannot quite recreate. But, sometimes the extractions are necessary. How’d you like to have to find and chew on willow bark if you had a headache?

However, all things are rarely equal. All natural products will be less stable, may not look as nice, will be more expensive and usually have shorter shelf lives than less natural products. If you like a lot of lather, you may be disappointed with all natural shampoos. If you buy all natural products, you may find they separate or go bad more easily. We have had people who thought they wanted all natural products call and complain about the products separating (an effect of not using artificial emulsifiers) or not being as thick or not lathering as well as what
they are used to. Besides just saving money, manufacturers often use chemically altered ingredients to make the products more palatable to the average consumer and more stable.

So, the decision is really up to you. Personally, we use an array of all natural products, less natural products and some completely manufactured products, depending on the product itself.

© 2004-2007 Treasured Locks, LLC All Rights Reserved. Reprint In Its Entirety. With Written Permission Only

People have asked us what our opinion is on hydroquinone. Hydroquinone is a fairly controversial ingredient used in many skin lightening creams and gels. Hydroquinone is highly effective, which is why it’s used so commonly. It has been established as probably the most effective treatment for hyperpigmentation; although other treatments are coming along and we offer alternatives on our website.

Over-the-counter products can only contain up to 2% of hydroquinone by law. Hydroquinone, at this level is relatively safe for most people. And hydroquinone is effective. At higher concentrations (it is available in 4% and even more by prescription), it can have pretty serious side effects. Hydroquinone is not a bleaching agent. It prevents skin from making melanin, which gradually leads to skin fading. Hydroquinone doesn’t actually lighten skin, it disrupts new pigment production. As the older skin cells are sloughed off and the newer ones rise to the surface, the replacement skin cells don’t contain the excess pigment and skin gets lighter. This is a slight but important distinction.

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If you have very sensitive skin or are allergic to air-borne chemicals, you are probably concerned about the use of fragrances in your products. Basically, there are three alternatives for cosmetic products-

• unscented products
• products scented with fragrance oils
• products scented with essential oils

You should understand the differences between fragrance oils and labeling requirements so that you can be a better-informed consumer of these products.

Labeling requirements

Unfortunately, you are not going to be able to rely solely on labels to avoid artificially scented products. You can buy hypoallergenic alternatives to products, which usually leave out the colorants and fragrances. These often come in smaller containers and cost more. With these, at least you have some hope that you are not being exposed to unnecessary chemicals. In general, all ingredients in a product are required to be listed on the label. But, there are two very large loopholes when it comes to fragrances.

1. Fragrance formulations are considered “trade secrets”. So, companies are not required to list their composition.
2. When a scent is added to a product to “mask” (cover up) the odor of other ingredients, it does not have to be listed. So, if a product would offensive smelling without the additional chemical, the chemical used to cover the offensive smell does not have to be listed on the label.

What we find then is “fragrance free” and “unscented” are very loose definitions. Even when a scent or mixture of fragrance chemicals is added to a product, this can be listed as simply “fragrance” in the United States or “parfum” in the European Union. By law, even if the label says “essential oils”, this does not guarantee that the product does not contain fragrance oils. This is perfectly legal. In our opinion it’s unscrupulous. But, that’s just our opinion. So, you must buy from manufacturers you trust and make sure you ask the right questions. Treasured Locks and HumiNature products disclose, as fully as possible, exactly what we put into our products. If we list something as “fragrance oils” or “fragrance”, we are using a synthetic compound. If we list “essential oils”, we are using only a few pure, unadulterated essential oils. Generally, when we use essential oils, we will list the individual oils.

What are Fragrance Oils?

Fragrance oils can and usually do contain many different components ranging from natural essential oils to purely synthetic compounds. Many perfumes contain more than 100 components. The problem, for those who are sensitive, is there is no requirement to list the compounds contained in a fragrance oil. Many of the compounds are known skin irritants. Most quality synthetic fragrances do include small amounts of organic material to give them the more natural bouquet of natural scents. However, real organic materials, such as essential oils, are usually used in very small quantities because of their expense. Today, there are over 5,00 aroma chemicals available to create synthetic fragrances.

What are Essential Oils?

An essential oil is a highly concentrated and potent extract from plants, leaves, flowers, roots, buds, twigs, rhizomes, heartwood, bark, resin, seeds and/or fruits. Essential oils should be extracted by distillation using either steam or water or by mechanical processing of citrus rinds or dry distillation of natural materials. These methods yield the most pure essential oils. Use of solvents extracts the harder to get essential oil but also leads to the possibility of contamination. Treasured Locks uses steam or water extracted essential oils. Steam or water extraction produces a two-phase liquid. The essential oil floats on top and the water used in the distillation process falls to the bottom. The essential oils are physically removed from the top and the water phase, which is a by-product, is often sold as a hydrosol or distillate water. The use of the word “oil” is a little bit of a misnomer. Essential oils are not oils in the way most people think of an oil. Essential oils come in a variety of colors and consistencies from clear and watery to dark, thick and syrupy. Essential oils contain the true essence of the plant. Essential oils are very concentrated and therefore should be used sparingly. Essential oils are difficult to obtain though and can be very expensive. So, while they can be a good value, the initial purchase might be a little expensive. Also, essential oils can be dangerous if applied directly to the skin. For this reason, Treasured Locks does not sell pure essential oils. If you are going to do aromatherapy though, you want to find a source of pure essential oils and avoid companies that sell fragrance oils. Since fragrance oils do not contain the true essence of the plants, they are usually worthless for aromatherapy purposes. Essential oils are often blended (diluted) with carrier oils for safe use. Common carrier oils include sweet almond oil, apricot kernel oil and grapeseed oil. Essential oils can very greatly in quality and price. For example a quality essential oil might cost four or five times what a cheaper essential oil of the same plant costs. Treasured Locks resists the temptation to buy cheaper runs of essential oils and insists on oils produced using no solvents (other than water) and oils produced from the best sources. For example, we use Rosemary from Spain and Lavender from Bulgaria. Various factors affect the quality and price of essential oils. These include the rarity of the plant, the conditions that the plant was grown under, quality standards of the distiller, and how much oil is produced by the plant.

Summary

Now that you know the difference between essential oils and fragrance oils and the labeling requirements, you can make a more informed decision about the products you buy. But, as you can see, it’s extremely important to buy from companies you can trust because even companies who are complying with the law can put fragrance oils in products without fully disclosing what they are putting in. If you are sensitive to fragrance and/or essential oils don’t hesitate to ask questions of the manufacturer. We hope you find this article useful.