Angela Pender

Staff writer

If you’re into haircare, then you are always examining labels to see whether or not a hair product contains harmful alcohol, but did you know that all alcohol is not bad for your hair?

Although some hair products’ ingredients contain some damaging alcohols, most alcohol in the products are actually good for your hair and lead to hair growth.

Some alcohol in hair products such as cetyl, stearyl, cetearyl, myristyl, behenyl and lauryl are good for your hair because it helps with adding moisture to your hair along with softening your hair and skin.

These alcohols, or sometimes referred to as fatty alcohols, are found in shampoos, conditioners, curling creams, hairsprays, and gels, are used as boosters to help hydrate, grow, and repair any damaged hair or split ends.

According to naturallycurly.com, “benzyl alcohol is a non-volatile alcohol used as a preservative in products. It should not impact the texture or feel of your hair. Propylene glycol is most often used as a humectant, because it has a hydroxyl group at each end of the molecule. This makes it much more hydrophilic (water-loving), so that it can attract and hold water to the hair”.

Like there are some alcohols that are helpful for your hair, there are also alcohols that are unhealthy for your hair that result in dry, frizzy, and non-growing hair.

Avoid alcohols such as alcohol denat, ethanol, SD alcohol 40, propanol, isopropyl and propyl because it causes frizziness and damage your curl pattern.

Also according to webmd.com, “the more fragrant the shampoo, conditioner, or hair spray smells, the worse it probably is for your dry hair”.

These types of alcohol reduce moisture to your hair, leaving your hair to look dried out and brittle, when you want your hair to look full and healthy.

The best products to use on your hair to maintain healthy curls are: Shea Moisture, Dark and Lovely, Cantu, Carol’s Daughter, Tresemmé, and Pantene.

Email Angela at:

apender1@live.esu.edu