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Using chemical hair straighteners may increase the risk of uterine cancer, fibroids, breast cancer and endometriosis, according to studies. Side effects of frequent chemical hair straightener use include weakening of hair, increased frizz, hair discoloration and scalp inflammation.
Here are 2 great articles written on Chemical Hair Straighteners that you should read courtesy of ConsumerNotice.org:
Oh, so having read part 1 of my Toxic Haircolour blog you will now probably have been scared into reading labels, realizing what nasties are commonly found in conventional haircolour.
No need to panic, there are safe and ‘safer’ options out there for those that prefer not to have ‘virgin’ hair.
But having said that, one of our blossom fans pointed out recently, she had been colouring her hair non stop for 13yrs and had no idea that under all that coloured and heat tortured, frizzy hair was a head of luscious soft feminine curls. It took over a year to grow it out and she has been getting comments on it ever since. So it may just be worth trying colour free!
It has been more than 15 years now since I have had conventional or should I say TOXIC, chemical haircolour on my scalp. As the years go by I notice more 'natural hilights' of the silver variety but my Henna takes care of that. The only totally natural hair colour available to my knowledge is Henna, which I do myself. That is 100% Henna (Lawsonia Inermis) and not compound Henna. Compound Henna is a mixture that can contain many undesirable things, including Sodium Picramate, metallic salts and other chemicals/additives. The metallic salts in these compound Hennas are the reason that most hairdressers are scared of Henna. When using conventional colour or permanent waving over these metallic salts a chemical reaction occurs which involves, fizzing, bubbling and heat – enough to scare the life out of you and your hairdresser!
But true 100% Henna (Lawsonia Inermis) does not contain these metallic salts and therefore poses no problem, but uninformed hairdresssers are still scared. Health food stores often sell “Henna” in boxes that come in every shade under the sun. These are generally compound hennas and when you read the ingredients label you will be surprised at how many chemical additives they contain. True Henna is from a plant called Lawsonia Inermis and has a orange red pigment. This henna can be mixed with other plants like Cassia or Indigo to achieve a variety of different shades. Cassia will lighten the hennas orange red pigment and give more golden tones whereas Indigo will darken and add more blue violet tones. Black is even an achievable shade using a combination of these plants. Note that Henna will gradually fade out over time, it only deposits colour pigment so you cannot go lighter, it will blend and soften greys but any grey/blonde hair will come out brighter and lighter. This just adds to the natural, tonal change giving a more natural/less block/solid colour.
One of the best websites for learning more about henna is Henna for Hair You will see you don't have to end up "Flame Red" just because you choose to Henna. If you are interested in Henna and want an expert to Henna you then call my salon blossom organic Hair Beauty Wellbeing 02 6555 595
Blessings, Monique x
Rest assured that, here at blossom organic Hair Beauty Wellbeing, we take your safety and ours very seriously.
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So as you probably know I spent a period of time out of the salon, primarily because of my awareness of the nasty chemicals used in the Salon. Here we are down the track and I am back in salon and have been for nearly four years now. Why you may ask?
A lot has changed in the last 15 years and my new Salon is an ORGANIC SALON, FREE of the major nasties. No Ammonia, PPD, Sulphates, Parabens, Resorcinol, Toluene, Formaldehde, Acetone etc...
This means that blossom organic Hair Beauty Wellbeing is a NO STINK Salon, woohoo, as well as our clients having shinier, healthier hair, win, win!
I am still surprised at how many people are unaware of the health implications of the products that they use on their hair and skin. Many would worry if they actually new what was in that product that the Hairdresser or Beauty Therapist was using on them. If you have ever experienced itching, burning, dry scalp, dry throat, difficulty breathing, swelling or inflammation after a salon visit have you ever wondered why?
Here at blossom, once again we have taken all the hard work out of it , just for you. Rest assured that we only use Organic and Natural products that are free of the nasties. All products are Cruelty Free, Aussie owned and most are Aussie made and Vegan too.
Better for you, better for us, better for the animals and better for the environment.
So why wouldn't you choose an organic Salon?
We proudly do things a little differently!
blossom organic Hair Beauty Wellbeing
Shop 3 Cnr Head & Beach St Forster NSW
ph 02 6555 5959
Well, by now you know that one of the safest ways of colouring your hair is with Henna. But alas, maybe the gold, copper and red tones are not quite what you were after. Or maybe you were wanting to lighten your existing haircolour, which is not possible with Henna. "What other options are left?", I hear you ask!
Well, when Henna just won't do the trick there are only a couple of other options left. There are some safer alternatives to conventional, toxic Salon colour that can be found in some good health food stores. This does involve DIY which may not suit everyone and these colours will only add pigment to your existing colour and not lighten it.
If you are not into DIY then it's off to a salon you go. It would be worthwhile visiting us, your organic specialist salon, offering organic and natural based colour options. all our colours are ammonia, sulphate, paraben free, resorcinol and PPD free.
If more complete coverage of grey hair or lightening of your current colour (this involves colour removal) is needed then permanent salon colour or powder lightener is required. If you are super sensitive or pregnant then you should consider having 'foils' rather than a full head 'on scalp' application. That way there will be minimal contact of the product on your scalp. If you're just dying to be blonde, this is by far the best way and any good colour technician will be able to get plenty of foils in so that you can almost be as blonde as your heart desires!
So, there we go, the third and final blog in the 'Haircolour series'. I hope you have enjoyed and I hope that I have helped you to avoid unnecessary chemicals. After all, it's just not worth 'dying' for that perfect haircolour!
We are the Mid North Coasts Organic Colour Specialist, we offer Henna colour, are Curly Girls ourselves and are also Curl Specialists.
After all, great haircolour shouldn’t cost you your health, or the environments for that sake too.
Blessings, Monique
OK, so having read part 1 of my Toxic Haircolour blog you will now probably have been scared into reading labels, realizing what nasties are commonly found in conventional haircolour.
No need to panic, there are safe and ‘safer’ options out there for those that prefer not to have ‘virgin’ hair.
But having said that, one of our blossom fans pointed out recently, she had been colouring her hair non stop for 13yrs and had no idea that under all that toxically coloured and heat tortured, frizzy hair was a head of luscious soft feminine curls. It took over a year to grow it out and she has been getting comments on it ever since. So it may just be worth trying colour free. If you simply can’t go without colour then don’t dispair!
It has been about ten years now since I have had conventional or should I say toxic, chemical haircolour on my scalp. As the years go by I notice more 'natural hilights' of the silver variety but my Henna takes care of that. The only totally natural hair colour available to my knowledge is Henna, which I now have done in my organic salon, after years of doing in myself in the bathroom! That is 100% Henna (Lawsonia Inermis) and not compound Henna. Compound Henna is a mixture that can contain many undesirable things, including Sodium Picramate, metallic salts and other chemicals/additives. The metallic salts in these compound Hennas are the reason that most hairdressers are scared of Henna. When using conventional colour or permanent waving over these metallic salts a chemical reaction occurs which involves, fizzing, bubbling and heat – enough to scare the life out of you and your hairdresser!
But true 100% Henna (Lawsonia Inermis) does not contain these metallic salts and therefore poses no problem, but uninformed hairdresssers are still scared. Health food stores often sell “Henna” in boxes that come in every shade under the sun. These are generally compound hennas and when you read the ingredients label you will be surprised at how many chemical additives they contain. True Henna is from a plant called Lawsonia Inermis and has a orange red pigment. This henna can be mixed with other plants like Cassia or Indigo to achieve a variety of different shades. Cassia will lighten the hennas orange red pigment and give more golden tones whereas Indigo will darken and add more blue violet tones. Black is even an achievable shade using a combination of these plants. Note that Henna will gradually fade out over time, it only deposits colour pigment so you cannot go lighter, it will blend and soften greys but any grey/blonde hair will come out brighter and lighter. This just adds to the natural, tonal change giving a more natural/less block colour.
Why not call us to book a complimentary consultation and we can discuss whether Henna may be right for you. blossom organic Hair Beauty Wellbeing Forster NSW 02 6555 5959
Now that you have fabulously coloured, chemical free, glossy hair you won't look back!
However, if Henna is not for you, if it is too much to get your head around, you don't want a red/copper/ or warm tone of colour, or you want to lighten your natural colour, then our next part 3 blog will cover other 'safer' options than conventional haircolour, which may suit you better so stay tuned.
Till next time, happy Henna-ing!
Just DYING for that perfect haircolour? Not literally I hope!
I thought it was time to broach the subject of haircolour. This is a large subject so I will blog in several parts. Having spent over many years as a Hairdresser and Technical Educator/Colour Expert for a leading Hair colour/Hair product company I have had my hair coloured ALOT over the years. I have a box stashed away with hillarious photos of me Platinum Blonde, Red, Copper, Pink, Honey Blonde, Orange, Black, Blue Black, Black with bright Red stripes, Brunette, you get the idea. After all these years I shudder to think of all the other stylists that I have worked with that happily applied colour to clients without wearing gloves. Even at the tender age of 16 when I started my apprenticeship, I suspected things weren't cool and groovy, when I noticed how some colours and especially bleach was really 'bitey' on my skin. It was from then on that I wore gloves religiously, thank goodness.
Conventional haircolour is ladened with all sorts of toxic chemicals which can cause common reactions like allergic and skin irritation issues but the more worrying issues are ones that come from regular exposure like as seen in hair colourists which can include a significantly increased risk of multiple myeloma (malignant disease of the bone marrow), leukaemia (malignant disease affecting the white blood cells) and non- Hodgkins lymphoma (malignant disease of the lymph nodes). Below is a list of some of the Toxic Chemicals found in haircolour. I agree that this may be a bit of a 'heavy' read but it's worth knowing about if you, like me colour your hair. Remember that one of the major Haircolour companies includes the below chemicals because "Your worth it":
Paraphenylenediamine (PPD)
PPD is a benzene-derived chemical present in more than two-thirds of chemical hair dyes, often even in ‘natural’ ones. It is classified as dangerous to the environment by the European Union and banned in France, Germany and Sweden. The most toxic chemical in hair dyes, it’s an irritant with reactions from mild to severe, and can cause organ system toxicity plus birth and fertility defects.
Ammonia
Ammonia is the reason for the pungent smell, ammonia is present to soften, swell and open the hair fibre so the dye (PPD usually) can penetrate the hair and is an irritant to the skin, eyes and is a respiratory system toxicant.
Resorcinol
Resorcinol is classified by the European Union as harmful, irritant to eyes and skin and dangerous for the environment. It is also a known human immune system toxicant and is one of the main reasons for allergic reaction to haircolour.
Toluene
Toluene-2,5-diamine and toluene-2,5-diamine sulfate are found in hair dyes and are considered safe to be used in current concentrations, however toulene-2,5-diamine is an irritant to the skin.
Persulfates
Sodium, potassium and ammonium sulfates are in hair dyes and bleaches and can cause respiratory problems through inhalation or skin and eye irritation by contact .
Parabens
Found in many cosmetics as preservatives (Synthetic). Parabens are a suspected carcinogen, they mimic estrogen, with links having been found particularly to breast cancer.
Lead acetate
This is present in some hair coloring products that are used for gradual or progressive colouring. Lead has well-known damaging effects on the brain and nervous system is a known human reproductive toxicant and developmental toxicant. By the way this ingredient rates 10 on the 1-10 scale for Hazard according to The Environmental Working Group's Skin Deep Cosmetics Database USA.
4-ABP
Found in some dyes, this has been linked to the development of cancer.
Well after all that I am sure you are reconsidering colouring your hair and wondering how you will get by when mother nature blesses you with those wonderfull silver hilights, which can look fabulous on some people! Never fear, there is a much safer way to add colour to your hair whether you are a 'DIY' colourist or whether you go to a salon.
Stay tuned for part 2, subscribe to my blog, share with all your friends as the next installment will give tips and information on how to colour your hair more safely!