Is SLS in shampoo really that bad??? I use Nioxin

[Scoiland]

I have read all over that shampoo should be natural. Should i get off Nioxin and on a shampoo with no SLS ?

 

[VWdude]

I guess you got paranoid after reading a recent thread about some dude saying how natural shampoo's are the way to go... well that's bogus.

So if that dudes theory is correct, lets assume this:

An average joe diagnosed with having male pattern baldness is not currently using any FDA approved treatments... So he makes the decision to buy a shampoo that has all natural ingredients. Just because he thinks that it is all natural, it won't do a slightest thing for hairloss. It might improve the look of the hair, but thats about it. Take for example a nice shampoo loaded with botanacals like Nioxin...JUST because it has SLS its bad? uhhh thats just idiotic. NOW, the key is using finasteride, minoxidil, nizoral whatever it be.. that has been proven to work for hairloss and using just a gentle shampoo/conditioner or whatever...

in the end, whatever shampoo you decide to use won't do fcuk all unless its nizoral and you are on propecia....

Don't get too paranoid now and think all those years of using SLS in your shampoo is what made you start losing your hair....

 

[SteveO]

Have you ever heard of contributing factors? I'm not using a natural shampoo to grow hair. I would just rather keep unecessary chemicals off my body.

Propecia and minoxidil have been proven to work while using a normal shampoo. That doesn't mean that using an SLS shampoo isn't hindering your progress. Those products do work to an extent for hair loss, perhaps they'd work better without using an SLS shampoo. Frankly, I'd rather not take that chance. If you can eliminate a potential irritant, then why not?

 

[VWdude]

I don't know what SLS is doing to you, but to me it isn't doing anything negative or positive. It's just one less thing for me to worry about...

Why is it that a person who doesn't have inherited male pattern baldness can wash his hair with whatever the hell he wants? but for a person with male pattern baldness there are an abundance of do's and don't when it comes to putting certain chemcals on the scalp... it's either your meant to go bald, or your not. Contributing factors don't exist when it gomes down to your genetic predisposition. But they do for someone who may be in the denial stage of hairloss.

Whatever dude,

If you don't like it, then don't use it... just don't assume it has any negative effects on people.

 

[ChiaPet]

I believe that although a person may be genetically predisposed to go bald, that there are chemicals that may speed up the male pattern baldness process for those individuals. Some of these may include, but are not limited to smoking and SLS.

This is just opinion - but it does make sense.

 

[VWdude]

if there are chemicals that speed up the male pattern baldness pattern process answer this:

Who or what has spoken of these chemicals that surely makes them "bad" when using them on your scalp while you wash your hair.

What research has shown to prove this? and is this research conclusive and thorough?

If you go on a website and google it, im sure you'll find a half fast study from an unreliable source that for some reason, people believe.

Also, if you think this stuff is so bad for your scalp you might as well not swim in pools...since god only knows what chlorine does to the scalp. You might as well filter the water you use to shower from, again... plenty of chemicals that would love to make a balding man go even balder right?...

Have fun.

 

[ChrisB]

Here's my thoughts on SLS:

http://www.hairlossbuddy.com/20/sodium-lauryl-sulfate/

 

[VWdude]

Here's my thoughts on SLS:

http://www.hairlossbuddy.com/20/sodium-lauryl-sulfate/

Cool, you know how to use google.

 

[ChrisB]

Here's my thoughts on SLS:

http://www.hairlossbuddy.com/20/sodium-lauryl-sulfate/

Cool, you know how to use google.

Meoow

Thought some people might find my experiences / thoughts interesting. But who needs personal experiences when you have Google, right? :roll:

 

[VWdude]

If it's on google, it MUST be correct...... :shock:

 

[ChrisB]

If it's on google, it MUST be correct...... :shock:

Eh?

What has my interpretation of scientific studies and anecdotal evidence got to do with Google?

Or does the fact that these studies can be found through Google, amongst other places, make them null and void?

Bizarre logic.

 

[VWdude]

If it's on google, it MUST be correct...... :shock:

Eh?

What has my interpretation of scientific studies and anecdotal evidence got to do with Google?

Or does the fact that these studies can be found through Google, amongst other places, make them null and void?

Bizarre logic.

Okay Chris, so you google SLS and find a page hosted by "Hairlossbuddy". So what makes you think this so called Scientific study is even credible. No author is mentioned the only information that can be linked to an author is:

"This article was written on March 16, 2006 was posted in these categories Hair Loss Causes, Hair & Scalp Care, Hair Products . If you are looking for the RSS feed for comments or the tracback link here they are Feed For Comments on This Post, TrackBack URL"

That really tells me a whole lot.

Interpret that the way you please, but to me its a load of BS. If there has been extensive and thorough studies on this and then released to the public on a well known credible hairloss/medical website, I may even give two sh(its...even then, probably not because im not going to worry about stupidness. it's all about what works for you right, and whatever it may be that's awesome.

And i'd hate to see some newbie buy some Nioxin *which is an all around good shampoo just to empty it down the drain because of one or two opinionated threads, and a gay hairloss website.

Google has nothing to do with the way you interpret all that BS you stated in your previous reply, it's just that these days people are too gullable when it comes to the internet research.

 

[powersam]

theres a lot of misinformation around about sls. its been claimed to cause everything from cancer to cataracts. while this is untrue it is a potent, and is the standard used in studies when measuring how potentially irritating a substance is. moreover it is a very harsh detergent and will remove the epidermal lipids of the skin causing dryness and damage. anything that damages scalp skin damages hair. our hair is in trouble already, no need to put the boot in

 

[VWdude]

If anything, there has to be high levels of SLS in the shampoo in order to do any damage. The rinsing process usually dilutes the majority of SLS absorbed in the scalp. It does do a good job cleaning the hell out of your hair and scalp though which is a good thing.

In moderation, it's all good.

 

[powersam]

well actually its the 'cleaning the hell out of' part which causes the problems. overwashing WILL damage your scalp through the removal of deep epidermal lipids which keep your skin moist and healthy. once a day washing is considered overwashing by dermatologists. washing your hair every day does not do it any good and could be damaging it.

would i be wrong in assuming a medicated shampoo like nioxin would be left on the scalp for a few minutes?

 

[ChrisB]

Okay Chris, so you google SLS and find a page hosted by "Hairlossbuddy". So what makes you think this so called Scientific study is even credible. No author is mentioned the only information that can be linked to an author is:

"This article was written on March 16, 2006 was posted in these categories Hair Loss Causes, Hair & Scalp Care, Hair Products . If you are looking for the RSS feed for comments or the tracback link here they are Feed For Comments on This Post, TrackBack URL"

That really tells me a whole lot.

Interpret that the way you please, but to me its a load of BS. If there has been extensive and thorough studies on this and then released to the public on a well known credible hairloss/medical website, I may even give two sh(its...even then, probably not because im not going to worry about stupidness. it's all about what works for you right, and whatever it may be that's awesome.

And i'd hate to see some newbie buy some Nioxin *which is an all around good shampoo just to empty it down the drain because of one or two opinionated threads, and a gay hairloss website.

Google has nothing to do with the way you interpret all that BS you stated in your previous reply, it's just that these days people are too gullable when it comes to the internet research.

VWdude, thanks for taking the time to reply.

Ok, we've got wires crossed on this point. *I* wrote the article -- the gay hair loss site is mine (the pink is a bit girly, isn't it?).

I never called this article a "scientific study", I referred it as "my thoughts" (please see my first reply in this thread).

There are two studies on SLS in the article, both referenced (sorry I didn't use the Harvard referencing system). These were the closest things I could find available relevant to hair loss and SLS. I also went 4 months with a drop of SLS touching my head. I then formulated my opinions based on this limited scientific research and my own experience.

I've put my opinions up to be shot down, if someone can prove my current thoughts wrong then great, please feel free to comment, I would appreciate it -- if you can provide any evidence (anecdotal or scientific, positive or negative) then I'm a little wiser and a step closer to retaining my hair.

What have been your experiences of stopping using an SLS based shampoo?

Or are you aware of any studies more relevant than were referenced in the article?

I agree, it's what about what works for you. I stopped using SLS shampoo and my hair stopped shedding as much.

I'd also hate to see any one throw away a perfectly good bottle of shampoo. Equally, I'd also hate to see some newbie piss money up the wall on something that could be brought at half the price.

My conclusions are clear:

If you use SLS based shampoo:
-- Don't leave it on the scalp for extended periods of time.
-- Use less rather than more.
-- Rinse thoroughly.

There is nothing concrete that suggest SLS leads to hair loss, but why risk it, even is that risk is small, when there are more mild natural shampoos that clean equally as well?

I am always looking for fresh and different perspectives -- please tell me what in the article you disagree with?

 

[ChrisB]

If anything, there has to be high levels of SLS in the shampoo in order to do any damage.

Interesting, what do you base this opinion on?

What I found startling was although the length of time the studies applied the shampoo was massively different from how long people would apply shampoo when washing their hair, these studies used a 5% solution of SLS -- shampoo typically has 10-20% solution of SLS.

The rinsing process usually dilutes the majority of SLS absorbed in the scalp. In moderation, it's all good.

I agree, proper rinsing and moderation is a good idea.

It does do a good job cleaning the hell out of your hair and scalp though which is a good thing.

There is no doubt SLS is an excellent surfactant, but then again I've started using a natural shampoo the cleans equally as well, infact better.

 

[VWdude]

Chris, Fantastic reply!

I am enjoying this conversation more and more

To tell you the truth, I am indifferent when it comes to the effects of SLS in shampoo. As of now, I believe that the SLS in shampoo does not have negative nor positive effects when it comes to hairloss.

If you take a look at my regimen, I have used various shampoo's throughout my one year journey with propecia. Mainly just american crew revitalize shampoo/conditioner and the nioxin system. After a year, I have seen a substantial improvment in hair density and overall hair quality. When it comes to male pattern baldness, DHT is and always will be the culprit.

So far, the shampoo's that I have used that contain SLS are no different or better than any of the natural shampoo's.

You do have an interesting website with a very strong point of view, who knows that might even be the case. But as for now, unless its a proven fact I am not going to worry about it... You can study the effects of SLS on yourself or perhaps 5 people that have male pattern baldness. But what about the hundreds of thousands of people who have male pattern baldness? it would be interesting to see the results of a massive study...untill then, I will remain in the same position.

It's kind of like people in the concealer thread. They see a post about more hairs in the shower after applying dermmatch and they get all paranoid and blame it on the dermmatch.

VWdude wrote:
If anything, there has to be high levels of SLS in the shampoo in order to do any damage.

To answer what I base my opinion on when I wrote that statement, the answer is simple: Common sense. You take one pill of ecstacy you get high and feel good. You take 5 pills, you're dead. Moderation is key.

okay, I think im all SLS'D out! lol

 

[viperfish]

I have seen some improvement in my hair since stopping the use of shampoos containing sls. My scalp feels a hell of alot less itchy since doing so and my hair looks much nicer. However, sls free shampoos are not going to save your hair, that is not the debate here, but may improve the way your hair looks.

 

[ChrisB]

VWdude -- Fair enough chap, could well be a case of different strokes for different folks.

viperfish -- I noticed exactly the same thing, I had very mild and occasional dandruff and that disappeared too.