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Worst Hair Care Products

You put a lot of stuff in your hair—shampoo, conditioner, gel, and maybe some added color. The good news is that hair care products are made mostly of water, about which we have nothing bad to say. The bad news is that the chemical ingredients that actually do the work—chemical detergents, dyes, fragrances, and conditioners—aren’t always safe for you or good for the environment. Dyes and colors often come with ingredient lists that are 60 or 70 chemicals long and can include toxics like P-Phenylenediamine, resorcinol, eugenol, and ethanolamine. (more)

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Worst Hair Care Products

Osco Men's Hair Spray, Extra Hold
Osco Men's Hair Spray, Extra Hold
3.5
Ecco Bella Vanilla Shampoo
Ecco Bella Vanilla Shampoo
  • $10.95
  • User Rating:
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3.9
Ogilvie Home Perm For Normal Hair
Ogilvie Home Perm For Normal Hair
  • $6.98
  • User Rating:
    Star_full_small Star_full_small Star_full_small Star_full_small Star_full_small
3.9
Milani Nail Lacquer, White 301
Milani Nail Lacquer, White 301
4.0
Nexxus Humectress Luxe Ultimate Moisturizing Leave-In Hair Spray
Nexxus Humectress Luxe Ultimate Moisturizing Leave-I...
  • $11.79
  • User Rating:
    Star_full_small Star_full_small Star_full_small Star_half_small Star_empty_small
4.0
Nature's Gate Baby Soothing Shampoo
Nature's Gate Baby Soothing Shampoo
  • $6.29
  • User Rating:
    Star_full_small Star_full_small Star_full_small Star_full_small Star_full_small
4.1
Alberto VO5 Conditioning Hairdressing, Unscented
Alberto VO5 Conditioning Hairdressing, Unscented
  • $4.07
4.2
Just For Me! Creme Conditioner & Hairdress
Just For Me! Creme Conditioner & Hairdress
  • $17.34 (6 Pack)
4.4
Tcb Reversion Resistant! No-Lye Relaxer, Super
Tcb Reversion Resistant! No-Lye Relaxer, Super
4.4
Alberto VO5 Red Play! It Again Reworkable Putty
Alberto VO5 Red Play! It Again Reworkable Putty
  • $4.99
4.4
St. Ives Swiss Formula Replenishing Hair Nutrient Treatment, Fix Stress
St. Ives Swiss Formula Replenishing Hair Nutrient Tr...
4.4
Motions Hair & Scalp Daily Moisturizing Hairdressing
Motions Hair & Scalp Daily Moisturizing Hairdressing
  • $4.99
4.4
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You can also find DMDM hydantoin, a form of formaldehyde that's a potential skin irritant and immune system toxicant.

A few shampoos and some conditioners use cleaners such as sodium laureth sulfate or octoxynol-40 that, depending on the way they are made, can introduce contamination into the product, with the impurities taking the form of irritant, carcinogenic chemicals like ethylene oxide and 1,4-dioxane. Sodium lauryl sulfate, a close relative of sodium laureth sulfate, is a strong skin irritant, and there is considerable controversy over its other potential health effects.

That’s not all: Most shampoos and conditioners incorporate a combination of chemicals labeled only as the ingredient “fragrance”. The exact mixture is considered a trade secret, so companies don’t have to say what’s in their fragrances. But, fragrances can often be allergy concerns or contain toxic chemicals like phthalates.

Common cleaning and foaming agents in shampoos are ammonium lauryl sulfate and ammonium laureth sulfate, which are eco-toxic ingredients. In shampoos, ammonium derivatives are the most energy-intensive ingredients to make, and since the manufacturing of ingredients has the greatest environmental impact (about 60 percent of the overall impact, compared to only about 15 percent in making the plastic bottle), it’s more environmentally friendly to look for shampoos without ammonium ingredients.

You can use GoodGuide hair care ratings to find safe, healthy products without toxic ingredients, or browse our reviews for products with high health and environment ratings. You can also look through our social data for no-animal-testing seals of approval from PETA and Leaping Bunny.