Is Herbal Essences Good or Bad for Your Hair?
To cater to more environmentally concerned consumers, several hair care products on the market today use natural components in their formulations.
One of these companies, Herbal Essences, focuses on using botanical ingredients in their shampoos and conditioners to deal with a variety of hair problems.
Are these statements, however, always true? What are the benefits of Herbel Essence products for hair? They also result in hair loss, right?
If Herbal Essences products are healthy or bad for your hair, you will learn about them in this article.
What Ingredients are Used in Herbal Essences Shampoos?
Herbal Essence shampoos and conditioners stand out in part because they contain plant extracts that are intended to nurture hair health more effectively than normal washes.
Due to the inclusion of additional synthetic substances, the items are not regarded as organic. The following is a list of the principal components used in Herbal Essence shampoos:
Surfactants
These are chemical degreasers that aid in removing oil and debris particles from the scalp and hair strands.
Sodium Xylenesulfonate, Lauramidopropyl Betaine, and Sodium Lauryl Sulfate are some of them.
Antistatic Substances
These substances are added to hair care products to lessen the buildup of electrical charge brought on by friction, hence preventing hair from flying away.
Polyquaternium-10 and Polyquaternium-6 are typical examples that can be found in Herbal Essences shampoos.
Modifying Substances
Shampoos from Herbal Essences are made with hair-conditioning components that help soften and smooth the texture of hair.
Chemicals like trihydroxystearin and guar hydroxypropyltrimonium fall within this category.
Herbal Extracts
Shampoos from Herbal Essences contain plant components that are nutritious to hair.
These extracts include aloe vera juice, argan oil, coconut oil, sea kelp extract, and passionflower extract.
These provide a variety of benefits, including conditioning, calming, and hydrating the hair and scalp to encourage strong hair development.
Preservatives
Sodium benzoate, methylchloroisothiazolinone, and sodium salicylate are typical preservatives used in Herbal Essence shampoos to stop bacterial growth.
In hair products that are likely to come into touch with water, preservers help stop the formation of undesirable microorganisms.
Fragrances
A combination of artificial and natural aroma compounds are used to create the Herbal Essence shampoos.
These include Hexyl Cinnamal, Limonene, Linalool, and Coumarin, to name a few.
Are Herbal Essences Shampoos Unhealthy for Your Hair?
In general, this brand doesn’t make shampoos that lead to damaged hair. Certain items do, however, include components that can be dangerous or that consumers might be sensitive to.
Although Herbal Essences is an excellent brand overall, a short glance at reviews in online forums indicated that some of the products could dry out the hair and scalp.
Potentially Harmful Ingredients in Herbal Essences Shampoos
Herbal Essences is a haircare company that is renowned for giving special consideration to product safety, component toxicity evaluations, and other preventative steps when producing its products.
However, a couple of the components in their goods may still produce bad responses in some consumers.
People with dry hair, curly hair, or sensitive hair and scalp should be especially aware of this.
Here are some things to watch out for before picking up your next bottle:
Sodium Laureth Sulfate
Because they can be highly harsh on the skin, surfactants like Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLS) are not advised.
SLS tends to be too harsh on the skin and removes all the lipids required to keep the skin’s barrier function in place.
Over time, using shampoos with this purifying ingredient will cause your scalp to become dry and your hair to break off.
Sodium lauryl sulfate
In most Herbal Essence shampoos, sodium lauryl sulfate is employed as a washing ingredient, similar to the prior surfactant.
It has a mild potential for irritating the skin, eyes, and lungs, although being less abrasive than Sodium Laureth Sulfate.
This might be problematic for people with sensitive scalps.
Methylisothiazolinone
In the personal care sector, this substance is a frequently used preservative.
Studies indicate that this molecule may be neurotoxic to people, despite the fact that it is known to elicit allergic reactions.
Fragrances
All fragrances and perfumes used in cosmetic items, as is widely known, are made up of a number of different compounds.
When these smells come into touch with skin, most of them are recognized to be strong allergens that can trigger mild to severe reactions.
Although Herbal Essences products are renowned for their relatively unique fragrance combinations, there is a chance that over time, the scalp could get sensitized or irritated as a result.
The European Commission Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety views several fragrances as major skin irritants.
Such products include Coumarin, Linalool, Hexyl Cinnamal, and Limonene.
What about the Ingredients Included in Other Herbal Essences Products?
Herbal Essences makes conditioners, hair oils, masks, and other hair styling products in addition to shampoos.
These items contain a combination of botanical extracts and synthetic chemicals, just like their shampoos do.
The following are the main components of Herbal Essences products:
Solvents
Herbal Essence products frequently use water, isododecane, and isopropyl alcohol as solvents.
Conditioning Substances
To soften and smooth the hair, conditioning ingredients are frequently utilized in hair care products.
Stearamidopropyl Dimethylamine is the ingredient most frequently found in Herbal Essence products.
Extracts of Plants
Natural oils and aloe vera juice are among the plant extracts used in Herbal Essence products.
Surfactants/Emulsifiers
In addition to having the ability to condition hair, the surfactants found in Herbal Essences conditioners also help to keep the products’ emulsified consistency stable.
Behentrimonium Methosulfate and Cetyl Alcohol are a couple of these.
Fragrance
Every Herbal Essences product has aroma components that give them all enticing fragrances.
Preservatives
Preservatives such DMDM Hydantoin, Cetrimonium Chloride, and Sodium Benzoate, as well as Methylchloroisothiazolinone and Methylisothiazolinone, are used in Herbal Essences products to kill microorganisms and extend their shelf lives.
Silicones
Silicones, used in the manufacture of Herbal Essences products, assist in the formation of a shielding layer that protects hair strands and preserves luster.
Bis-aminopropyl dimethicone is a prime illustration.
Is Herbal Essence Conditioner Beneficial for Your Hair?
Overall, hair doesn’t suffer much from using Herbal Essences conditioners.
The company offers a large selection of deep conditioners and conditioners that can, according to their claims, revive hair.
The brand offers a variety of solutions for different hair requirements, including repair, hydration, deep moisture, daily cleansing, frizz control, hair detoxification, and purification, as well as volumizing, curl definition, strengthening, scalp balance, and so much more.
The conditioners from the company are similarly packed with natural extracts, however, Herbal Essences conditioners do contain some substances that can raise questions.
Silicones
Although silicones aid in softening the hair and facilitate detangling, they are frequently too heavy for hair strands, which results in breaking.
Furthermore, silicones can leave a buildup on the hair and scalp and are challenging to rinse out.
The modified silicone Bis-aminopropyl Dimethicone, which is present in Herbal Essences conditioners, is not as heavy as ordinary silicones but is just as difficult to remove and can lead to build-up because it is only partially water soluble.
Methylchloroisothiazolinone/Methylisothiazolinone
Two preservatives frequently found in Herbal Essences conditioners are methylchloroisothiazolinone and methylisothiazolinone.
However, the skin (scalp) and eyes may be harmed by these two preservatives.
Fragrance
The smells of Herbal Essences conditioners can irritate the scalps of those with sensitive skin.
The Reason Why Herbal Essence is Being Sued
You may be asking why Herbal Essence is facing a lawsuit if their goods are wonderful if you’ve heard about the one that is now being filed against them.
However, it should be highlighted that the brand was the target of this class action lawsuit because of alleged deceptive advertising claims or misrepresentations.
The depiction of the Herbal Essences Bio: Renew Vanilla Honey & Vitamin B Shampoo is called into doubt by this case.
According to the plaintiffs, Herbal Essences intentionally misleads consumers into believing that this product line is produced entirely of plant extracts that have not been subjected to any kind of chemical processing.
This is surprising given that the company utilizes the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew seal to certify the validity of the botanical extracts on its products.
Consumers would consequently think that this organization has evaluated and certified Herbal Essences items.
The allegations, however, showed that Herbal Essences had paid numerous times to have this esteemed seal put on their label without disclosing this information to the public, which is what gave rise to the misrepresentation.
The plaintiffs also note that the product line’s name, “Bio: Renew,” implies to consumers that it is a natural or organic product when, in reality, an analysis of this product line revealed a long list of synthetic ingredients used as the main ingredients rather than the proportion of botanicals present in the product.
The brand was the target of a class action lawsuit brought by customers in 2018 alleging negligent misrepresentation, fraud, and warranty breaches in the sales of the Herbal Essence Wild Naturals product line.
This most recent case is identical to that one, which was also just filed. Do well to share, comment, and like this informative content.
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