How to Read Ingredient Labels

Photo Credit: Google

Ah, Ingredient labels. They were the bane of my existence when I first started my journey. How on Earth was I supposed to read this mumbo jumbo?

Well, over the last year I've figured out short cuts and that's what I am here to teach you all:

Shortcuts:

Look for the major baddies first like Sulfates and Silicones
Look at the first five ingredients on the label (this makes up 80 percent of your product)
The first ingredient should always be water
Silicones end in -cone -xane
Peg 8+ ingredients are water soluble
Avoid colorings
Avoid unknown fragrances
look for drying alcohols (alcohol denat.)and mineral oil (petroleum)

Once you focus on these, you will soon be able to skim through product labels like a pro! it just takes practice.

Practice reading product labels with the ingredients to avoid post, to see if you can start to recognize baddies.

Take a look at the "Technically" CG Approved Products VS CG approved products to see how I break this down even further!

Comments

Welcome to Red Carpet Curls

Dear Reade r, Welcome! I am so happy to be able to finally bring this site to you! This is literally a culmination of months and months of insane research to really understand the science behind everything I do. I wanted nothing more than to share that knowledge with you all and create an all in one website! So, here it is! This blog focuses on the Curly Girl Method, if you don't know what that is just check out the post "What is the Curly Girl Method," for clarification. Every week, I will be adding new articles, so if you don't see what you are looking for just contact me and I'll let you know if there's an article for it, if not I will personally write it up for you. The most frustrating thing for me about the natural hair journey was finding the information. This really tested my patience, I was doing the type of research as if I was still doing those twenty-five page papers in college! But I was on a quest for the truth and that is wha...

Humectants

Ah, the wonderfully complicated world of humectants. This is really where knowledge is power, because if you know the proper times of year and situations to use these ingredients it can ensure either the best hair days you could possibly dream of, or the worst nightmare of your existence! Okay, no hair day is ever that bad, but you totally get the point. Now, I know this discussion is going to take a lot of twists and turns, and at some points you're going to see some words that drag you all the way back to sophomore year chemistry. If you are brave enough to keep reading, you my lovely queen, will learn the secrets to the perfect hair day, ANY time of year! So, let's start at the beginning. What is a Humectant? Humectants have one job...to moisturize hair. Humectants are ingredients that are capable of attracting water molecules from their surroundings (the air in the environment), while simultaneously keeping the surface applied (can either be th...

Everything You Need to Know About Hair Porosity (Including Tips for High and Low Porosity)

Photo Credit: Google Understanding your hair's porosity is by far one of the most valuable pieces of information you can possess when it comes to the health of your crown. Porosity dictates the pattern in which your hair absorbs and loses moisture. This will be invaluable when it comes time to pick the right products for your mane. Always remember, your hair is unique, your body chemistry, your genes, elements you are exposed to are all unique to you. This is why I always advise all new followers and fans to never compare your hair to someone else's, even your own family! (DNA is unique to each person, yes you share some DNA with family but you will still have unique features and chemistry.) I also always say, when introducing yourself to the Curly Girl Method, the first thing you should do is look up porosity and figure out which porosity your hair is, because in the long run this will save you SO much money and time! I know every fellow product junkie reading this arti...

Red Carpet Curls

Search This Blog