We’ve talked about why tweens and teens shouldn’t be using adult skin care. Now let’s talk about the way that adult hair care products can also wreak havoc.
Sometimes if your hair doesn’t look good, you don’t feel good, and during the crucial tween and teen years, self-esteem, confidence, and mental health are closely tied. It can be easy for a tween/teen to go down the social media rabbit hole and become convinced that the trendiest hair care products will give them the looks and self-assurance they crave. What they may not know is how those trendy products could negatively affect not just their appearance, but their short-term and long-term health.
Talk with your tween/teen and share these tips for implementing non toxic hair care practices to help protect their tresses now and in the future:
- Keep it simple. Tweens and teens generally only need to shampoo and condition regularly, and potentially use a leave-in conditioner or detangler to keep their hair healthy and looking great.
- Steer clear of personal care product aisles at big box stores. Those products are most likely made with long lists of toxic ingredients, and since your scalp is four times more absorbent than the skin on your forearm, anything applied to your scalp can get into your bloodstream. If you’re not sure what to watch out for, you can’t protect yourself.
- Know which ingredients to avoid. There are many toxins used in traditional hair care products that are harsh on hair at any age. Among the most common are sulfates, which can strip hair and scalp of natural oils that are essential for healthy, hydrated hair, and parabens and formaldehyde-releasing preservatives, which have been linked to skin irritation, allergic reactions, and other health concerns. Additionally, synthetic fragrance can contain carcinogens, endocrine disruptors, allergens, respiratory irritants, neurotoxic chemicals, and hormone disruptors.
- Don’t upset your hormones. (Or should we say don’t further upset your hormones, since they’re already raging during this time of life!) Many toxic ingredients used in hair care products are known to interfere with tweens’ and teens’ hormonal development, which can lead to a wide range of health issues, including reproductive abnormalities, increased risk of developing cancer, obesity, attention and behavioral problems, asthma, diabetes, and autoimmune disorders.
- Get regular trims. Getting scheduled haircuts helps keep split ends at bay and hair soft and healthy.
- Wash hair with cool or lukewarm water. Hot water sucks all moisture out of your hair and scalp and can result in dull, brittle hair and a dry, irritated scalp.
- Skip the heat styling or use a heat protectant. Using blow dryers, straighteners, curling irons or wands, and other heat styling tools directly on hair can cause damage in just one use. Repeat use on unprotected hair can cause dryness, split ends, and a dull, dingy appearance.
- Embrace your natural color and texture. Chemical treatments such as bleaching, dying, perming, and straightening can damage your scalp and hair and have a negative impact on the quality and health of new hair growth.
- Maintain a healthy, nutrient-dense diet. It’s important to consume plenty of fruits, veggies, and healthy fats. When it comes to snacks, choose nuts over potato chips. Nuts are packed with essential fatty acids that are beneficial to hair and skin, resulting in strong hair.
- Reduce blemishes with the right hair care. Ingredients like toxic petroleum, silicone, sodium lauryl sulfate, and mineral oil can clog pores, resulting in blemishes along the hairline. They can also weigh hair down and make it look greasy.
Discuss these topics with your child early and often so that they’re armed with the knowledge necessary to make smart, healthy hair care choices. Encourage them to shop with a trusted non toxic product manufacturer to ensure good looks and good health for decades to come.
Ask your Pure Haven Consultant for more tips for helping tweens and teens make non toxic choices.
Sources:
The Best Non-Toxic Swaps For Teens. https://umbelorganics.com/best-non-toxic-swaps-teens/
The Best Clean, Natural & Non-Toxic Shampoo. https://umbelorganics.com/clean-natural-non-toxic-shampoo/