The shampoo is the most widely used unisex cosmetic product, an essential staple in the bath ritual for both men and women.
Before the natural/organic trend started to catch steam, people would be influenced by TV ads, magazine glossy ads, attractive packaging and brand recognition when choosing beauty products.
The last decade has seen an important power shift from the classic marketing channels to bloggers and influencers and the ubiquity of internet has lowered the entry barriers and increased exposure for natural cosmetics start-ups.
Shampoo commercials lure in their audience with images of natural paradises, fruits and flowers pouring in or out of attractive bottles while beautiful men and women flaunt their flowing, luscious hair. The less picturesque reality is that shampoos are created in a laboratory by cosmetic chemists that work according to a company’s guidelines. The characteristics and aesthetic features of the shampoo have to closely follow the rule book when it comes to thickness, colour or scent. The performance attributes (texture and foam volume, cleaning power, how irritating/hypoallergenic it will be) are also predetermined.
The manufacturers use various market research and marketing tools to probe into the consumer subconscious and predict and influence trends. For example, if lavender oil is trending in consumer preferences, the companies will create products with lavender colour and scent, adapting the other attributes to make the association as credible and real as possible, even if the product doesn’t contain any natural lavender at all (synthetic substitutes).
Changing just one ingredient to create a new product creates apparent diversity, especially when that ingredient is the scent. If we were to look only at ingredient labels, we would soon discover the rich diversity of the cosmetic market is not entirely real. At the same time, brand diversity can be quite heterogeneous. Most are owned by a few big multinationals that have hundreds of companies in their portfolio, from the luxurious to the very cheap. An in-depth research will reveal at least a few surprises: sometimes the brands you avoid and the ones you love might belong under the same umbrella.
However, the biggest upset will result from the comparison of product ingredient lists. If you take the time to check and compare, you will notice how similar these lists are, for brands belonging to different price segments.
In order to better explain the hows and whys of shampoo formulas, we have identified 5 essential general rules.
Rule no.1: Shampoos are mostly made up of water and detergents
In most cases, the primary ingredient in shampoos is water, typically making up about 70-80% of the entire formula. Usually it is deionized water, which is specially treated to remove various particles and ions, but it can be other special types of water as well.
The cleansing agents or surfactants are the next, more abundant ingredient, and they sometimes appear in a combination of at least 2 substances. The chemical nature of a surfactant allows it to surround and trap oily materials from surfaces. Surfactants are derived from fatty acids, extracted from coconut oil, palm kernel oil, soy bean oil etc. Most common cleansing agents used in shampoos are ammonium lauryl sulfate, sodium lauryl sulfate and sodium laureth sulfate, cocamidopropyl betaine, sodium coco sulfate etc.
In addition to surfactants, manufacturers add foaming agents (like cocamide DEA) to increase foam and bubble volume.
In order to mitigate the side-effects of harsh cleansing agents on your scalp and hair, conditioning agents are added to the mix.
Rule no.2: Shampoos are not as diverse as you might think
More often than not, shampoos simply differ through scent, colour and consistency, which are the primary characteristics used in marketing strategies. Manufacturers also create diversity by replacing certain ingredients with others which have identical or similar properties or by recreating a formula around a trendsetting ingredient, such as argan oil, that will create more visibility and increase opportunity to appear in searches. Specialized labs also create private label formulas and sell them to various companies that eventually sell the same product under different brands.
Rule no.3: How do we define good quality?
We should first consider the definition of a “good shampoo”. Most of us look no further than the “visible” results that can be sensed:
1. it cleanses well,
2. it has a pleasant fragrance,
3. it has a nice texture and generates a rich foam,
4. hair looks silky and shiny after use.
The more health-conscious also look for the natural and bio labels, as well as the absence of certain ingredients such as parabens or harsh cleansing agents.
However, in order to truly be able to assess the overall worthiness of a product, an in-depth analysis is needed (expounded in a separate article).
What is important to remember, just as with food, just because it looks and feels good, doesn’t mean it is good or healthy for the body. Our own particular genetic makeup factors in on how we respond to environmental stressors. That is why some people have great hair even while using the lowest quality products, while others get allergies or irritations.
For most of us, the “visible results” are intrinsically linked with the quality of a shampoo so the following common sense question is raised: If the apparent same results can be achieved with a cheaper product, then shouldn’t this be the better and most efficient choice, regardless of the ingredient list?
To better explain the point we’re trying to make, let’s transpose the concept to food and take the simple example of a store-bought banana cake.
This particular cake has a fluffy and moist texture, the vanilla and banana flavors are pregnant and it is overall tasty. It is also very conveniently priced, compared to the time and materials you would need to invest if you made it from scratch or if you bought it from an artisan cake store.
So now let’s go back to our original question: Is the perceived quality as reflected by appearance and taste really accurate?
In order to get the best objective answer, you need objective information and that is readily available in the form of the ingredient list. Reading it you notice it doesn’t contain any of the ingredients you mentally associate with the product: no butter, no eggs, even the banana and vanilla are synthetic flavoring agents. Just looking at the assorted chemicals on the label, you know it doesn’t bring anything good to your body, just the opposite.
In conclusion, while your body knows the difference between an artificial cake and one created with all-natural ingredients, all your other senses can be tricked not to feel the difference. Because this difference will have an influence on your health, it is important to take the time to build awareness and start choosing products according to their true value. Manufacturers use an arsenal of marketing tools to lure us into choosing their products and influencing perception is a very effective and proven technique.
In case of cosmetics, and in this particular case, shampoos, this assessment is much more challenging because the ingredient lists are more complex. Moreover, the “visible results” are interpreted as an immediate indicator of health benefits/effects bestowed on your hair through the use of the respective shampoo.
As a general rule, the silky and shiny effect is created with the help of conditioning agents, which can be polymers, silicones, mineral oils or quaternary agents (ex: quaternium-15). Each of these compounds deposit on the surface of the hair and improve its feel, softness, shine, while reducing static charge. While the positive effect of these compounds on the hair appearance is undeniable, they have no health benefits. It is, to some extent, the equivalent of covering dry grass with green paint: it looks good and healthy, but it doesn’t help the grass in any way and when the paint washes away it will pollute the environment. In our case, the silicon, plastic or mineral oil derivates or the quaternary agents will add some moisture and shine to your hair and keep it frizz free, but they will not nourish or contribute to your hair health and they are, to different extents, ecotoxic for the environment.
So, what is the alternative? Just as with food, authentic quality can only be achieved with good quality, natural ingredients and in this case, instead of synthetic conditioning agents, a good shampoo will condition with plant oils and extracts, while delicately cleansing your scalp, protecting its health for the long term.
Rule no.4: Price is not a foolproof indicator of quality
We just discussed how visible results can be deceiving when it comes to true benefits and now we’ll see how price factors in. Logic tells us a shampoo with natural ingredients will be more expensive than one with synthetic ingredients. In reality, that is very often not the case.
Price & Branding
While higher quality ingredients have an undeniable impact on price, in many cases branding is what really sets the benchmark. That is how you can have a brand product with synthetic ingredients priced at the same level with a non brand product with all natural ingredients.
Price & Trends
For the beauty addict always on the lookout for new and better product experiences, trends are beacons in a sea of infinite products. For the cosmetic companies, they can be essential opportunities to acquire new customers or preserve the loyalty of the existing ones through diversification.
The beauty trends usually center on a star ingredient (ex: argan oil, coconut oil, manuka honey, tea tree essential oil etc.), a blend of ingredients (ex: gold milk) or a certain characteristic (ex: Korean cosmetics). As companies start to create products that integrate the trend, making the smart choice among a myriad of seemingly similar products becomes a challenging task for the consumer.
In order to choose the best products representing the trend, the consumer should always carefully check the ingredient list and see if the star ingredient or blend of ingredients is found among the first 3-5 ingredients or at least in the first half of the formula. As a rule, if the ingredient is in the second part or towards the end of the list, the concentration is likely too low to bring any substantial benefits and the producer included it only to take advantage of the trend. This practice is especially common when the star ingredient is expensive and companies try to attract clients with cheaper products.
There are some exceptions to this rule: ingredients that are powerful in small dosages, such as essential oils.
Price & Dilution
A frequent technique used by companies to lower the cost of cosmetics is the dilution of the formula. While the first 3-4 ingredients generally account to more than 80% of the content of a product, the first ingredient is usually over 30-60%. In most products, this first ingredient is water.
More than 90% of shampoos on the market have water as the first ingredient. A few use aloe extract and a very specialized niche employs other plant extracts.
This usually is a first indicator of quality in a shampoo that should factor in heavily in any price comparison.
As a side note, water being a good growing environment for bacteria, cosmetics that use a lot of water usually need more preservatives.
Price & Ingredient Quality
Different ingredients can have very different prices. Manuka honey, vanilla, saffron, turmeric, rose oil, gotu kola, prickly pear oil and many others are expensive ingredients because of their scarcity and cost of processing. Products containing these ingredients will therefore cost more as a result, but the overall quality will also be better.
Price & Professional Quality
The lure of “professional” products applies to all cosmetics, as we are influenced to believe that cosmetics found in pharmacies or beauty parlors have superior quality than the products we can buy from stores or the internet. Checking the ingredient lists proves otherwise as the shampoos normally used in hair salons are rich in silicon and synthetic polymer derivates and other chemicals you would normally avoid. The momentary effect can be however impressive, because the professional products are targeted to achieve fast results, without taking into consideration the long-term health of your hair health. A true, professional quality organic shampoo should have a concentrated and efficient formula (water-free) with 100% natural ingredients and a high percentage of organic ingredients.
Price & Artistry
All things considered, the quality of a product depends not only on the ingredients used, but also on the know-how of the creator of the formula. Just like two bakers using the same basic ingredients can create goods of different qualities, you will find cosmetics with identical lists of ingredients that have different feels and results.
Moreover, since the manufacturers are not required to put the percentages of the ingredients on the packaging, products with apparently identical lists might have different contents.
So, once you have thoroughly checked that the formula is as pure and natural as possible, with a high percentage of organic ingredients, you can finally use your instinct to experiment and see what works best for you.
Rule no.5: For the environment, the content might be a worse threat than the packaging
The global issue of pollution is slowly gaining awareness, as more people become conscious of the impact of the every-day products they use on the environment and ultimately on their general health. The media coverage of plastic waste has sensitized customers to the point of changing purchase patterns: they are actively searching for products that use plastic free, recyclable packaging or minimal packaging (refills). While this is a welcome, constructive trend, packaging is only the more visible part of a bigger problem and the polluting effects of the cosmetic industry.
As we have already explained, cosmetic products, regardless of texture (cream, oil, gel, foam, solid, lotion, water), can contain a diverse array of synthetic ingredients, some of which are ecotoxic (ecotoxicology is the study of toxic effects caused by natural or man-made substances on biota). The UNEP latest document on marine plastics debris & micro plastics had shown the importance and dangers of this invisible type of waste accumulation in our water systems. It is assimilated by sea life and it comes back to us in our food (fish, mussels etc) and, as of yet, there is no technology that can remove these micro particles from the environment. Similar concerns have started to be raised about certain silicone derivates, also commonly used by the cosmetics industry, which begs the question: What impact do the thousands chemical compounds normally used in the cosmetics industry actually have for the environment and our health? For many of these compounds there is little or no research data.
In the meantime, if you want to make a real difference, try to choose all-natural organic cosmetic products that contain only biodegradable ingredients. As long as you can recycle the packaging, the content is more important because it will wash away.