Is Serum Safe for My Hair?

Other hair serum makers often craft thin guarantees promising their solution will net you thick, luxurious locks — then you put their product to the test. Not only is your hair in worse condition than it was before, but you are now suffering unpleasant reactions to some of their less-than-quality ingredients!

Historically, hair care companies have touted grand claims regarding the health and safety of their products — some of them missing the mark to the detriment of consumers and their wellbeing. This is why it is critical to be aware of the ingredients in your hair serum and its intended use and choose a hair care company that only makes products formulated for the special qualities of your evolving hair.

A Brief History of Hair Serum

Throughout time women have sought robust and thicker hair from various materials. In ancient Egypt and Greece, animal fats and olive oils were the go-to hair treatments. A thousand years ago Japanese women of the Heian Period used rice water as a treatment, endeavoring for longer and stronger locks.

Oil-based concoctions abounded in the 1800s, from Macassar oil that left grease marks on furniture to a petroleum-derived hair care product called Carboline that would “restore the hair on bald heads”; however, there was always an elusive balance between well-nourished, shiny hair and greasiness.

In 1990, the first silicone-based hair serum to coat and protect hair strands was created by British stylist John Freida. Since then, a multitude of serums have been formulated to protect and replenish hair — but few targeted aging hair and many contained ingredients considered unhealthy for daily scalp and hair use.

Sidestep Unsafe Ingredients

Many experts recommend that women steer clear of cosmetic products like hair serums containing parabens and other ingredients because of their potential link to serious health conditions and harsh skin treatment. They instead recommend products that use natural ingredients.

Avoid Parabens

For more than 70 years parabens have been widely used in food, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical as a preservative to avert the growth of harmful bacteria and mold.

Product ingredient labels often list more than one paraben in a product, and they are often used in combination with other preservatives to protect against a range of microorganisms. Ethylparaben, butylparaben, propylparaben, and methylparaben are the most commonly used parabens in cosmetics.

Traces of this preservative were found in the breast tumors of women in a 2004 British study but were not shown to directly cause cancer. Parabens are thought to mimic estrogen thereby disrupting female hormone function. Because estrogen is a cause of cancer-related breast tumors, some researchers believe paraben use in cosmetics could contribute to the rising frequency of breast cancer.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) monitors published studies on parabens and states they have no information showing parabens affect human health. The FDA continues to allow single or multiple parabens to be added to food and food packaging, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Circumvent Sulfates

Sulfates are a standard ingredient in many cosmetic products. Choosing sulfate-free hair care products for your scalp and hair is smart for several reasons, here are a few:

• Sulfates can compound age-related scalp issues — Sebaceous glands, located in your follicles, generate less sebum oil as you age, leading to an itchy scalp and dry hair. Using sulfate products strips away the sebum needed for proper scalp function and leads to further scalp inflammation and other serious issues.
• Sulfates can damage hair keratin levels — Certain types of sulfates cause hair protein removal with extended use and fosters cuticle damage, leading to more split ends over time.
• Sulfates impact hair treatments — Sulfates cause color-treated hair to prematurely fade and will dissolve the keratin coating of your expensive keratin treatment.

Choose Better Not Younger’s Superpower Fortifying Hair & Scalp Serum which is loaded with healthy ingredients yet free of parabens and sulfates, and can be safely used on chemical-, color-, and keratin-treated hair.

Seek Out Ingredients Safe for Aging Hair

To unearth reliable and effective serum for your hair’s maturing texture and quality, carefully examine the product label for the ingredients like these found in Superpower Fortifying Hair & Scalp Serum:

• Ceramide-NG — If your hair is naturally curly, you likely struggle with occasional frizziness — a sign that the cuticle cells (your hair’s outer layer) are raised up rather than lying flat. This can happen due to damage or humidity. A serum with Ceramide-NG will smooth your cuticles, eliminating frizz, and protecting your strands from the elements.
• Kelp extract — If your hair is dried out, your scalp is likely dried out, too. This can manifest as flaking, itching, and skin irritation at your follicles. Look for scalp serum that contains oils for deep hydration and kelp extract to feed your skin.
• Niacinamide — If your hair is breakage-prone, seek out serum with ingredients like niacinamide to strengthen your hair and restore keratin, the protein your body needs to produce strong hair. Nurture your hair at its roots and soon your hair will be thriving more than ever before.
• Hydrolyzed wheat protein — Pollution, high-heat styling products, and chemicals found in dyes, relaxers, and lighteners can pummel your delicate locks. When your hair shaft’s protein structure is fractured by these harsh styling methods, serum with hydrolyzed wheat protein can restore your hair’s lost tensile strength and resilience.
• Ginger and caffeine — Whether your hair has always been fine, or its fullness is slipping away, the proper serum can feed and stimulate your follicles by elevating scalp blood flow. Ingredients like ginger and caffeine galvanize your follicles while encouraging fuller hair.

Select a Super-Charged Serum Safe for Your Hair and Scalp

When choosing a hair serum, be sure to understand its ingredients to avoid harmful side-effects and potential damage to your tresses. Doing this has been historically challenging due to deceptive marketing and opaque labeling practices.

Better Not Younger has rewritten history by offering reliable hair care products like Superpower Fortifying Hair & Scalp Serum designed for the unique physiology of a woman’s aging hair.

Be sure to visit our product page to check out the hair-nourishing, scalp-reviving ingredients in all of our hair care products.