
Moisturizing shampoo enriched with argan oil, with no parabens and low sulfates
Uploaded by: newyorkbagel on
Ingredients overview
Aqua (Water), Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Chloride, Glycerin, Glycol Stearate, Cocamide MEA, Parfum (Fragrance), Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil, Panthenol, Citric Acid, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone
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INCI photo pending approval
Highlights
#alcohol-free
Alcohol Free
Key Ingredients
Antioxidant: Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil
Skin-identical ingredient: Glycerin
Soothing: Panthenol
Other Ingredients
Buffering: Citric Acid
Emollient: Glycol Stearate, Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil
Emulsifying: Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Glycol Stearate, Cocamide MEA
Moisturizer/humectant: Glycerin, Panthenol
Perfuming: Parfum (Fragrance)
Preservative: Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone
Solvent: Aqua (Water)
Surfactant/cleansing: Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Glycol Stearate, Cocamide MEA
Viscosity controlling: Sodium Chloride, Cocamide MEA
Skim through
Ingredient name | what-it-does | irr., com. | ID-Rating |
---|---|---|---|
Aqua (Water) | solvent | ||
Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate | surfactant/cleansing | icky | |
Sodium Laureth Sulfate | surfactant/cleansing, emulsifying | ||
Cocamidopropyl Betaine | surfactant/cleansing | ||
Sodium Chloride | viscosity controlling | ||
Glycerin | skin-identical ingredient, moisturizer/humectant | 0, 0 | superstar |
Glycol Stearate | emollient, emulsifying, surfactant/cleansing | 0, 0 | |
Cocamide MEA | surfactant/cleansing, viscosity controlling, emulsifying | ||
Parfum (Fragrance) | perfuming | icky | |
Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil | antioxidant, emollient | goodie | |
Panthenol | soothing, moisturizer/humectant | 0, 0 | goodie |
Citric Acid | buffering | ||
Methylchloroisothiazolinone | preservative | icky | |
Methylisothiazolinone | preservative | icky |
Daily dose Moisturizing Argan Shampoo
Ingredients explainedAqua (Water)
Also-called: Water | What-it-does: solvent
Good old water, aka H2O. The most common skincare ingredient of all. You can usually find it right in the very first spot of the ingredient list, meaning it’s the biggest thing out of all the stuff that makes up the product.
It’s mainly a solvent for ingredients that do not like to dissolve in oils but rather in water.
Once inside the skin, it hydrates, but not from the outside - putting pure water on the skin (hello long baths!) is drying.
One more thing: the water used in cosmetics is purified and deionized (it means that almost all of the mineral ions inside it is removed). Like this, the products can stay more stable over time.
Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate - icky
What-it-does: surfactant/cleansing
A versatile and biodegradable cleansing agent withhigh cleaning power and strong foaming properties. Unfortunately, these two properties for a surfactant usually mean that it is harsh on the skin, which is the case here as well.
Sodium Laureth Sulfate
Also-called: SLES | What-it-does: surfactant/cleansing, emulsifying
It’s probably the most common cleansing ingredient of all. It’s usually the Chief Bubble Officer responsible for bigbubbles in cleansing products through the foam it creates is a bit airy and loose and not as dense and luxurious as the foam created by infamous SLS.
As for mildness, it goes somewhere in the middle. It’s often confused with sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), but they are absolutely not the same. The SLES molecule has a bigger water-soluble head part that makes it milder and much less irritating. It is considered absolutely ok in the amount used in cosmetic products, though if you are looking for a mild facial cleanser, you have better chances with a formula withoutSLES. For an average shower gel? SLES works just fine.
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
What-it-does: surfactant/cleansing
Super common ingredient in all kinds of cleansing products: face and body washes, shampoos and foam baths.
Number one reason for its popularity has to do with bubbles. Everyone loves bubbles. And cocamidopropyl betaine is great at stabilizing them.
The other reason is that it’s mild and works very well combined with other cleansing agents and surfactants. The art of cleansing is usually to balance between properly cleansing but not over-cleansing and cocamidopropyl betaine is helpful in pulling off this balance right.
Oh, and one more nice thing: even though it’s synthetic it’s highly biodegradable.
More info on CAPB on Collins Beaty Pages.
Sodium Chloride
Also-called: Salt | What-it-does: viscosity controlling
Sodium chloride is the fancy name of salt. Normal, everyday table salt.
If (similar to us) you are in the weird habit of reading the label on your shower gel while taking a shower, you might have noticed that sodium chloride is almost always on the ingredient list. The reason for this is that salt acts as a fantastic thickener in cleansing formulas created with ionic cleansing agents(aka surfactants) such as Sodium Laureth Sulfate. A couple of percents (typically 1-3%) turns a runny surfactant solution into a nice gel texture.
If you are into chemistry (if not, we understand, just skip this paragraph), the reason is that electrolytes (you know, the Na+ and Cl- ions) screen the electrostatic repulsion between the head groups of ionic surfactants and thus support the formation of long shaped micelles (instead of spherical ones) that entangle like spaghetti, and viola, a gel is formed. However, too much of it causes the phenomenon called "salting out", and the surfactant solution goes runny again.
Other than that, salt also works as an emulsion stabilizer inwater-in-oil emulsions, that is when water droplets are dispersed in the outer oil (or silicone) phase. And last but not least, when salt is right at the first spot of the ingredient list (and is not dissolved), the product is usually a body scrub where salt is thephysical exfoliating agent.
Glycerin - superstar
Also-called: Glycerol | What-it-does: skin-identical ingredient, moisturizer/humectant | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 0
- A natural moisturizer that’s also in our skin
- A super common, safe, effective and cheap molecule used for more than 50 years
- Not only a simple moisturizer but knows much more: keeps the skin lipids between our skin cells in a healthy (liquid crystal) state, protects against irritation, helps to restore barrier
- Effective from as low as 3% with even more benefits for dry skin at higher concentrations up to 20-40%
- High-glycerin moisturizers are awesome for treating severely dry skin
Read all the geeky details about Glycerin here >>
Glycol Stearate
What-it-does: emollient, emulsifying, surfactant/cleansing | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 0
We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
Cocamide MEA
What-it-does: surfactant/cleansing, viscosity controlling, emulsifying, emulsion stabilising
A cleansing agent whose main thing is adding viscosity and foam to cleansing formulas.
Chemically speaking, it is the little sister of Cocamide DEA and has similar properties to that guy. However, being a monoethanolamine instead of diethanolamine has the advantagethat thenitrosamine-concern does not apply for Cocamide MEA.
Parfum (Fragrance) - icky
Also-called: Fragrance, Parfum;Parfum/Fragrance | What-it-does: perfuming
Exactly what it sounds: nice smelling stuff put into cosmetic products so that the end product also smells nice. Fragrance in the US and parfum in the EU is a generic term on the ingredient list that is made up of 30 to 50 chemicals on average (but it can have as much as 200 components!).
If you are someone who likes to know what you put on your face then fragrance is not your best friend - there's no way to know what’s really in it.
Also, if your skin is sensitive, fragrance is again not your best friend. It’s the number one cause of contact allergy to cosmetics. It’s definitely a smart thing to avoid with sensitive skin (and fragrance of any type - natural is just as allergic as synthetic, if not worse!).
Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil - goodie
Also-called: Argan Oil | What-it-does: antioxidant, emollient
When it comes to cosmetic oils and hype, argan oil is for sure leading the way. Dubbed as the "liquid gold of Morocco", we have to admit we have some trouble determining why this oil enjoys such a special miracle status. Not that it's not good, it is good, even greatbut reading the research about argan and a bunch of other plant oils we just do not see the big, unique differentiating factor (though that might be our fault not reading enough, obvs.)
So, argan oil comes from the kernel of the argan fruit that comes from the argan tree that grows only in Morocco. The tree is slow growingand getting the oil is a hard job. The traditional process is that the ripe argan fruits fallfrom the tree, then goats eat them up and poop out the seeds. The seedsare collected and smashed with a stone to get the kernels inside. This part is the hard one as the seeds have extremely hard shells. Once the kernels are obtained, the oil is pressed out from them (the kernels contain about 50% oil).
As for skincare, argan oil is loaded with lots of skin goodies (but so are many other plant oils): it contains 80% nourishing and moisturizing unsaturatedfatty acids, mainly oleic (38-50%), linoleic (28-38%) and palmitic (10-18%). It also contains a relatively large amount of antioxidant vitamin E (600-900 mg/kg, about twice as much as olive), small amounts of antioxidant phenols (including caffeic acid, ferulic acid, and epicatechin), as well as some rare sterols with soothing and anti-inflammatory properties.
Thanks to all the above goodness in argan oil, it can greatly nourish and moisturize the skin and hair. It's also claimed to be able to neutralize collagen-damaging free radicals, help reduce scars, and revitalize and improve skin elasticity. You can even read that argan might help acne-prone skin, but being a high oleic oil, we would be careful with that.
All in all, argan oil is a real goodie but we do not fully understand the special miracle status it enjoys.
Panthenol - goodie
Also-called: Pro-Vitamin B5 | What-it-does: soothing, moisturizer/humectant | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 0
An easy-to-formulate, commonly used, nice to have ingredient that’s also called pro-vitamin B5. As you might guess from the “pro” part, it’s a precursor to vitamin B5 (whose fancy name is pantothenic acid).
Its main job in skincare products is to moisturise the skin. It’s a humectant meaning that it can help the skin to attract water and then hold onto it. There is also research showing that panthenol can help our skin to produce more lovely lipids that are important for a strong and healthy skin barrier.
Another great thing about panthenol is that it has anti-inflammatory and skin protecting abilities. A study shows that it can reduce the irritation caused by less-nice other ingredients (e.g. fragrance, preservatives or chemical sunscreens) in the product.
Research also shows that it might be useful for wound healing as it promotes fibroblast (nice type of cells in our skin that produce skin-firming collagen) proliferation.
If that wasn’t enough panthenol is also useful in nail and hair care products. A study shows that a nail treatment liquide with 2% panthenol could effectively get into the nail and significantly increase the hydration of it.
As for the hair the hydration effect is also true there. Panthenol might make your hair softer, more elastic and helps to comb your hair more easily.
Citric Acid
What-it-does: buffering
Citric acid comes from citrus fruits and is an AHA. If these magic three letters don’t tell you anything, click here and read our detailed description on glycolic acid, the most famous AHA.
So citric acid is an exfoliant, that can - just like other AHAs - gently lift off the dead skin cells of your skin and make it more smooth and fresh.
There is also some research showing that citric acid with regular use (think three monthsand 20% concentration) can help sun-damaged skin, increase skin thickness and some nice hydrating things called glycosaminoglycans in the skin.
But according to a comparative study done in 1995, citric acid has less skin improving magic properties than glycolic or lactic acid. Probably that’s why citric acid is usually not used as an exfoliant but more as a helper ingredient in small amounts to adjust the pH of a formulation.
Methylchloroisothiazolinone - icky
What-it-does: preservative
This totally unpronounceable ingredient (let’s take a shortcut: MCI) is a super effective preservative with both antibacterial and antifungal effects that works at very low concentrations.
The bad news with it though is that it can sensitize the skin easily (it’s a so-called non-fragrance allergen). It’s not permitted to be used alone, but only with its BFF, methylisothiazolinone (MI), another icky preservative. Together they have a broad spectrum antimicrobial effect but are permitted to be usedonly in rinse-off products (under 0.0015%).
Methylisothiazolinone - icky
What-it-does: preservative
As you may guess, if something is only recommended in products that you rinse off (cleansers and shampoos), then it’s probably not the best ingredientfor the skin.
Methylisothiazolinone (MI) is a preservative that' super efficient against bacteria at surprisingly low concentrations. The problem with it though is that itcan also sensitize and irritate the skinquite easily when it comes in leave-on formulas.
Currently,some countries are considering to ban it entirely (like Denmark) and the permitted use level is very low(under 0.01%). Luckily there are plenty of products on the market with other preservative options so if you are a better safe than sorry typeit's probably best to avoid it.
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Normal (well kind of - it's purified and deionized) water. Usually the main solvent in cosmetic products. [more] A versatile and biodegradable cleansing agent withhigh cleaning power and strong foaming properties. Unfortunately, these two properties for a surfactant usually mean that it is harsh on the skin, which is the case here as well. It’s probably the most common cleansing ingredient of all. It’s usually the Chief Bubble Officer responsible for bigbubbles in cleansing products through the foam it creates is a bit airy and loose and not as dense and luxurious as the foam created by infamous SLS.As for mildness, it goes somewhere in the middle. [more] Super common ingredient in all kinds of cleansing products: face and body washes, shampoos and foam baths.Number one reason for its popularity has to do with bubbles. [more] Sodium chloride is the fancy name of salt. Normal, everyday table salt.If (similar to us) you are in the weird habit of reading the label on your shower gel while taking a shower, you might have noticed that sodium chloride is almost always on the ingredient list. [more] A real oldie but a goodie. Great natural moisturizer and skin-identical ingredient that plays an important role in skin hydration and general skin health. [more] A cleansing agent whose main thing is adding viscosity and foam to cleansing formulas.Chemically speaking, it is the little sister of Cocamide DEA and has similar properties to that guy. [more] The generic term for nice smelling stuff put into cosmetic products so that the end product also smells nice. It is made up of 30 to 50 chemicals on average. [more] Argan oil - the "liquid gold of Morocco" that contains 80% unsaturated fatty acids (oleic and linoleic mainly), and antioxidant vitamin E and phenols. It's highly nourishing and moisturizing both for skin and hair. [more] Pro-Vitamin B5 is a goodie that moisturises the skin, has anti-inflammatory, skin protecting and wound healing properties. [more] An AHA that comes from citrus fruits. It is usually used as a helper ingredient to adjust the pH of the formula. [more] Preservative with relatively high irritation risk. It's always used together with Methylisothiazolinone. [more] Preservative with relatively high irritation risk that is used mainly in rinse-off products. [more] what‑it‑does solvent what‑it‑does surfactant/cleansing what‑it‑does surfactant/cleansing | emulsifying what‑it‑does surfactant/cleansing what‑it‑does viscosity controlling what‑it‑does skin-identical ingredient | moisturizer/humectant irritancy,com. 0, 0 what‑it‑does emollient | emulsifying | surfactant/cleansing irritancy,com. 0, 0 what‑it‑does surfactant/cleansing | viscosity controlling | emulsifying what‑it‑does perfuming what‑it‑does antioxidant | emollient what‑it‑does soothing | moisturizer/humectant irritancy,com. 0, 0 what‑it‑does buffering what‑it‑does preservative what‑it‑does preservative