Sastojci u preparatima za kosu i njihova važnost/Ingredience in hair products and their importance

Silikoni/Silicone

Silikoni su uljaste supstance koje imaju široku primjenu: koriste se u kozmetici, industriji, u medicinske svrhe, posuđu za kuhanje... U kozmetici često se nalaze u uljima za kosu, gelovima, regeneratorima, maskama za kosu i šamponima. Važno je naglasiti da silikoni nisu topivi u vodi. Služe kao 'izolacija' odnosno sprječavaju štetnim vanjskim utjecajima poput kiše, vlage, sunčevim zrakama da prodiru u vlasi i oštete kosu. Istodobno neki silikoni čine kosu mekanom, sjajnom i bez frizzy efekta.

Silicones are oily substances which have wide usage: cosmetics, industry, medical usage, cooking cutlery... In cosmetics they are often found in oils, gels, conditioners, hair masks and shampoos. It is important to highlight that silicones are not water suitable. They are used as 'isolation', preventing harmful outside influence such as rain, humidity and sunrays to penetrate inside hair and damaging it. In the same time some silicones can make hair look soft, shiny and without frizz.

Velika većina silikona nije topiva u vodi. Samo neki silkoni jesu i to oni koji na početku imena imaju PPG ili PEG, svi ostali nisu topivi u vodi. Konkretno, to znači da se čestom upotrebom talože se na kosi i stvaraju beživotnu i ne baš privlačnu kosu. Stvaraju zaštitni 'film' na kosi ne dopuštajući ostalim proizvodima pa tako ni vodi da obave svoju funkciju.

Majority of silicones are not water soluble. Only few that are soluble are like those who have in front of the name PPG or PEG. All others are not water soluble. This means that over time silicones can cause build up of products in your hair making it lifeless and dull. They create sort of cover up of hair so that products and water are unable to do the function they supposed to.

Kako ih prepoznati?

Silikoni završavaju na -cone, -conol, -xane.

Silikone koje treba izbjegavati/Silicones to avoid:

• Dimethicone
• Bis-aminopropyl dimethicone
• Cetearyl methicone
• Cetyl Dimethicone
• Cyclopentasiloxane
• Stearoxy Dimethicone
• Stearyl Dimethicone
• Trimethylsilylamodimethicone
• Amodimethicone
• Dimethicone
• Dimethiconol
• Behenoxy Dimethicone
• Phenyl trimethicone

Iznimke/exeptions:

• Lauryl methicone copolyol (topivo u vodi/water soluble)
• Lauryl PEG/PPG-18/18 Methicone
• Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein Hydroxypropyl Polysiloxane (topivo u vodi/water soluble)
• Dimethicone Copolyol (topivo u void/water soluble)
• PEG-Dimethicone, or any other 'cone with "PEG-" suffix (topivo u vodi/water soluble)
• Emulsifying Wax
• PEG-Hydrogenated Castor Oil
• Prirodna ulja/Natural oils: Avocado oil, Olive oil, Coconut oil
• Benzophenone-2, (or 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10) 
• Methychloroisothiazolinone
• Methylisothiazolinone

Što silikoni čine kosi?

Silikoni sami po sebi ne štete kosi. Oni je zapravo čine sjajnom, mekanom, lakšom za češljanje. Zvuči fantastično, zar ne? E pa baš i nije. Naime, ono što se dešava je zapravo da kako silikoni nisu topivi u vodi i iako se mogu isprati šamponima sa sulfatima, s vremenom se natalože na kosi i sprječavaju bilo kojem drugom proizvodu za njegu da prodre u vlasi i obavi ono što bi trebao.

How to recognise them?

Silicones mostly end with -cone, -conol, -xane.

What does silicone do to hair?

Silicones do not harm hair. They make it shinier, softer and easy to comb. Sounds fantastic, right? Well it is not. What actually happens is since silicones are not suitable in water and even though you are using sulfate shampoo, through time they can cause build-up on hair making it harder for any product to do what they are supposed to do.

Sulfati/Sulfate

Sulfati su kemijske supstance koje se nalaze u većini šampona, deterdženata, sapuna, pasti za zube... Zbog sulfata se stvara ona pjena kod šampona. Sulfati su vrlo jeftini, a istodobno jako dobro čiste ulja, nečistoće pa tako i silikone.

Sulfates are chemical substance which can be found in most of the shampoos, detergents, soaps, tooth paste... Sulfates create that foam you get when using product that contains them. Sulfates are pretty cheap and in the same time very effective cleansers of oil, dirt and silicones as well.

No međutim oni su vrlo jake supstance i neka od njihovih negativnih svojstava su:

• Isušuju kosu i vlasište
• Kosa se lakše petlja
• Mogu izazvati iritacije
• Otklanja prirodan sebum čija je funkcija da njeguje kosu i štiti je od loših vanjskih uvijeta čineći je jakom i sjajnom

Kako ih prepoznati?

Sulfate ćete lako prepoznati, to su oni koji imaju u nazivu 'sulfate'.

Česti sulfati koji se koriste u kozmetičkim proizvodima/Frequently used sulfates in cosmetics:

• Alkylbenzene sulfonates
• Alkyl Benzene Sulfonate
• Ammonium laureth sulfate
• Ammonium lauryl sulfate
• Ammonium Xylenesulfonate
• Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate
• Sodium cocoyl sarcosinate
• Sodium laureth sulfate
• Sodium lauryl sulfate
• Sodium lauryl sulfoacetate
• Sodium myreth sulfate
• Sodium Xylenesulfonate
• TEA-dodecylbenzenesulfonate
• Ethyl PEG-15 cocamine sulfate
• Dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate

However, they are pretty harsh substances and some of their negative sides are:

• Can dry hair and scalp
• Easy to tangle
• Can cause irritation
• Removes natural oils whose functions are to nutrish the hair and protects it from outside negative impact making it strong and shiny

How to recognise them?

Sulfates you can easily recognise: they have word 'sulfate' in their name.

Sulfati najviše štete kovrčavoj kosi jer ona je sama po sebi suha, te je oni dodatno isušuju. Ravna kosa je prirodno sjajna jer sebum lagano klizi po ravnoj vlasi, dok kod kovrčave kose zbog njezinog oblika vlasi sebum se teže distribuira te vrlo teško dolazi do samih krajeva. Korištenjem šampona sa sulfatima dodano se uklanja sebum te se sprječava njegova prirodna proizvodnja. Time je kovrčava kosa izrazito suha, bez sjaja i teže ju je oblikovati.

Upotrebom silikona kosa je prekrasna i sjajna, no međutim čestom upotrebom dolazi do taloženja silikona na kosi obzirom da nisu topivi u vodi i nemogu se isprati blagim šamponima već samo jakim šamponima sa sulfatima. Sulfati pak isušuju kosu čineći je beživotnom i ona traži još više i više silikona. Više silikona traži više sulfata da ih isperu i tako u beskonačan krug. Na kraju svega, kako bi kosa bila zdrava, jaka i sjajna preporučljivo je izbaciti iz upotrebe silikone i sulfate te koristiti prirodna ulja i preparate bez sulfata i silikona.

Zaključak:

Kako bi imale zdravu, jaku, mekanu i sjajnu kosu, važno je izbjegavati silikone i sulfate. Kako? Čitanjem sastojaka na proizvodima i korištenjem onih sa prirodnim i/ili organskim sastojcima.

Curly hair is naturally dry and sulfates harm it by making it even more dryer. Straight hair is naturally shinny because natural oils can easily flow down the hair. As for curly hair, because of its shape natural oils cannot flow down so easily. Using shampoos with sulfates you are stripping your natural oils and reducing its production. This makes curly hair even more dryer, dull and harder to style.

Using silicones makes hair beautiful and shiny, however with frequently usage they can cause build-up of products on your hair and because they are not water suitable they can be washed only with harsh shampoos containing sulfates. Sulfates on the other hand dry out your hair making it lifeless and in more need for silicones. More silicones needs more sulfates to clean them and you go on and on in circles. 

Conclusion:

In order for you to have healthy, strong, soft and shinny hair it is important to avoid products containing silicones and sulfates. How do you do that? By reading labels on products and stick to products with natural and/or organic ingredients.