Beauty Mission: Find a Non Salty Shampoo

Hello!

Captain Li Hellsing, your Cosplay Cosmetologist here, as Natalie P. Moisa, your personal stylist ;)

How many of you ladies (and men) are in love with your hair? Oh come on! EVERYONE is basically making love to their hair!

With how they brush it, how they "paint" it with (hair dye, people), how they style it, etc.

Hair has always been a means of expression for some people. How people take care of their own is a statement of that person.

Me? I didn't get a chance to express myself with my hair until my final years of high school. If anything, I was wore braids and hair clips growing up. The first time I ever really changed my hair color was when I started my trade.

But nonetheless, my hair is my baby.

And I try so many things to take good care of it. I take a combination of twelve vitamins every morning, which attribute to my hair growing so thick and fast. I do cholesterol treatments every week, and I try not to wash my hair every day.

I know that sounds gross, but it is actually not good to wash your hair every day. I do the "every other day" method if my hair isn't flat-ironed. If it is, then at the third day, I clean it.

That being said, when I do wash my hair, I make sure I have the best shampoo and conditioners.

Here's a little Cosmetology Lesson for you:

Shampoo is actually a "surfectant", it is used to clean off excess debris and dirt that has been collecting on the hair without stripping the hair of it's natural sebum (oils).

There are different types of shampoos, and yes, made by different companies.

There's Baby Shampoos, Shampoos for colored hair, damaged hair, curly hair, oily hair, dry hair, straight hair, hair that has been chemically altered, etc.

There are a lot of common ingredients in shampoo:

• Ammonium chloride
• Ammonium lauryl sulfate
• Glycol
• Sodium laureth sulfate, which is derived from coconut oils and is used to soften water and create a lather. 
• Sodium lauryl sulfate
• Sodium Lauroamphoacetate, an ingredient that is naturally derived from coconut oils and is used as a cleanser and counter-irritant. a.k.a. "tear-free"
• Polysorbate 20 (abbreviated as PEG(20)) is a mild glycol based surfactant that is used to solubilize fragrance oils and essential oils; meaning it causes liquid to spread across and penetrate the surface of a solid (i.e. your hair).
• Polysorbate 80 (abbreviated as PEG(80)) is a glycol used to emulsify (or disperse) oils in water (so the oils don’t float on top like Italian salad dressing).
• PEG-150 Distearate is a simple thickener.
• Citric Acid is naturally derived from citrus fruits and is used as an antioxidant to preserve the oils in the product. While it is a severe eye-irritant, the Sodium Lauroamphoacetate counteracts that property. Citric acid is used to adjust the pH down to approximately 5.5. It is a fairly weak acid which makes the adjustment easier. Shampoos usually are at pH 5.5 because at slightly acidic pH the scales on a hair follicle lay flat making the hair feel smooth and look shiny. It also has a small amount of preservative action. Citric acid as opposed to any other acid will prevent bacterial growth. Yes there is a pH property of shampoo, but I will not get into that. 
• Quaternium-15 is used as a bacterial/fungicidal preservative.
• Polyquaternium-10 has nothing to do with the chemical Quaternium-15. This chemical acts as the conditioning ingredient, providing moisture and fullness to the hair.
• Di-PPG-2 myreth-10 adipate is a water-dispersible emollient that forms clear solutions with surfactant systems
• Methylisothiazolinone or MIT, a powerful biocide and preservative.

Now, remember PEG-150? A simple thickener right?

Well....it is RARELY used now.

Lately a lot of shampoos have been using something that can easily be found either in your kitchen cabinet, or better yet, your dinner table...

Sodium Chloride, a.k.a.

Table Salt 

Next time you are using your shampoo, take a moment to glance at the ingredients on the bottle. If you happen to see, Sodium Chloride, then you are putting salt in your hair. 

Why are companies doing this? Simple, it acts as a simple thickener. Only reason why you hair doesn't always feel dry, is probably because you are buying the corresponding Conditioner for it. But what if you only use the shampoo? Then your hair is dry :/

I have been using three shampoos in my lifetime (Yes, three). Pantene Pro-V, John Frieda, and Sebastian and unfortunately, all three have sodium chloride.

Especially the expensive salon brand, Sebastian :/

So. My Beauty Mission -should I chose to accept- is to find a cheap (or even salon quality) shampoo. In the meantime, I will still be using Sebastian's Pentrait and Drench Shampoos.

Until I find the shampoos, then I will stop using Sebastion and review the shampoo for you readers! ^ ^

~Much Love

-Natalie P. Moisa

Beauty is thriving, in many ways

Hey there everyone, Captain Li Hellsing, your Cosplay Cosmetologist here!

Blogging as Natalie P. Moisa, your average "Rady" 

As I was thinking of what kind of an intro to write for my blog, I remembered a very great article shown to my by my Junior Teacher at Beauty School:

A Thriving Growth Area in a Weak Economy: Hair 

Surprised? 

I sure as hell was. 

In this really slump economy, who would've thought that the beauty industry is thriving?

Then again it sort of makes sense, it's not like robots or computers can apply your makeup, cut your hair, or do your nails.

Here is my favorite part of the article, though:

"One reason may be that people who were battered in the economic downturn turned to haircutting as a quick career change. Fabulocs, a hair salon in Capitol Heights, employs several refugees from the recession. One has a master’s degree in education. Another worked as a manager at a Circuit City store. Seven of the nine stylists there had been to college.

“It’s a sensitive subject,” said Nimat Bilal-Young, 34, the owner. “That moment of, ‘You’ve got a master’s degree and you’re a stylist?’ ” "

Yes! Believe it or not, people who are educated CAN be a stylist.

Let me just state this. I graduated high school in 2009, very much undecided of what I wanted to do with my life, I went to community college yes, only because it was the "proper" thing to do.

I kept switching majors from here and there, not knowing what I really wanted to do. It wasn't until I discovered my passion for makeup up, did I want to pursue the industry.

Yes, I was adamant about touching hair and doing nails, but in time, I got out of my comfort zone, achieved a new one, and enjoy it! :D Hair color especially ^ ^

I am still attending college though. I want to go back to school, back to essays, teachers, and seventy dollar books. But I need to focus, and finish one thing at a time. 

If anything, follow your goals! Achieve what you want, go for it! Do everything you want while you still are able to get up in the morning, and do it!

Beauty is definitely thriving. Not in a fiscal way, but a real way :)

~Much Love <3
Natalie P. Moisa

"Be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of everyone else." -Judy Garland