5 Toxic Ingredients Hiding in Cheap Drugstore Gels That Can Damage Your Hair
A strong-hold hairstyle can make your hair look sharper, fuller, and more polished—but the wrong styling gel may create problems you don't immediately notice. While not every inexpensive hair gel is harmful, certain ingredients can be irritating or overly drying, particularly when a product is used heavily, left on the scalp for long periods, or combined with aggressive styling. It is also important to separate hair damage and breakage from true hair loss. Hair loss has many possible causes, including genetics, illness, nutritional deficiencies, hormonal changes, scalp conditions, medications, and damaging hair-care practices. The American Academy of Dermatology recommends identifying the underlying cause rather than assuming a styling product is responsible. If you regularly use styling gel, here are five ingredient groups worth recognizing on the label. 1. High Levels of Drying Alcohols Not all alcohols in hair products are bad. In fact, some fatty alcohols, such as cety ...