This article delves into the ingredients and benefits of SheaMoisture's African Black Soap Bamboo Charcoal Deep Cleansing Shampoo, providing a comprehensive understanding for a wide range of audiences, from those just starting their hair care journey to seasoned professionals. This shampoo is specifically designed for dry, damaged, or transitioning hair, leveraging a unique blend of ingredients to cleanse, moisturize, and revitalize.
Water is the foundation of this shampoo, as it is in most cosmetic products. It acts as a solvent, dissolving and carrying other ingredients. The water used in cosmetics is purified and deionized, ensuring the removal of potentially disruptive mineral ions. As the most common cosmetic ingredient, it ensures proper product consistency and facilitates the action of other components.
This ingredient is a surfactant, meaning it helps to remove dirt, oil, and other pollutants from the hair and scalp. It is a very mild cleansing agent with a dense and luxurious foam and an elegant after feel. It also has excellent water solubility and thus good rinsability.
Derived from coconut oil, Cocamidopropyl Betaine is another surfactant and cleanser. It aids in gathering impurities for easy rinsing and also contributes to the shampoo's creamy texture and thickening properties. Contrary to past beliefs, high-grade Cocamidopropyl Betaine is not considered a significant allergen.
Glycol Distearate is a diester created from two stearic acid molecules and an ethylene glycol molecule. It lends a pearl-like sheen and opacity to the shampoo, enhancing its visual appeal. Its main thing is being an opacifier and pearling agent in cleansing products making them white and glossy.
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Parfum, also known as fragrance, is included to give the shampoo a pleasant scent. However, it's important to note that "parfum" is a broad term that can encompass a blend of numerous chemicals or plant oils, making it difficult to pinpoint the exact composition. Those with sensitive skin should exercise caution, as fragrance is a common cause of contact allergies. If you are worried about fragrances, we recommend taking a closer look at an ingredient. And of course, we always recommend speaking with a professional.
Panthenol, also known as pro-vitamin B5, is a humectant that attracts and retains moisture in the hair and scalp. It also possesses anti-inflammatory and skin-protecting properties, potentially reducing irritation caused by other ingredients. 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!). An easy-to-formulate, commonly used, nice to have ingredient that’s also called pro-vitamin B5. 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. 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. If that wasn’t enough panthenol is also useful in nail and hair care products. As for the hair the hydration effect is also true there.
Derived from the aloe plant, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice provides moisturizing, anti-inflammatory, and antiseptic benefits. It is rich in vitamins A, C, and E, which act as antioxidants, protecting against free radical damage. Aloe Vera is one of today’s magic plants. It does have some very nice properties indeed, though famous dermatologist Leslie Baumann warns us in her book that most of the evidence is anecdotal and the plant might be a bit overhyped. What research does confirm about Aloe is that it’s a great moisturizer and has several anti-inflammatory (among others contains salicylates, polysaccharides, magnesium lactate and C-glucosyl chromone) as well as some antibacterial components. It also helps wound healing and skin regeneration in general. All in all definitely a goodie.
Glycerin is a humectant that helps to draw moisture to the hair and scalp, improving hydration and strengthening the skin barrier. It also exhibits antimicrobial and antiviral properties. A study from 2016 found glycerin to be more effective as a humectant than AHAs and hyaluronic acid. As a humectant, it helps the skin stay hydrated by pulling moisture to your skin. The low molecular weight of glycerin allows it to pull moisture into the deeper layers of your skin. Hydrated skin improves your skin barrier; Your skin barrier helps protect against irritants and bacteria. Glycerin has also been found to have antimicrobial and antiviral properties. Due to these properties, glycerin is often used in wound and burn treatments. In cosmetics, glycerin is usually derived from plants such as soybean or palm. However, it can also be sourced from animals, such as tallow or animal fat. This ingredient is organic, colorless, odorless, and non-toxic. Glycerin is the name for this ingredient in American English.
Caprylyl Glycol is both a humectant and an emollient, retaining moisture and softening the hair and skin. It also functions as a preservative, extending the product's shelf life.
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Sodium Benzoate is a preservative that inhibits the growth of mold and bacteria, ensuring the product's safety and longevity. Both the US FDA and EU Health Committee have approved the use of sodium benzoate. Sodium benzoate works as a preservative by inhibiting the growth of bacteria inside of cells. It prevents the cell from fermenting a type of sugar using an enzyme called phosphofructokinase. It is the salt of benzoic acid. Foods containing sodium benzoate include soda, salad dressings, condiments, fruit juices, wines, and snack foods. Studies for using ascorbic acid and sodium benzoate in cosmetics are lacking, especially in skincare routines with multiple steps. We always recommend speaking with a professional, such as a dermatologist, if you have any concerns.
Benzoic Acid is used to preserve and adjust the pH of products. The antimicrobial property of Benzoic Acid helps elongate a product's shelf life. Its main role is to reduce fungi growth and is not found to be effective at fighting bacteria. In its pure form, Benzoic Acid looks like a white crystalline solid. It has slight solubility in water. The name of Benzoic Acid comes from gum benzoin, which used to be the sole source of deriving this ingredient. Benzoic Acid is the most simple aromatic carboxylic acid. Benzoic Acid is naturally occuring in strawberries, mustard, cinnamon, and cloves. It has a slight scent but is not considered to be a fragrance.
Tocopheryl Acetate, also known as Vitamin E, is an antioxidant that protects the hair and scalp from free radical damage. Free radicals damage the skin by breaking down collagen. One study found using Tocopheryl Acetate with Vitamin C decreased the number of sunburned cells.
Tea tree oil boasts antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial properties. It is known for reducing acne-causing bacteria and may help relieve psoriasis symptoms. However, it can cause sensitivity and irritation in some individuals. The famous tea tree oil. One of the best known essential oils which comes from Australia where it has been used for almost 100 years for its antiseptic and anti-inflammatory actions. Similar to other essential oils, tea tree oil is a very complex chemical mixture consisting of about 100 components, the major ones being terpinen-4-ol (40%), γ-Terpinene (23%) and α-Terpinene (10%). Regarding skincare and tea tree oil, its most well-known effect is probably being a well established anti-acne ingredient. Multiple studies confirm that TTO is effective against the evil acne-causing bacteria called P. acnes and the effectiveness of 5% TTO gel is comparable to the gold standard anti-acne treatment, 5% Benzoyl Peroxide lotion. Regarding TTO and sensitive skin, we say that you should be careful. Even if your skin is not sensitive you should never put undiluted TTO on your skin. Overall, we do not often give a goodie status to essential oils, but we feel that TTO's unique antibacterial and anti-acne properties with its minimal allergen content warrant an exception.
Shea butter is a plant lipid that effectively hydrates and softens the hair and scalp. It is rich in antioxidants and fatty acids, replenishing the skin and maintaining moisture. Unless you live under a rock you must have heard about shea butter. But it's not only a simple emollient, it regenerates and soothes the skin, protects it from external factors (such as UV rays or wind) and is also rich in antioxidants (among others vitamin A, E, F, quercetin and epigallocatechin gallate).
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Argan oil possesses antioxidant, hydrating, and soothing properties. Studies suggest it can combat free radical damage from the sun and help prevent hyperpigmentation. It's also effective at regulating sebum production and reducing inflammation. 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. 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 growing and getting the oil is a hard job. The traditional process is that the ripe argan fruits fall from the tree, then goats eat them up and poop out the seeds. The seeds are 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 unsaturated fatty acids, mainly oleic (38-50%), linoleic (28-38%) and palmitic (10-18%). 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.
Jojoba oil is a non-comedogenic oil with humectant properties, drawing moisture from the air to keep the hair and scalp hydrated. It contains Vitamin E, an antioxidant that protects against oxidative damage. Jojoba oil is similar to natural human skin sebum, making it particularly effective for dry skin. Jojoba is a drought resistant evergreen shrub native to South-western North America. It's known and grown for jojoba oil, the golden yellow liquid coming from the seeds (about 50% of the weight of the seeds will be oil). So what the heck is a wax ester and why is that important anyway? Well, to understand what a wax ester is, you first have to know that oils are chemically triglycerides: one glycerin + three fatty acids attached to it. The fatty acids attached to the glycerin vary and thus we have many kinds of oils, but they are all triglycerides. Mother Nature also created wax esters but for a totally different purpose. Chemically, a wax ester is a fatty acid + a fatty alcohol, one long molecule. Wax esters are on the outer surface of several plant leaves to give them environmental protection. So being a wax ester results in a couple of unique properties: First, jojoba oil is extremely stable. Like crazy stable. Even if you heat it to 370 C (698 F) for 96 hours, it does not budge. (Many plant oils tend to go off pretty quickly). Second, jojoba oil is the most similar to human sebum (both being wax esters), and the two are completely miscible.
Macadamia seed oil is rich in fatty acids, including oleic acid and palmitoleic acid. Palmitoleic acid helps soothe inflammation and promote wound healing. The golden yellow oil coming from the Macadamia nut, a native Australian nut. Similar to other plant oils, it's loaded with emollient and nourishing fatty acids. It's a high oleic acid oil (50-67% oleic acid and only 0-5% linoleic acid) that makes it very emollient and ideal for dry skin types (and less ideal for acne-prone skin). Its unique property is that it contains high amounts of a rare fatty acid called palmitoleic acid (12-25%) that give Macadamia oil a "cushiony" feel.
Coconut oil is rich in fatty acids, particularly lauric acid, which helps trap moisture and soften the hair and skin. It has shown to be effective in treating xerosis and atopic dermatitis. However, it may not be suitable for acne-prone skin due to its comedogenic properties. There is definitely some craze going on for coconut oil both in the healthy eating space (often claimed to be the healthiest oil to cook with but this is a topic for another site) and in the skin and hair care space. We will talk here about the latter two and see why we might want to smear it all over ourselves. Chemically speaking, coconut oil has a unique fatty acid profile. Unlike many plant oils that mostly contain unsaturated fatty acids (fatty acids with double bonds and kinky structure such as linoleic or oleic), coconut oil is mostly saturated (fatty acids with single bonds only) and its most important fatty acid is Lauric Acid (about 50%). Saturated fatty acids have a linear structure that can stack nice and tight and hence they are normally solid at room temperature. Coconut oil melts around 25 °C so it is solid in the tub but melts on contact with the skin. The saturated nature of coconut oil also means that it is a heavy-duty-oil ideal for dry skin types. A double-blind research confirmed that extra virgin coconut oil is as effective in treating xerosis (aka very dry skin) as mineral oil. Another study found that coconut oil is more effective than mineral oil in treating mild to moderate atopic dermatitis (aka eczema) in children. So when it comes to dry skin, coconut oil is a goodie, no question there. The question is if it is good or bad for acne-prone skin. Its main fatty acid, Lauric Acid has some research showing that it is a promising ingredient against evil acne-causing bacteria, P. acnes but at the same time, both Lauric Acid and coconut oil have a very high comedogenic rating (4 out of 5). Though comedogenic ratings are not very reliable, anecdotal evidence (i.e. people commenting in forums) shows that people have mixed experiences. While some claim that it worked wonders on their acne others say that it gave them serious blackheads and zits. Try it at your own risk. As for hair care, coconut oil has pretty solid research showing that it can penetrate into the hair very well (better than mineral oil and sunflower oil) and it can prevent hair protein loss as well as combing damage. If you have problems with damaged hair, split ends, coconut oil is worth trying as a pre- or/and post-wash treatment. Labmuffin has an awesome blogpost explaining in more detail why coconut oil is good for your hair. A couple of other things worth mentioning: coconut oil might help with wound healing (promising animal study), it has some antifungal activity (against dermatophytes that cause the thing known as ringworm) and it also works as an insect repellent against black flies. Overall, coconut oil is definitely a goodie for the hair and dry skin.
Elaeis Guineensis Oil comes from the African Palm tree.
Theobroma Cacao Husk is an exfoliant.
Charcoal powder has absorbent properties, making it effective at absorbing oil from the hair and scalp. Charcoal can originate from peat, coal, wood, coconut shell, or petroleum. This ingredient has absorbent properties, making it great at absorbing oil.
Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate is a chelating agent that helps stabilize the product by preventing metal ions from binding to other ingredients. A helper ingredient that helps to neutralize the metal ions in the formula (they usually come from water) so it stays nice longer.
Triethyl Citrate comes from citric acid. It has masking, perfuming, and solvent properties. According to perfume manufacturers, this ingredient is almost odorless but has a mild fruity, wine and plum scent. It can be used to mask the scent of other ingredients. This ingredient can be plant-sourced or synthetic; it can naturally be found in cabbage and white wine.
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