Clean Natural Hair Care | My Curl Routine with Products
Clean Beauty Hair Care might be the final frontier for me when it comes to transitioning to a low-tox, clean beauty routine.
But it is absolutely necessary to lower your toxic load and protect your hormones and overall health.
In this post, I explain why it’s important to adopt a clean beauty hair care routine, and I share my current 5-step system (with exact products).
So, read on to learn why, and how, to go clean with your natural haircare routine.
Table of Content
• Clean Beauty Journey Hair Care, A Frustrating Final Frontier
• Hidden Dangers in Hair Care
• Known Toxic Chemicals Commonly Found in Hair Care Products
• Higher Levels of Toxic Chemicals in Hair Care Products Marketed To, and Used By, Black Women
• My Current Fave Natural Hair Care Brand | Innersense Haircare
• My Current Basic Natural Hair Care Routine (with exact products)
• Conclusion
Clean Beauty Natural Hair Care | My Frustrating Final Frontier
In my, near fifteen-year, quest to go clean, I’ve dealt with deodorants that left me smelly, lotions that left me ashy, tooth “paste” that didn’t seem to clean, and mouth “wash” that didn’t seem to wash.
There were less than active “actives,” and way less than a variety of color choices.
Add to that having to learn about greenwashing and that some of the products weren’t half as clean as they claimed to be.
It’s a lot of trial and error, and you know this stuff ain’t cheap.
Still, with all of that, the most frustrating has been when haircare products haven’t served their intended and advertised purpose.
I went natural in the late aughts and still remember attending an inauguration viewing for President Barack Obama rocking my recently “big chopped” bob.
It was exciting learning about my new and changing texture as my hair acclimated to a whole new way of being. The trial and error and cost associated with that change were a part of the adventure.
However, there was A LOT of trial and error and cost.
“...there was a lot of trial and error and cost.”
It seemed like I needed twice as many products than I needed for my relaxed hair, and they seemed to cost twice as much while lasting half as long.
Still, it was part of this overall journey, and when I landed on a fave––a product that conditioned my hair and made my curls pop–– it felt like I struck gold.
So having to let go of ALL those treasured products as I’ve gone clean has been, well, let’s just say, I’ve been holding on.
Until now.
Finally, I’ve found a product line worthy of releasing past product success stories.
But before my big reveal, let me tell you why you need to make the change (no matter how hard it may be).
The Hidden Dangers In Your Hair Care
Just like in common, conventional skincare products, common haircare products contain chemicals that are known to be endocrine disruptors, allergens, neurotoxins, and even carcinogens.
Toxic chemicals found in common hair care products include:
Sulfates (SLES, SLS): These can cause irritation, dryness, flakiness, endocrine disruption, and can be carcinogens.
Parabens: Often used as preservatives, parabens can mimic estrogen and are linked to an increased risk of breast cancer.
Formaldehyde: Another common preservative, formaldehyde is a known carcinogen and can cause skin irritation.
Polyethylene Glycols (PEG): A thickening agent that’s often an amalgam of petroleum and a list of byproducts. It can strip hair of moisture and cause breakage, it’s linked to different cancers and has been classified as a developmental toxic, meaning that it can damage or disrupt human development.
And there are many, many more problematic ingredients.
And because many of these products list “fragrance” amongst their ingredients, there could be any of, of any combination of, thousands of ingredients that aren’t even mentioned on the label, due to the law-protected practice of “trade secrets",” where a company does not have to disclose ingredients on a label as long as they claim that it’s part of their “fragrance” concoction.
Unfortunately, the label fragrance has become a toxic chemical dumping ground for ingredients companies do not want to disclose to you and me, the consumer.
“Our scalp is sucking all of these toxins up.”
And our scalp is sucking all of these toxins up.
The scalp is considered the most penetrable area of the skin due to the high amount of hair follicles, the high blood supply, and that is has a thinner stratum corneum (the outermost layer of the scalp) allowing for easier penetration.
Toxic Hair Care Ingredients in Products for Black Women
Hair care products marketed to, and used by, black women have been proven to be even more toxic, particularly with the exposure to endochrine disrupting and asthma-associated chemicals.
There are even more limited options of clean and low-tox products, and, because Black women appear to buy and use more personal care products, the limited options could mean they are being exposed to more potentially hazardous chemicals and this could contribute to disease disparities.
So creating a clean beauty hair care routine is a vital step in protecting your health and your hormones.
Here is my current clean, low-tox, natural hair care product line of choice:
My Current Clean Natural Hair Products and Basic Curl Routine
Innersense Organic Beauty
When it comes to hair health and curl maintenance, my product line of choice is Innersense Organic Beauty.
In their own words: “Innersense is a simple, high-performance wellness system that restores the highest health and harmony of your hair—from scalp to root.”
Innersense founders Greg and Joanne Starkman knew they wanted to create a product line that performed, but as new parents of a child with William’s Syndrome, they also “didn’t want to compromise health and safety for results.”
The Starkman’s would go on to found a highly effective product line that was “dedicated to raising clean hair care to a higher standard—our own. By creating the safest and most effective products, that not only leave out harmful and toxic ingredients to prioritize health, but also include those ingredients that are nourishing, supportive, and a benefit to both you and your hair.”
And boy, did they mean in. Innersense products are formulated truly to the highest clean standards, even beyond that of the EU, which bans near 2000 ingredients from their beauty products (in comparison, the U.S. bans 11), Innersense uses “organically grown ingredients whenever possible and actively avoids over 3000 ingredients.”
They are also 100% Carbon Neutral and 100% Plastic Neutral.
So now that you’ve met my clean beauty natural care brand of choice, let’s meet my favorite products in my basic, curl care routine:
Step One: Shampoo
Innersense Color Awakening Hair Bath
This is a gentle, sulfate-free shampoo formulated for chemically treated hair while “preserving color and boosting radiance.” Though my hair isn’t chemically treated, I do love the gentle, moisturizing formulating.
Step Two: Detangle
I actually detangle my hair soaking wet, after shampooing. I grab a section of hair, and, starting from the ends (always start from the end), I work myself back towards the scalp, section by section. I hold a section of hair with about an inch below my fingers. I detangle that inch below my fingers, and then move up an inch and work on that area, working towards the scalp.
Step Three: Condition
Innersense Hydrating Creme Conditioner
This is a great conditioner for thick natural hair and hair that’s more coarse.
It’s creamy, rich, and indulgent, and satisfies thirsty hair, and, according to Innersence, “restores damaged hair.” As I have been using it, it does feel restorative.
In this simple routine, I leave it on 2-5 minutes.
Step Four: Curl Creme
Innersense Quiet Calm Curl Control
This is a lovely nourishing, defining, and moisturizing curl creme.
It’s much lighter than I’m used to, so I had my doubts, but it absolutely delivers. I do use a good amount, but, even with my generous application, the bottle lasts a good amount of time.
After applying section by section, I brush through.
Step Five: Curl Gel
Innersense I Create Curl Memory
This is a great, light, longlasting gel, that dries hard.
Like the Curl Creme, I apply section by section, using a generous amount. And, like the curl creme, the bottle lasts a good amount of time.
If I were to say there was a potential con, it’s that there is a bit of a crunch to this gel, but as the days go by, that does subside.
In Conclusion
That’s it! My basic, clean, natural, haircare routine.
I know finding new clean products for your hair can be frustrating, time-consuming, and expensive. But it is absolutely necessary.
Just like in common, conventional skincare products, common haircare products contain chemicals that are known to be endocrine disruptors, allergens, neurotoxins, and carcinogens, and that’s just a sample of the problematic side effects.
The scalp is considered the most penetrable area of the skin due to the high amount of hair follicles, the high blood supply, and its thinner stratum corneum that allows for easier penetration. This means that your scalp is just soaking all these toxins up.
And more of these dangerous ingredients have been found in hair care formulated and marketed to black women which can lead to black women having higher toxic loads which may contribute to disease disparities.
Innersense is my current clean beauty hair brand of choice, and my 5 Step Curl Routine uses all Innersense ingredients.
I hope this article has helped you start your clean haircare journey.
Because you, and your health, are worth it.
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