Alcohol

Mrs.TheBronx

New Member
Hello All,

Alot of conditoners contain alcohol in the first few ingredients on the back of the containers especially the Dominican products such as Lacio Lacio, Silicon Mix and 10 en 1. I have also seen it on QP and other products as well. I was told to stay away from alcohol as it is drying to my hair. Should I be buying the products with alcohol or its not really a big deal?
HELP!!! :wallbash:
 
I have heard the same thing...to stay away from the alcohol. But then I heard Lacio Lacio was the best thing around. So I'on know. :ohwell:
 
You know I used to freak out too when I saw this at the beginning of my journey, but as the ladies here will vouch for, there are certain alcohols which are actually ok for the hair. They are called "fatty alcohols" and those are:

(From the following website - http://www.sunsethair.com/ingredients.htm)

CETEARYL ALCOHOL: A naturally derived alcohol (derived from coconut oil consisting predominantly of cetyl and stearyl alcohols) that provides the creamy consistency of the conditioner and facilitates its application on the hair. Also functions as an additional lubricating and combing aid, helps prevent moisture loss, and adds richness and texture to the conditioner for uniformity of application.

CETYL ALCOHOL: A fatty alcohol of natural origin (derived from coconut oil) that provides the creamy consistency of the conditioner and facilitates its application to the hair. Also functions as an additional lubricating and combing aid, helps prevent moisture loss and adds richness and texture to the conditioner for uniformity of application.

From the following website: http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/4266/gloss.html

Stearyl Alcohol - A natural fatty alcohol, very similar to cetyl alcohol. (see cetyl alcohol) Derived from coconut oil.


You may want to read this blog from healthy hair textures website:
http://healthytextures.typepad.com/my_journey_to_healthy_hai/2007/07/the-backbone-of.html

She talks about the other kinds of good alcohols.

I did A LOT of research on this topic.
 
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not all alcohols are bad. fatty alcohols are good alcohols. they are emollients that have moisturizing properties and they help to soften the hair.

DENATURED "BAD" ALCOHOLS: (avoid theses)
Benzyl Alcohol
Isopropyl Alcohol
Ethyl Alcohol
SD 40 Alcohol
SD Alcohol 40B

EMOLLIENT "GOOD" ALCOHOLS: (safe for hair)
Behenyl Alcohol
Ceteareth-5
Cetearyl Alcohol
Ceteth-2
Cetyl Alcohol
Glycerin
Lareth-2/3
Seteareth 21
Stearyl Alcohol
 
OMGoodness!!!! I have been struggling with this forever!!! Thank you all soo much for your help! Imma print this and take it with me when i go back to get more supplies. I have put back soo many products because I saw alcohol and I just didn't know about the good and the bad ones.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!! :)
 
from wikipedia : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatty_alcohol

Fatty alcohols are aliphatic alcohols derived from natural fats and oils. They are the counterparts of fatty acids and fatty aldehydes. They usually have even number of carbon atoms. Production from fatty acids yields normal-chain alcohols—the alcohol group (-OH) attaches to the terminal carbon. Other processing can yield iso-alcohols—where the alcohol attaches to a carbon in the interior of the carbon chain.
The smaller molecules are used in cosmetics and food, and as industrial solvents. Some of the larger molecules are important as biofuels.
Due to their amphipathic nature, fatty alcohols behave as nonionic surfactants. They find use as emulsifiers, emollients and thickeners in cosmetics and food industry.
Fatty alcohols are a common component of waxes, mostly as esters with fatty acids but also as alcohols themselves.
Those with common names include:
Behenyl alcohol, lignoceryl alcohol, ceryl alcohol, 1-heptacosanol, montanyl alcohol, 1-nonacosanol, myricyl alcohol, 1-dotriacontanol, and geddyl alcohol are together classified as policosanol, with montanyl alcohol and myricyl alcohol being the most abundant.
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information from the following site: http://www.vegetarian-restaurants.ne...ts-Defined.htm

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Emollients and Their Importance[/FONT]
An emollient is a substance that lubricates and softens the skin. A good emollient gives flexible, smooth skin and gets rid of flaking and hard skin. A high quality emollient hydrate and moistens the skin.
[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The most effective emollient is water. Oil does not moisten the skin unless it helps to hold in more moisture on the skin. Emollients help to protect the skin and they also stop dryness, which can help to heal the skin. An emollient helps dry skin and also prevents dry skin. It give protection to the skin from synthetic chemicals in make-up and other and sun damage. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Substances that are used as a natural emollient are olive oil, castor oil, coconut oil, avocado oil and other vegetable oils. Substances that act as an emollient derived from animal products are cod liver oil and lanolin. Often supposed natural emollients may be sued with synthetics and hydrocarbons.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The best emollients are phospholipids, phytoglycols (plant oils), fatty acids, fatty acid esters, plant sterols, fatty alcohols, lanolin and items derived from lanolin. The first three are the best. Lecithin is a phospholipids and is a good emollient. Lucithin is also a good surfactant and natural emulsifier[/FONT]
 
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