Sulfates are cleaning agents. Unfortunately, they are a little too strong for our curls. They'll leave your hair dry and limp over time.
Silicones are what makes your hair slippery and soft. Doesn't sound too bad, right? But they also "build up" on your hair over time, until it starts feeling dull and limp.
Petroleum seals your hair in. Which is great if your hair is perfectly moisturized. But if it’s not, and let’s be honest, it rarely is, it blocks any care products from reaching your hair.
This one is a little confusing because there are also MOISTURIZING alcohols. For the CGM, we want to avoid the drying ones, obviously!
Just buy products that don’t have these ingredients? Unfortunately, ingredient lists don't say “silicones”. No, these hide behind names like “Dimethicone”, or “Cyclomethicone”, to just name a few.
Finding curly girl approved shampoos can easily become a long process of checking long ingredient lists manually. But don’t worry. I’ve got a nice list for you!