Frequently asked questions
Why Does My Shampoo Bar or Conditioner Bar Feel Like It Did Not Rinse Out
If you have shampooed or conditioned your hair with our Shampoo Bar or Conditioner Bar either and it feels like it didn't rinse out all the way, it's due to the metals found in tap water. After washing hair, simply pour a vinegar and water mixture thoughout hair and rinse. Mixture:
For every cup of water add 1 tsp vinegar
How To Take Care of Handmade Soap
After using your Glory Essentials handmade soaps, Shampoo & Conditioner Bars, let them sit out to dry.
Do not let soaps sit in water, or let shower water hit soaps or they will aquire a gel like surface.
We recommend using a rack over shower head or a suction soap rack on wall of shower above water.
How To Make Body Soap Last
We recommend using a "loofah".
1. Wet loofah.
2. Lather Body Soap on loofah.
3. Scrub body with loofah.
4. Rinse loofah.
5. Store your Body Butter Soap on shower rack or soap rack, keep away from sitting or running water.
How Essential Oil Treatments Works On Hair
Each treatment for all hair types has a base closest to the ph in your hair, skin and nails. Accompanied with my own custom blend of essential oils, this combination will maximize the benefits to your hairs needs.
See diagram of scalp. Treatment works at a cellular level, which means treatment goes beyond scalp, goes into sebum glands, follicle, scalp surface, hair shaft and scales, removing build up which blocks growth, nourishing all these areas. This promotes new and healthy hair growth. To the hair shaft and scales, treatment strips off any product build up; hair spray, gel, lotions etc. Treatment puts moisture back at 85%, restores shine, body, hydrates brittleness, fusing split ends together, scales of hair shaft lay back down, making hair very soft. If you use curling iron, flat iron, hot rollers, hot sticks, blow dryer, color, perm, straighten, chemically treated; treatments are very beneficial, curly or African...no more frizz!
How to apply treatment
Take a section of product free, dry hair, tilt bottle of essential oil treatment onto your index and middle finger; apply to scalp, then work down the section of hair with your finger tips. You will still have oil on finger tips. Take next section and apply the same.
Once all scalp and hair is lightly coated with treatment, put your hair in a bun. Wear for a couple hours at least. I recommend wearing it over night (with a shower cap).
Washing out treatment—Coat your scalp and hair with shampoo FIRST before you get it WET!
Now get hair wet and rinse shampoo, apply one more coat of shampoo and rinse. Apply conditioner if you desire
What Is A Toxic Ingredient?
8 Harmful Chemicals in Skin & Hair Care Products
Listed below are the 8 chemicals on the “most harmful” list – there are thousands more! But these 8 chemicals we most want to see OFF labels of skin and hair care products. Read your labels and avoid these harmful, toxic chemicals and you’ll save so much money all the way around, particularly in regards to health care costs!
1. Propylene Glycol – This is a cheap, synthetic petrochemical used as a emulsifying base in creams and lotions to make the skin look smooth, but ultimately it ages the skin faster. The Material Safety Data Sheet tells you to avoid skin contact with it because it’s a skin irritant! It can denature the skin’s protein, leading to poor, saggy skin. It can be absorbed through your skin and potentially cause allergic reactions, and liver and kidney damage.
2. Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) – This harsh, caustic detergent is used because it’s cheap and suds well. It’s used as an engine degreaser and garage floor cleaner but you’ll also find it in shampoo, soap, facial cleanser, etc. Research shows that SLS has a degenerative effect on the cell membranes and denatures protein such as in hair or skin.
This can damage skin or hair, leading to aged skin and poor hair. SLS can corrode hair follicles and inhibit hair growth, contributing to hair loss. SLS has the potential to cause cataracts (through skin absorption, even without direct eye contact). SLS can denature the protein of the eyes and delay the healing time of the eyes. From skin contact, SLS can be absorbed into your circulation and concentrate in your organs, such as your heart, liver or brain. This is potentially dangerous since SLS is a mutagen, capable of changing the information in the genetic material of your cell and organs.
3. Mineral Oil – This cheap, petroleum-based oil clogs the skin’s pores and enlarges them, leading to poor, saggy skin. It decreases the ability of the skin cells to exchange nutrients and waste products. Those allergic to petroleum products may develop skin irritations.
4. Fragrance – When the word “fragrance” is listed on a label, it means a synthetic fragrance made in a test tube from any of over 200 synthetic chemicals. These “fragrance” chemicals, which can bio-accumulate in your organs, can cause many symptoms, such as headaches, lung problems, skin irritation, dizziness, memory impairment, rash, and more. They are very cheap, toxic imitations of real herbal scents.
5. Parabens (Propyl, Methyl, Butyl, or Ethyl) – These cheap preservatives are used to inhibit microbial growth in skin care or hair products even though they are known to be highly toxic. They have caused many allergic and skin reactions.
6. Imidazolidinyl and Diazolidinyl Urea – These are the most commonly used preservatives after the parabens. They are an established cause of contact dermatitis (American Academy of Dermatology) and release formaldehyde (a toxic chemical).
7. Synthetic Colors – Synthetic colors are used in skin cream or shampoo to make it colorful. Avoid them at all costs, along with hair dyes (with the exception of some henna products). They can cause allergy, skin and nerve problems. Synthetic colors are labeled as FD&C or D&C, followed by a number and color.
8. Triethanolamine (TEA) – Often used in the base of a product and to adjust the pH. TEA causes allergic reactions including eye problems, dryness of hair and skin, and can be toxic if absorbed into the body over time.
Why Is Perming Or Straigthening Harmful To Your Hair?
Permanent Solution/Lotion
The active ingredient in perming lotion, whether for curling or straightening hair, is a chemical called ammonium thioglycolate. Ammonium thioglycolate is an ammonia salt of mercaptoacetic acid. Boxes of perm solution also list the ingredient as ammonium thyioglycolic acid.A solution containing ammonium thioglycolate contains a lot of free ammonia, which swells hair, rendering it permeable. The thioglycolic acid in the perm solution reduces the disulfide cysteine bonds in the cortex of the hair. In a sense, the thioglycolate removes crosslinks. After washing, the hair is treated with a mild solution of hydrogen peroxide, which oxidizes the cysteines back to cysteine. These new chemical bonds impart the structural rigidity necessary for a successful perm. The rigidification process is akin to the vulcanization of rubber, where commonly polysulfide linkages are used to crosslink the polymer chains. However, not as many disulfide bonds are reformed as there were before the permanent. As a result, the hair is weaker than before the permanent was applied and repeated applications over the same spot may eventually cause strand breakage.
Scalp Damage
Although the permanent solution is applied to the hair, some may inadvertently be applied to your scalp through sloppy application or by accident. This solution is made up of a highly potent ammonium thioglycolate chemical solution, which can be irritating to some users, and cause itching, redness, burning and peeling.
Hair Damage
Because of the strength of the ammonium thioglycolate solution, many find their hair texture changed after using it. Ammonium thioglycolate can dry out the hair, leaving it brittle and more susceptible to breakage. The only way to fix this problem is to grow the hair out and cut off the damaged portion.
Lack of Hair Regrowth
Some perm users realize that their hair is cracked and damaged, and then wait patiently for new hair regrowth to replace the damaged hair. However, some may find that the chemicals have actually inhibited new hair growth.
Texture Change
While a perm seeks to change the texture of your hair by causing it to go from straight to curly, you may find that this texture change is permanent, rather than lasting a few months, as most perms are supposed to. Some users find that they went from straight hair, to permed hair, to permanently frizzy hair after the perm. If you don't mind your hair's texture as it is, choose another, less severe way to curl your hair, such as a curling iron or three barrel waver.
Pain
Some perm users may find that heading to the salon to receive a perm can be a painful procedure. Not only can the ammonium thioglycolate solution burn the scalp during application, but the hair has to be tightly wound in curlers when it's been applied. This can be a painful process, as the curlers must be placed tightly to the scalp, and can cause pulling or tearing of the hair.
Why Is Coloring Your Hair Harmful?
Permanent Hair Color
The outer layer of the hair shaft, its cuticle, must be opened before permanent color can be deposited into the hair. Once the cuticle is open, the dye reacts with the inner portion of the hair, the cortex, to deposit or remove the color. Most permanent hair colors use a two-step process (usually occurring simultaneously) which first removes the original color of the hair and then deposits a new color. It's essentially the same process as lightening, except a colorant is then bonded within the hair shaft. Ammonia is the alkaline chemical that opens the cuticle and allows the hair color to penetrate the cortex of the hair. It also acts as a catalyst when the permanent hair color comes together with the peroxide. Peroxide is used as the developer or oxidizing agent. The developer removes pre-existing color. Peroxide breaks chemical bonds in hair, releasing sulfur, which accounts for the characteristic odor of haircolor. As the melanin is decolorized, a new permanent color is bonded to the hair cortex. Various types of alcohols and conditioners may also be present in hair color. The conditioners close the cuticle after coloring to seal in and protect the new color.
Toxic compounds found in hair color products
Ammonia: A compound used in the chemical coloring process, ammonia can leave the hair looking dry, dull and brittle. Ammonia strips away the hair and scalp’s natural moisture and oils, and although it helps the synthetic color stick to the hair for longer, it is ultimately a toxic ingredient.
Hydrogen peroxide: A powerful chemical and bleaching agent, hydrogen peroxide also strips away the hair’s natural moisture.
P-Phenylenediamine (PPD): One of the most common ingredients used in hair coloring products today, PPD has been linked to severe allergic reactions and can damage the hair over time. It is also know by the name aminoaniline dihydrochloriede, and reported allergic reactions include facial and neck swelling, shortness of breath, and in some rare cases, cyanosis (blue lips) if it is inhaled directly. Some people also get rashes or contact dermatitis when they are exposed to PPD.
Metallic salts: Often used to create metalized dyes for darkening beards and hair, these dyes contain lead, silver acetate and nitrate which have been documented as toxic ingredients.
Resorcinol: A common ingredient found in synthetic hair coloring products, this compound can be absorbed through the skin. According to toxicology reports, short-term effects of resorcinol include irritation to the eyes, skin and respiratory tract, and long-term effects include the formation of methaemoglobin in the blood.
