Shampoo Brands to Avoid Today

How do you know if the shampoo you are using is right for you?  I used to have to buy a shampoo first before deciding if it was right for me.  Now, just a glance at shampoo ingredients is enough for me to tell how the product will work and whether it is safe in the first place.  The thing is, shampoo ingredients penetrate into our blood system, and we cannot know for certain how they act inside our bodies.  Some ingredients in shampoo are associated with endocrine disruption and cancer.   Other shampoo ingredients to avoid may cause immediate effects such as skin irritation, allergic reactions, and even hair loss.  So, let’s talk about my opinions as to shampoo brands to avoid, and why I think we should avoid them.  Also, read on to see the non-toxic shampoo options to replace what are, in my opinion, harmful shampoo brands.

My mission is to help you improve the quality of your health.

Is there an area in your life about which you can say you know it inside out?  For me, it is reading shampoo ingredients.  My label-reading began with researching shampoos when I was looking for a healthy shampoo for my soon-to-arrive baby in 2011.  Since then, I have studied the industry inside out and know a thing or two about shampoos.

My first research back then raised my awareness about various chemicals with which we surround ourselves without even realizing it.  It occurred to me our healing can be within our reach, and we can take charge of our health.  Specifically, I used to have Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis (that’s right, not any longer!) and am recovering from Addison’s autoimmune disease now.  Besides, my father died of cancer, so I know what it is like. 

As a result, helping you reduce exposure to potentially harmful chemicals and improve the quality of your life and health has become my passion.  I use multiple resources, including comprehensive chemical databases, extensive scientific studies, detailed laboratory reports etc.  Plus, I have developed a multi-step research approach about which you can read on my Start here page.  And if you are curious about my journey to recovery, visit my posts Can Breast Implants Cause Autoimmune Diseases and My Health Update After Explant Surgery.

Now, let me turn your attention to what I consider harmful shampoo brands and shampoo ingredients to avoid.

Shampoo brands to avoid contain concerning ingredients.

To begin with, the list below is by no means comprehensive. 

Also, there may be other shampoos within some of the mentioned brands that do not contain toxic ingredients.  Or, vice versa, in addition to the mentioned shampoos there may be others within the brand with the same ingredients.

Based on my experience, if a company chooses to use harmful chemicals in one product, it will most likely use them in other products, too.  Hence, if I see toxic shampoo ingredients in one product, I avoid the whole brand. 

Importantly, I encourage you to read ingredients by yourself instead of relying on the word of the industry or even on my opinions.  Plus, it is a good idea to contact companies with questions to show interest in what they do.  This will help build bridges between consumers and manufacturers and make change for the better even more feasible.  

Check out the list of what I consider harmful shampoo brands.

In my opinion, these are the brands that can be harmful to our health, and that I recommend avoiding.:

Shampoo brands to avoid	Shampoo ingredients to avoid
Aussie Miracle Curls Shampoo	Ethoxylated ingredients, fragrance, methylchloroisothiazolinone, methylisothiazolinone
Aveda Damage Remedy Restructuring Shampoo	Ethoxylated ingredients, fragrance
Aveeno Pure Renewal Shampoo	Fragrance, methylisothiazolinone
Deva Curl No-Poo and Low-Poo Original	Ethoxylated ingredients, fragrance
Dove Daily Moisture Shampoo	Ethoxylated ingredients, fragrance, methylchloroisothiazolinone, methylisothiazolinone, DMDM hydantoin
Eden BodyWorks Peppermint Tea Tree Shampoo	Ethoxylated ingredients, methylchloroisothiazolinone, methylisothiazolinone
Farmasi Dr C Tuna Vitalizing Garlic & Capixyl Shampoo	Cocamide DEA, ethoxylated ingredients, fragrance, methylchloroisothiazolinone, methylisothiazolinone
Finesse 2-in-1 Moisturizing Shampoo and Conditioner	Ethoxylated ingredients, fragrance, methylchloroisothiazolinone, methylisothiazolinone, DMDM hydantoin
Fudge Clean Blonde Violet Toning Shampoo	Cocamide DEA, ethoxylated ingredients, fragrance, diazolidinyl urea, iodopropynyl butylcarbamate
Got2b Phenomenal Thickening Shampoo	Ethoxylated ingredients, fragrance, DMDM hydantoin
It’s A 10 Miracle Shampoo Plus Keratin	Ethoxylated ingredients, fragrance, iodopropynyl butylcarbamate, DMDM hydantoin
Keratin Complex Color Care Smoothing Shampoo	Ethoxylated ingredients, fragrance, iodopropynyl butylcarbamate, DMDM hydantoin
Kristin Ess Extra Gentle Shampoo	Ethoxylated ingredients, fragrance
Leonor Greyl Bain Traitant a la Propolis Gentle Dandruff Shampoo	Ethoxylated ingredients, fragrance, methylchloroisothiazolinone, methylisothiazolinone
Maui Color Protection + Sea Minerals Shampoo	Ethoxylated ingredients, fragrance, diazolidinyl urea, iodopropynyl butylcarbamate
Nature Lab Tokyo Repair Shampoo	Ethoxylated ingredients, fragrance
Nexxus Therappe Ultimate Moisture and Clean & Pure Nourishing Detox	Ethoxylated ingredients, fragrance, methylchloroisothiazolinone, methylisothiazolinone, DMDM hydantoin
OGX Anti-Breakage Keratin Oil Shampoo	Ethoxylated ingredients, fragrance, diazolidinyl urea, iodopropynyl butylcarbamate, DMDM hydantoin
Pureology Strength Cure Shampoo	Ethoxylated ingredients, fragrance, methylchloroisothiazolinone, methylisothiazolinone

Now, let’s discuss their ingredients.

Shampoo ingredients to avoid are linked to health issues.

In my opinion, the following ingredients in shampoo brands to avoid arouse some concerns: cocamide DEA, fragrance, and ethoxylated ingredients. 

Additionally, certain preservatives in these, in my opinion, harmful shampoo brands are considered potentially harmful to human health.  They are methylchloroisothiazolinone, methylisothiazolinone, iodopropynyl butylcarbamate, DMDM hydantoin, and diazolidinyl urea.

Cocamide DEA is a known carcinogen.

To start with, the full name for cocamide DEA is coconut oil diethanolamine condensate (cocamide diethanolamine).  In 2012, California added it to the list of chemicals known to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity.  The main role of cocamide DEA in a shampoo is to make it foam, which is appealing to many people.

Even though cocamide DEA originates from coconut oil, it is a harsh chemical to avoid.  Because of chemical reactions and toxic chemicals involved in its manufacturing process, it resembles coconut oil in no way.  So, the next time you hear that an ingredient is made or “derived” from coconut oil, do not assume it is safe.  Clearly, cocamide DEA is one of the shampoo ingredients to avoid.

To clarify, it is not illegal to use cocamide DEA in personal care products.  However, companies that use it must also use the California Proposition 65 warning in order to sell it in California.  The Center for Environmental Health (CEH) sues those companies that fail to use the warning on their products.  As a result, several lawsuits forced companies to agree to remove cocamide DEA from their products (source).  Yet, as you can see from the table, some shampoos still contain potentially carcinogenic cocamide DEA. 

Fragrance in shampoo brands to avoid may cause an allergy.

Essentially, fragrance, aka parfum, in what are, in my opinion, harmful shampoo brands is a blend of undisclosed ingredients.  The FDA does not require that companies disclose ingredients added to provide pleasant scents or to mask bad ones (source).  But, according to the European Union Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety, fragrance mixes are associated with various kinds of allergic contact dermatitis.

Thus, “fragrance,” “fragrance oils,” “parfum,” and “aroma” are shampoo ingredients to avoid.  Even “natural fragrance” is not safe. 

Evidently, there is no legal definition for the word “natural.”  So, there is a chance that what you mean by “natural” differs from what a company means by this word.  To learn more about this issue, please read my thorough post Is Natural Fragrance Safe?.

Ethoxylated ingredients may contain carcinogenic contaminants.

Have you seen such words as PEG, polysorbate or a stem followed by “eth” (e.g., laureth) among product ingredients?  Most of the shampoo brands to avoid presented in the table have them.  These are ethoxylated ingredients, or ingredients produced by the process of ethoxylation.  The latter helps make the raw materials less irritating to the skin. 

The problem is, manufacturers use carcinogenic ethylene oxide to carry out this chemical reaction.  Not only is it harmful in and of itself, but also the reaction produces a byproduct, called carcinogenic 1,4-dioxane.  Unless properly removed, it may end up in the final product.

For consumers, there is no way to know whether the manufacturer removed this contaminant from the product.  That is why I call it one of the Hidden Ingredients in Cosmetics and consider ethoxylated ingredients one type of shampoo ingredients to avoid.

Preservatives in what I consider harmful shampoo brands may cause contact dermatitis.

Harsh preservatives used in shampoos are another reason I made this list of shampoo brands to avoid.  Although manufacturers are doing the right thing using preservatives to prevent microbial growth, I believe it is possible to use safer preservatives.  Stay with me to find out which brands use non-toxic shampoo ingredients whose products work just fine. 

In the meantime, let’s talk about methylchloroisothiazolinone (MCI), methylisothiazolinone (MI), and iodopropynyl butylcarbamate (IPBC). 

Apparently, the number of allergic reaction cases caused by MCI/MI or MI alone has been increasing (source and source).  This study shows that prolonged exposure to low levels of MI may have damaging consequences to the developing nervous system.  Additionally, the American Contact Dermatitis Society called MI “contact allergen of 2013.” 

Likewise, iodopropynyl butylcarbamate may cause dermal irritation or contact allergy.  The American Society of Contact Dermatitis lists it as one of the core allergens, even in concentrations as low as 0.1%. 

Hence, there is no doubt that methylchloroisothiazolinone, methylisothiazolinone, and iodopropynyl butylcarbamate are shampoo ingredients to avoid.

Formaldehyde-releasing preservatives may have long-term health effects.

Finally, some of the enumerated shampoo brands to avoid use DMDM hydantoin and diazolidinyl urea.  What is wrong with them?  Well, they are formaldehyde-releasing preservatives (formaldehyde releasors). 

Specifically, they work by releasing small amounts of formaldehyde which may have short-term and long-term health effects, ranging from skin irritation to cancer (source).  The International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies formaldehyde as a “known human carcinogen” (source).  That is why I consider shampoo brands that use DMDM hydantoin and diazolidinyl urea potentially harmful shampoo brands.

However, the product label will not list formaldehyde among ingredients, which makes it one of the Hidden Ingredients in Cosmetics.  Keep in mind, with long storage periods and high storage temperatures, the amount of released formaldehyde may rise.  As a result, the risk of allergic reaction to formaldehyde or to the preservative itself increases.  For some people, the allergic reaction may evolve into hair loss.

Sadly, formaldehyde may be in many other products that we use daily.  Please, read my comprehensive post to learn how to Protect Yourself from Formaldehyde in Products. 

In addition to these harsh shampoo ingredients to avoid, most of the listed products contain what I call “middle-of-the-road” preservatives.  You can learn about them and other harmful preservatives in my Savvy Consumer Superpower e-book.  It also has a bonus wallet-size prompt sheet with ingredients to avoid.

Consider these safe shampoo options instead of potentially harmful shampoo brands.

Which shampoo brands can you use in place of shampoo brands to avoid and enjoy their health benefits?  Well, there are several options you can consider.

My favorite shampoo is Pure Haven which definitely has no shampoo ingredients to avoid.  In my Pure Haven review, you can learn about this brand and other companies such as Arbonne and Melaleuca.

Next, Innersense hydrating shampoo should work well, in my opinion, for chemically colored, damaged, and curly hair.  Because all Innersense shampoos are concentrated, measure well to avoid wasting the product and stripping the hair of natural oils.  And, of course, you can read my Innersense Shampoo Ingredients review, too.

Then, there is Hairprint shampoo which, reportedly, works well with naturally coiled and dry hair.  Here is my review of Hairprint – The Non-Toxic Shampoo to Know About.

Recently, I have reviewed Evolvh Hair and Body Care, namely, their sulfate-free color-safe shampoo.  And you can enjoy a generous discount with them in addition to their inexpensive and well-performing products, too.

Plus, if you are into dry shampoos, consider Primally Pure dry shampoo.  Definitely, this Non-Toxic Dry Shampoo Guide can help you make a decision.

Summary of the shampoo brands to avoid post

In sum, for me, harmful shampoo brands are those that contain ingredients of concern.  These include cocamide DEA, ethoxylated ingredients, fragrance, methylchloroisothiazolinone, methylisothiazolinone, iodopropynyl butylcarbamate, diazolidinyl urea, and DMDM hydantoin.  All of these are shampoo ingredients to avoid.  While some of them may potentially increase the risk of contact dermatitis, others may have carcinogenic contaminants.  Personally, I avoid products with these ingredients.

Fortunately, there are safe shampoo options that work well.  Thus, my favorite one is Pure Haven shampoo and conditioner that I have been using for years now.  And my husband likes Beautycounter shampoo and conditioner.  Please, visit my shop for other healthy hair, skin, and body care product options.

If you need assistance with your journey to health, feel free to book a consultation with me.  You are also welcome to check out our popular Savvy Consumer Superpower e-book so that you can gauge the safety of any shampoo, body, or makeup in a matter of seconds.