Why Sulfates Are Not Actually Damaging Your Hair

Sulfates are a surfactant (also known as a lathering agent) designed to foam up and cleanse. You can find them in many products, including toothpaste and body wash. We are going to focus on how they work in your shampoo. When it comes to hair care, the ingredient helps remove grease and dirt. You know that thick, creamy lather you experience when massaging product into your scalp? That's the sulfates!

There was a chain email floating around a few years back stating that sulfates cause cancer. "There's no basis to the rumors that are out there that mischaracterize their safety," explained Heid. The American Cancer Society discredited this rumor, citing that beauty brands are supporting the claim to push out their own antisulfate agendas. Cosmetic Ingredient Review, a group that publishes peer-reviewed scientific studies of ingredients (without bias of brands), also declared that sulfates are safe for cosmetic use.

Now that we've explored the idea that sulfates are not necessarily dangerous, let's look at how they affect your hair. "Sulfates have not been determined to strip hair color," Wilkerson said. "There's no foundation for that in terms of data."

As for hair damage, Wilkerson shared an interesting study with us that proved their safety. The study compared a product that contained sulfates to different types of sulfate-free formulas. It showed the hair loss over several cycles, washes, and hair brushing. Though each was treated the same, the product containing the sulfates left hair the healthiest.

Believe it or not, it's the water you're washing your hair with — more specifically, the copper in your water — that can cause damage. "Often, when people think, 'Oh, the sulfates in that product caused my color to change,' they really didn't," Wilkerson explained. "It's really actually due to the level of copper that the hair is absorbing — especially if somebody washes their hair frequently." Copper can change your hair hue, regardless of whether it's processed.

Don't think that you're safe from color fade even if you only shampoo once a week! Dyed hair is especially porous. Consider this: when you change your mane shade, you're lifting the cuticle, allowing the formula to penetrate the cortex (center) of the strand. After, your cuticles are still lifted, allowing copper in your water to get into the cortex. "When you dye your hair again," Wilkerson added, "that chemistry happens a lot sooner and the color washes out a lot faster."

The level of copper in water is typically quite low, but that small amount is still enough to create long-term hair color issues. Look for shampoo formulas that contain histidine, an amino acid that both removes impurities from inside the hair shaft and strengthens the strand.

"Histidine will bind and block the copper that's already in the hair, deactivating it from changing the color over time," explained Wilkerson. "It's good to use it several cycles before you color your hair again." That way, the histidine will be inside your strands, fortifying them against damage and shade fade. Read on to shop shampoos with histidine!

Philip B Oud Royal Forever Shine Shampoo ($75)

Martial Vivot Shampoo ($43)

Pantene Pro-V Expert Collection Fade Defy Shampoo ($9)

Verb Hydrating Shampoo ($14)

Nature's Gate Jojoba and Sacred Lotus Revitalizing Shampoo ($8)