Hair

Ingredients: Use at Your Own Risk

When I was twelve years old, my mother allowed my girlfriend's mother to straighten my hair. When I say this woman could press some hair, I mean she could press some hair! There are fully licensed stylists who don't know how to do a good press, but my friend's mother could get your hair so straight that it looked like a relaxer. Although this was many moons ago, I still recall the product she used to achieve a silky smooth look: Hair Culture Solution by Lustrasilk.

For years I wondered what this stuff was, since it's not a cream, oil, or serum. It's a pure liquid that you're supposed to apply to damp hair prior to drying and straightening. The only thing I hated about the process was that this product would sting something awful! That's mainly because my friend's mom would scrub my scalp so hard to get my hair squeaky clean, and then spray the solution on my hair, which would get into what I'm sure were open cuts on my scalp. Well as they say, no pain, no gain, 'cause despite the torture I had to endure, my hair came out looking fantastic!

Recently, I was very happy and eager to purchase some of this elusive product when I spotted it on the shelf at my local beauty supply store. I was going to use it on my mom's hair to straighten it, but something told me to do an ingredient search first. After all, I wouldn't put anything on anyone else's hair that I wouldn't put on my own. I've always heard that the first five ingredients of any product are the most crucial, so when I saw that something as harmless as water was the first ingredient, I assumed I was on the right track...

The second ingredient in this product is acetamide, and after doing a Google search, I discovered this bit of info:

• This ingredient is authoritatively recognized to cause cancer, according to the State of California (Proposition 65).
• This ingredient is suspected of causing skin or sense organ toxicity, according to sources compiled by Scorecard (www.scorecard.org)

(Source: www.goodguide.com)

Now, I'm sure I've used many makeup and hair care products that contain carcinogens, but to know it definitely makes you pump the breaks. Needless to say, I won't be using this product on my mama or daddy for that matter, LOL! So ladies, I've said all that to say this: please beware and be aware of product ingredients. As G.I. Joe used to say, "Knowing is half the battle."

XOXO,

DPrincess28