The search for products containing ingredients that are good for hair but NOT toxic has led many people to preparations labeled “ayurvedic. But what is Ayurveda?
By Dona Suri
American consumers are increasingly suspicious of strong chemicals, particularly in hair care products. A lot has been written about shampoos, conditioners and styling products that contain carcinogens and it is now common knowledge that some compounds mimic the body’s hormones, disrupt the endocrine system and are linked to breast, uterine, and ovarian cancers.
Here are two websites that list out all the harmful chemicals in haircare products and explain the dangers of each one:
https://skinkraft.com/blogs/articles/toxic-ingredients-in-shampoos-and-conditioners and
https://sfenvironment.org/should-i-be-concerned-about-the-safety-of-my-hair-products
If you think hair care products can’t be all that dangerous because they are in contact with the skin only briefly and are soon rinsed off, think again. Our skin absorbs about 60 per cent of everything we put on it.
Always READ THE LABEL before you buy a product – any product.
Three apps are available to help you to avoid dangerous ingredients in all kinds of personal care products.
Check out:
EWG Healthy Living App: Ratings for more than 120,000 food and personal care products. Scan product barcode scanner or use search option. Identifies ingredients, gives product a one-to-ten safety score.
Think Dirty app: Database lists over 850,000 cosmetics and personal care products from Canada and the US; scan the product barcode, get info on harmful ingredients and suggestions for cleaner options.
Clearya app: This aap is free. Database for both human and pet products. Identifies harmful ingredients, chemicals banned in Europe, ingredients that may cause an allergic reaction; suggests safer alternatives.
Awareness about hazardous ingredients is one of the factors driving widespread interest in organic and herbal products. The search for products containing ingredients that are good for hair but NOT toxic has led many people to preparations with the label “ayurvedic”.
Twenty years ago, few Americans had ever seen or heard the word “ayurveda” or the names of its typical herbal ingredients. Now you don’t have to seek out a shop specializing in organic or Asian products to find stuff that is ayurvedic (or claims to be). Products such as ashwagandha hair masks, brahmi conditioner and shikakai shampoo sit on the shelves of many big “all-American” stores.
Ashwagandha, brahmi and shikakai, indeed the entire pharmacopoeia* of ayurveda* has plant origins.
*Pharmacopoeia: a list of drugs, together with information on their effects and instructions on how they should be used.
*Ayurveda: ayur (life) + veda (science/knowledge) Medical system that evolved on the Indian subcontinent; oldest records go back to about 1000 BC.
We have put together a list of ingredients from the ayurvedic pharmacopoeia that you are likely to see on herbal hair care products. Since these ingredients are sometimes referred to by their botanical name, sometimes by their English name and sometimes by a vernacular name, we are giving all three. These ingredients may take the form of shampoos, conditioners, oils, or extracts or hair masks. These ingredients have been used for hundreds of years and, unless you happen to be allergic, they are harmless.
Harmless … ?
Okay, but will they do you any good? On this point, a bit of discussion is necessary.
Ayurveda and western medicine approach treatment differently. Suppose that you have indigestion. A western doctor will give you a strip of antacids. Symptoms will subside in 15 minutes.
An ayurvedic doctor will question you at length about your preferences and habits, work out your type* or combination of types and identify what is out of balance. What the doctor prescribes will depend on his/her analysis of you. You might be asked to drink cool mint tea before lunch and spend an hour every day playing with small children. You will feel better in two weeks.
*The basic types are Pitta (hot — dry), Vata (cool – dry) and Kapha (cool – moist). Few people are one hundred percent one or another.
Ayurveda rates a doctor on how proficiently he or she identifies the relative proportions of the basic three types in any given individual. It’s a big subject.
The website of medical company, Kerala Ayurveda Limited, explains the basic types in detail.
Check out: https://www.keralaayurveda.biz/blog/kerala-ayurveda-guide-to-three-doshas
An ayurvedic physician may identify similar symptoms in a number of individuals but give very different prescriptions for each case. This system of medicine believes that a medication that is effective for one type of individual may not be effective in someone of a different type. As a system, ayurveda is less interested in treating a disease than in eliminating the cause of the disease.
If you pick up a bottle of something labelled “ayurvedic”, remember that something mass produced cannot be fine-tuned to individual types.
Suppose you buy “brahmi hair oil” to put some life into your dry hair. If the company is reliable, the oil will contain genuine brahmi (Bacopa monnieri) in an efficacious amount. The company can truthfully assert that brahmi has been used for hair care in traditional medicine for a long time with good results and the company can also say truthfully that in recent decades, pharmaceutical researchers and biochemists have investigated its properties and found that brahmi does indeed contain compounds that have measurable effects in a laboratory setting.
But will brahmi work on YOUR hair?
The company says YES !
Ayurveda says Hmmm … MAYBE.
Adding to the confusion is the way companies selling hair care products containing one or more of ayurveda’s plant-derived compounds tend to apply the same claims to every ingredient:
Stimulates growth Promotes scalp health Prevents dandruff Regulates sebum
Cleanses Strengthens hair Prevents hairfall Prevents split ends
Reduces frizz Prevents premature graying Adds lustre Moisturises
This handy chart gives you the names, but – in the spirit of Ayurveda – it does not give you the claims.
Try the product. Evaluate how it works on you.
Ayurveda is a system that avoids extremes and has no place for intense, beyond-capacity therapies or activities.
In general, Ayurveda warns against four possible mistakes in any therapy:
Over-use (ati yoga),
Under-use (hina yoga),
No-use (a yoga)
Wrong-use (mithya yoga)
Proper use (sama-yoga) brings balance and balance is the goal of Ayurveda