1. ISOPROPYL ALCOHOL: This is a solvent and denaturant (poisonous substance that changes another substances natural qualities). Isopropyl alcohol is found in hair color rinses, body rubs, hand lotions, after-shave lotions, fragrances and many other cosmetics. This petroleum-derived substance is also used in antifreeze and as a solvent in shellac. Napptural hair reacts very badly to isoalcohol and this ingredient should be avoided at ALL costs. It will dry your hair out and break it off. According to A Consumer's Dictionary of Cosmetic Ingredients, inhalation or ingestion of the vapor may cause headaches, flushing, dizziness, mental depression, nausea, vomiting, narcosis and even coma. 

2. MINERAL OIL & PETROLATUM: The best baby oil is made from almonds. But the oil which being sold as baby oil is 100% mineral oil. Mineral oil is a derivative of crude oil (petroleum) that is used industrially as a cutting fluid and lubricating oil. This commonly used petroleum ingredient coats the skin and hair just like plastic wrap. The skin's natural barrier is disrupted as this plastic coating inhibits its ability to breathe and absorb the Natural Moisture Factor (moisture and nutrition). The skin's ability to release toxins and wastes is impossible through this "plastic wrap," which can promote acne and other disorders. It further hinders normal skin respiration/transpiration by keeping oxygen out. This process slows down skin function and normal cell development causing the skin to prematurely age. Holding in large a mounts of moisture in the skin can "flood" the biology and may result in immature, unhealthy, sensitive skin that dries out easily. Petrolatum - A petroleum-based grease that is used industrially as a grease component. Petrolatum exhibits many of the same potentially harmful properties as mineral oil.

Honestly, this stuff belongs in your engine, not on your hair. Regardless of "Well, my Grandma used vaseline on her hair and it grew ", the bottom line is this stuff is bad. It was bad for Grandma and it is bad for you. Period.

3. PEG: This is an abbreviation for polyethylene glycol that is used in making cleansers to dissolve oil and grease as well as thicken products. Because of their effectiveness, PEG's are often used in caustic spray on oven cleaners and yet are found in many personal care products. PEG's contribute to stripping the Natural Moisture Factor, leaving the immune system vulnerable. They are also potentially carcinogenic. 

4. PROPYLENE GLYCOL (PG): As a "surfactant" or wetting agent and solvent, this ingredient is actually the active component in antifreeze. There is no difference between the PG used in industry and the PG used in personal care products. It is used in industry to break down protein and cellular structure (what the skin is made of) yet is found in most forms of make-up, hair products, lotions, after-shave, deodorants, mouthwashes and toothpaste. It is also used in food processing. Because of its ability to quickly penetrate the skin, the EPA requires workers to wear protective gloves, clothing and goggles when working with this toxic substance. The Material Safety Data Sheets warn against skin contact, as PG has systemic consequences such as brain, liver and kidney abnormalities. Consumers are not protected nor is there a warning label on products such as stick deodorants, where the concentration is greater than that in most industrial applications.

5. SODIUM LAURYL SUFATE (SLS) & SODIUM LAURETH SULFATE (SLES): SLS is used in testing labs as the standard ingredient to irritate skin. Used as detergents and surfactants, these closely related compounds are found in car wash soaps, garage floor cleaners and engine degreasers. Yet both SLS and SLES are used more widely as one of the major ingredients in cosmetics, toothpaste, hair conditioner and about 90% of all shampoos and products that foam. They are used in personal-care products because they are cheap. A small amount generates a large amount of foam, and when salt is added it thicken to give the illusion of being thick and concentrated. (SOME OF THE NITROSATING AGENTS ARE: SLS, SLES, DEA, TEA, MEA). Shampooing the hair with a product contaminated with these substances can lead to its absorption into the body at levels much higher than eating nitrite-contaminated foods.

Mark Fearer in an article, Dangerous Beauty, says, "...in tests, animals that were exposed to SLS experienced eye damage, along with depression, labored breathing, diarrhea, severe skin irritation and corrosion and death." According to the American College of Toxicology states both SLS and SLES can cause malformation in children's eyes. Other research has indicated SLS may be damaging to the immune system, especially within the skin. Skin layers may separate and inflame due to its protein denaturing properties. It is possibly the most dangerous of ad ingredients in personal care products. Research has shown that SLS when combined with other chemicals can be transformed into nitrosamines, a potent class of carcinogens, which causes the body to absorb nitrates at higher levels than eating nitrate contaminated food." According to the American College of Toxicity report, "SLS stays in the body for up to five days..." Other studies have indicated that SLS easily penetrates through the skin and enters and maintains residual levels in the heart, the liver, the lungs and the brain. This poses serious questions regarding its potential health threat through its use in shampoos, cleansers and toothpaste," 

Studies show its danger potential to be great when used in personal-care products. Toxicity - A serious problem with these chemicals is that they may be contaminated with NDELA (N-nitrosodiethanolamine), one of the nitrosamines and a potent carcinogen, according to a 1978 FDA report.



Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES) - SLES is the alcohol form (ethoxylated) of SLS. It is slightly less irritating than SLS, but may be more drying. Both SLS and SLES can enter the blood stream. They may cause potentially carcinogenic formations of nitrates and dioxins to form in shampoos and cleansers by reacting with other product ingredients. Large amounts of nitrates may enter the blood system from just one shampooing. Contains ether.

6. CHLORINE: According to Doris J. Rapp, M.D., author of Is This your Child's World? exposure to chlorine in tap water, Showers, pool, laundry products, cleaning agents, food processing, sewage systems and many others, can effect health by contributing to asthma, hay fever, anemia, bronchitis, circulatory collapse, confusion, delirium diabetes, dizziness, irritation of the eye, mouth, nose throat, lung, skin and stomach, heart disease, high blood pressure and nausea. It is also a possible cause of cancer. Even though you will not see Chlorine on personal care product labels, it is important for you to be aware of the need to protect your skin when bathing and washing your hair. 

7. DEA (diethanolamine) MEA (momoethnanolamine) TEA (triethanolamine): DEA and MEA are usual listed on the ingredients label in conjunction with the compound being neutralized. Thus look for names like Cocamide DEA or MES, Lauramide DEA, etc. These are hormone disrupting chemicals and are known to form cancer causing nitrates and nitrosamines. . These are commonly found in most personal care products that foam, including bubble baths, body washes, shampoos, soaps and facial cleansers. On the show, CBS This Morning, Roberta Baskin revealed that a recent government report shows DEA and MEA are readily absorbed in the skin. Dr. Samuel Epstein, Professor of Environmental Health at the University of Illinois said "repeated skin applications of DEA-based detergents resulted in a major increase in the incidence of two cancers - liver and kidney cancers." John Bailey, who oversees the cosmetic division for the FDA said the new study is especial important since "the risk equation changes significantly for children." 

8. FD & C Color PIGMENTS: Many color pigments cause skin sensitivity and irritation. Absorption of certain colors can cause depletion of oxygen in the body and even death according to A Consumer's dictionary of Cosmetic Ingredients. Debra Lynn Dadd says in Home Safe Home: "Colors that can be used in foods, drug, and cosmetics are made from coal tar. There is a great deal of controversy about their use, because animal studies have shown almost all of them to be carcinogenic." 

9. FRAGRANCE: Fragrance is present in most deodorants shampoos, sunscreens, skin care, body care and baby products. Many of the compounds in fragrance are carcinogenic or otherwise toxic. "Fragrance on a label can indicate the presence of up to 4,000 separate ingredients. Most or all of them are synthetic. Symptoms reported to the FDA have included headaches, dizziness, rashes, skin discoloration, violent coughing and vomiting, and allergic skin irritation. Clinical observation by medical doctors have shown that exposure to fragrances can affect the central nervous system, causing depression, hyperactivity, irritability, inability to cope, and other behavioral changes," (Home Safe Home). 

For better health try purchasing unscented products and for fragrance, adding a natural essential oil.

10. IMIDAZOLIDINYL UREA and DMDM HYDANTOIN: These are just two of the many preservatives that release formaldehyde (formaldehyde-donors). According to the Mayo clinic, formaldehyde can irritate the respiratory system, cause skin reactions and trigger heart palpitations. Exposure to formaldehyde may cause joint pain, allergies, depression, headaches, chest pains, ear infections, Chronic fatigue, dizziness and loss of sleep. It can also aggravate coughs and colds and trigger asthma. Serious side effects include weakening of the immune system and cancer. Nearly all brands of skin, body and hair care, antiperspirants and nail polish found in stores contain formaldehyde-releasing ingredients.

If the above information is not enough to make you read labels on things before using them on yourself of your babies, nothing will.

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Another article I found (not from Nappurality):

A few weeks ago, I found myself looking through the stack of magazines that were on display at my place of employment. As I searched through the stack, I noticed that the majority of the magazines had some white female on the front cover. However, amongst the various magazines, I happened to come across one in particular that appealed to me because on the cover was a word that always catches my attention. The word is Revolution. I pulled the magazine from out the stack and realized it was ESSENCE (a Black female oriented publication), thus, a Black female occupied the cover. Nonetheless, that word Revolution got me thinking that there must be a serious article in this issue. I began to scan the pages in search of this Revolution talk. About midway through the magazine, I came upon the article on Revolution and to my surprise (well, I wasn't really surprised), this "Black" or African-American magazine was promoting a HAIR Revolution. The great change is to help black females attempt to identify with Europeans even more so, but with less risk. I read the content of the article and was displeased. The article attempted to glamorize the use of relaxers for a more "attractive" look. After pondering the content of the article and the images the magazine promoted, I randomly selected three other magazines from the stack to compare the images to ESSENCE. I concluded that Black females want to identify with White females from head to toe. The focus of this article will be on the head portion of the Black female anatomy. More specifically, the hair and the dilemma Black females face. This article is reaching out to Black females who seem to be plagued with that psychological dis-ease (White supremacy) Western man configurated at the beginning of his conquest of the world. I will briefly discuss the creation of White supremacy, the effects of it (via African slavery) on the Black female's self-image (as it relates to hair), why the psychological dis-ease still plagues Black women today and where Black beauty is found. At the start of Western man's conquest of the world, every continent, country and/or island they came upon was inhabited by people of color. As a result, Whites began to develop a complex about their lack of color. Dr. Frances Cress Welsing addressed this phenomenon in her Color-Confrontation theory which states: "...that the white or color-deficient Europeans responded psychologically, with a profound sense of numerical inadequacy and color inferiority, in their confrontation with the majority of the world's people..." Dr. Welsing continues by stating Western man's psychological response: "...whether conscious or unconscious, revealed an inadequacy based on most obvious and fundamental part of their being, their external appearance." This psychological disorder nurtured the idea that all non-Whites are inferior to Whites. In order for Western man to carry out his dream of conquering the world, he began to equip himself with the notion (an opinion or belief) of being superior to all non-Whites. I contend that the notion of White supremacy was necessary for Whites to believe for their quest to rule a world dominated (numerically) by people of color. This psychological disorder carried by Whites gave birth to the ideas that white is good and black (the complete opposite) is bad, white is godly and black is evil, White people's characteristics are beautiful and Black people's are ugly, etc... The disorder also taught and teaches non-Whites that the closer you are to White, the closer you are to superiority. With this in mind, let's look at the enslavement of Africans and the effect it had on Black female's self-image. It is important that we put into perspective the psychological disorder Whites operated out of as we examine the African enslavement. Before western man reached the continent of Africa, glorious things had and were taking place. Evidence of this can be found in east Africa (eg. Ethiopia, Sudan, Egypt, etc.), southern Africa (Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Kenya, etc.) and western Africa (Mali, Ghana, Songhany, etc.). Western Africa was the location where most of the Africans were captured for slavery. Lerone Bennet, Jr. states in his book Before The Mayflower. For a long time, in fact the only people on the scene were Africans. For some 600,000 years Africa and Africans led the world. Bennet continues by highlighting the fact that, "Civilization started in the great river valleys of Africa and Asia, in the Fertile Crescent in the Near East and along the narrow ribbon of the Nile in Africa...black people marched in the front ranks of emerging human procession. They founded empires and states...They made some of the critical discoveries and contributions that led to the modern world." The above information is significant because Whites proclaimed that they were civilizing a "savage" people as they marched into Africa. Maulana Karenga in his Introduction To Black Studies text points out that the racists thoughts of western man were used to justify the enslavement of Africans: "Although the enslavement of Africans was based on economic reasons, it also rested in racism as an ideology. Racism as an ideology became a justification and encouragement for African enslavement." The ideology Karenga mentions entails religious, biological and cultural absurdities. The ridiculous cultural claims by Whites led to a cultural genocide which stripped a proud people of their identity, dignity and heritage. Over the many years Africans were fed the ideas that Europeans or Whites are good and Africans or Blacks are bad. Both Black men and women were reprogrammed. William David Smith states in his article entitled, The Black-Concept Some Historical and Theoretical Reflections, "...the Negro has come to form his self-image and self-concept on the basis of what white racists have prescribed." Black characteristics such as hair were thought of as undesirable, ill-favored or lacking beauty. Our hair was/is said to be too thick, kinky or curly and not long enough. Thus, Black females made every attempt to change that natural substance of their hair. Inventions such as the straightening comb and the hair relaxer became Black female's tools for trying to undo that "unattractive" thickness and/or kinkiness of their hair. Plus, the relaxer was/is believed to make the hair grow longer faster. The latest great Black hope is the hair weave, which gives Black females long hair instantly. These unfounded notions of Black female hair has been embedded into the psyche of the majority of Black females living under western domination. The primary reason why Black females are still plagued by the psychological disorder described is because of their desire to be accepted into the mainstream. I tend to believe that being a part of mainstream means that one needs to let go of any cultural influence that is not western in thought and/or practice. African mothers in the Americas, Caribbean, Europe and Africa taught their daughters to seek refuge in the mainstream. There was an era in which Black females (in large numbers) began to appreciate their natural beauty in the 60s by wearing Afros, dreadlocks and other natural hair styles. However, the 70s and 80s brought forth more job opportunities into the mainstream and the Afros turned into Jerry curls. Magazines like Essence became known for illustrating the latest fashion trends, including hair styles. The purpose of magazines like this is to bring western thought and practices to Black females. An old time Jamaican saying, "Dem have Black man face, but White man heart", describes the nature of the magazine in a nutshell. Other forms of media, such as television, also promote the distorted notions of western mankind. These devices help Black females paint a picture of what is beautiful and what is not. However, the home front is where it began. If a Black female's mom, sister, aunt and cousins all have perms, what is the chance that she too will have, want or desire a perm for her hair? Black females are beautiful from creation, and this includes the various hair textures and lengths. Black females need to truly understand that nature makes no mistakes. There is no reason for Black females to be chasing "beauty" around when it's already in their possession. Black females, you are the original goddess of the earth, so stand proud and reclaim your identity, dignity and heritage. There are plenty of natural hair styles out here to fit every Black females personality. I know lots of Black females who believe that having a perm makes their hair easier to deal with. But the number of hours they spend trying to make their hair do something it will never do (look like White female's hair), they could spend creating their own natural style. The issues that Black female's face in regards to hair can be discussed much more intensely, but time and space is limited. Therefore, the intent I have is to jump start Black females into reprogramming their psyche from anti-self (anti-African) to pro-self (pro-African). In order to begin this journey, Black females should critically think, discuss and act on the issues I have briefly addressed in this article. The psychological dis-ease (White supremacy) will continue to plague the minds of Black females as long as they fail to understand the creation of White supremacy, the effects (via African slavery) on the Black female's self-image (as it relates to hair), why the psychological dis-ease still plagues Black women and where Black beauty is found. "Black characteristics such as hair were thought of as undesirable, ill-favored or lacking beauty. Our hair was/is said to be too thick, kinky or curly and not long enough. Thus, Black females made every attempt to change that natural substance of their hair. Inventions such as the straightening comb and the hair relaxer became Black female's tools for trying to undo that "unattractive" thickness and/or kinkiness of their hair. Plus, the relaxer was/is believed to make the hair grow longer faster. The latest great Black hope is the hair weave, which gives Black females long hair instantly. These unfounded notions of Black female hair has been embedded into the psyche of the majority of Black females living under western domination."