curly hair products

Q: I have been reading over your Q&A and have realized what a big mistake i have been making with my daughter’s hair. Practically everything I have used on her has contained alcohol. And to make matters worse, I have always washed her hair once a week, never conditioning it on the off days. All the moisturizers have mineral oil, petroleum and or alcohol. Her hair and scalp are soooo badly dried out I don’t know what to do any more. Her scalp is beginning to severely flake up by the end of the same day I wash it. This web site has sooo many different products that I’m overwhelmed. What can I use to repair the damage caused, and what can I use to keep her hair and scalp healthy. I need to know ASAP PLEASE.

Mahisha: First of all, I would like to clarify the confusion around alcohol in hair care products. Not all alcohols are bad for the hair. For example, Cetyl alcohol, Stearyl alcohol, and Cetearyl Alcohol are alcohols that don’t dry the hair out, in fact. they act as conditioning agents. Ethyl and SD 40 alcohols are examples of drying alcohols commonly found in many gels and hairsprays. (more…)