Sulfates are traditional cleansing agents that are found in detergents, household cleaning products, and shampoos. Sulfates create foam or lather that helps lift and remove dirt and oil from the hair. If your shampoo creates an abundant lather, you can bet that it most likely contains sulfates. Common sulfates found in shampoo are sodium lauryl sulfate and sodium laureth sulfate.
While safe, sulfates can be drying to the hair, especially curls. As a detergent, sulfates can strip hair of its natural oils which can make waves, curls, and coils dry, dull, undefined, and frizzy. They can also strip color and moisture from color-treated hair causing color fading and dryness.
Shampoos made without SLS/SLES sulfates are gentler on hair and won’t strip its natural oils—which is especially important for curls since they need their natural oils to stay moisturized, shiny and healthy-looking. Note to self: when you choose a shampoo that is made without SLS/SLES sulfates it’s made without lather, too. Our Low-Poo and No-Poo cleansers offer low-to-no lather, so you need to use it a bit differently than a traditional shampoo—we like to say “scrub in/scrub out.” Discover what cleansers and conditioners work best for your waves, curls or coils.
We recommend that you scrub the cleanser into your scalp using your fingertips to cleanse and then allow the water to move the cleanser through your lengths to cleanse as you rinse. You will need to use the same scrubbing motion to rinse the cleanser out thoroughly too.
We took the “poo” out of shampoo! In 2002, we pioneered an innovative new haircare category with the launch of No-Poo Original, our game-changing alternative to traditional shampoo. This first-of-its-kind, no-suds conditioning cleanser changed the industry. So, we don’t make shampoo, we make cleansers! DevaCurl Low-Poo and No-Poo are conditioning cleansers formulated with gentle surfactants that cleanse the scalp and curls without stripping moisture. Isn’t it time you quit shampoo and switched to a DevaCurl cleanser?