Found in many conditioners and shampoos, methylisothiazolinone (MIT) is commonly used as a preservative to inhibit microbial growth.
Published in the Journal of Neuroscience in September of 2002 was one of the first studies into the safety of MIT. Although it has been used in personal care products for many years, there was inadequate information regarding its safety, leading a group of researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine to conduct a study of it.
There is increasing evidence supporting that environmental exposure to neurotoxic substances may lead to the development of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.
In the study, the researchers isolated rat cortical neurons and applied 100 micromolar MIT for only 10 minutes. Within 24 hours, the neurons underwent widespread cell death. They found that the reaction cascade caused by exposure to MIT resulted in the depletion of glutathione, a powerful endogenous antioxidant, and production of reactive oxygen species, which are free-radicals contributing to DNA damage.
Smaller doses of MIT administered over a long period of time also showed neurotoxic properties. While the smaller doses did not outright kill neurons, it did inhibit the growth of neurites, which are used to form connections between neurons, essential for different parts of your brain to be able to communicate with each other. This has some pretty obvious health implications for adults, but even more so for developing fetuses who may become exposed through the mother's toxicity.
While we're at it, I should probably mention parabens too, which are also preservatives, are known to be toxic and are probably more ubiquitous than MIT. Parabens have the ability to mimic estrogen and because they are easily absorbed into the skin and are lipophilic, they may accumulate in the body. Studies have shown them to be particularly concentrated in breast tissue, and have found them to induce the growth of cancerous breast tissue.
I ventured over to the local drugstore to pick up a few things and couldn't help peruse the hair and skincare aisles to do some label checking. Although I didn't track specific numbers, I estimate that well over 50% of the labels I checked contained MIT, and probably closer to 90-95% of things I looked at contained at least one paraben.
So what does all this mean for you? Although you should bear in mind that all of this data is not yet conclusive, an increasing amount of evidence does support that these compounds may very well not be safe for use. In the end, I think that knowledge is power; as long as consumers are well-informed about the potential safety concerns of the things they use in their everyday lives, then each individual person is free to decide whether they feel the risk is worth taking.
So, I will be the first to admit that I thought this sounded completely crazy when I first heard about it. I have got some pretty wacky skin that is somehow oily and dry all at the same time (?). I thought it sounded absurd to wash my face with oil, but the only thing that's really absurd about it is that more people aren't doing it.
I first tried the oil cleansing method back in January of this year. I figured since I don't use shampoo on my hair, what's stopping me from ditching soap on my face? So the deal is, you mix some oils together, usually castor oil and some other kind of oil like jojoba or olive, depending on your skin. I personally used olive. I mixed it about 70/30 olive/castor. You then take the oil mixture and massage an ample amount into your skin; you want to spend about 3-5 minutes massaging your face with the oil. While you're massaging, you want to have a towel soaking in hot water. Once you're done with the massaging, wring out the towel and drape it over your face and let it sit until the towel essentially cools to near room temperature (only takes a couple minutes). Then use the towel to gently wipe the excess oil from your skin. I swear your skin will feel amazing. I don't do it every day, only because sometimes I'm so tired by the time I get to bed, I just don't have it in me to spend 10 minutes on my face.
It's also a great way to remove makeup - since most makeup is oil-based, oil is the most effective method for removing it. This method also avoids the harsh drying effect of many detergent based facial cleansers, and is about as squeaky clean as you can get, in terms of ingredient lists. It does a very good job at cleansing, and I've had absolutely no problems with breakouts using this method.
While I'm at it, I may as well do another little no poo update. I'm on month 15, I think, of no poo and I've pretty much got things down to a science. I'm still CO-washing daily, and my hair is loving it! I finally went and got a haircut about a month and a half ago. I just CO-washed my hair before going, and it was still wet when I got to my hairdresser, so she said it wasn't necessary to wash it again... whew, dodged a poo! I can't believe the condition it's in; it's so healthy. She cut off probably close to 6-8 inches, so what's left is in great shape. I'm still using the Tresemme Naturals no silicone conditioner for CO-wash, although I'm currently using it in the Radiant Orange scent. Apparently, this one is volumizing the and Avocado and Aloe one is moisturizing, but to be honest, I really can't tell much of a difference between the two. They both smell good and work equally well as CO-washes. I takes me about 5-6 weeks to get all the way through a bottle.
No, I haven't given up on no poo; I just haven't been posting because I've been so busy during the last eight months. So I thought I'd give an update on how my hair is doing and what my current routine is.
I went for quite a long period of time where I was using nothing but weekly vinegar rinses and water-only washes, with very occasional baking soda washes if there was a lot of buildup. I actually noticed that my hair seemed to be getting drier over time when I was doing that, however; I was definitely not achieving the desired results.
So very recently, I went back to CO-washing. I've been CO-washing for a couple of weeks now, and I've seen a huge improvement in the moisture in my hair. I usually use Desert Essence Organics Apple Ginger conditioner, and find that it works pretty well for CO-washing, plus it smells great. I also occasionally use Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose conditioner to CO-wash, although it takes considerable more effort to make this one work effectively as a CO-wash. It is much thicker and has less slip than the Desert Essence, but with a lot of scrubbing and a very thorough rinse afterward, it does produce some nice results.
I know the most popular conditioners for CO-washing are Suave Naturals and V05, although I do have reasons for choosing not to use these. They are a lot cheaper, which makes CO-washing more affordable to do on a regular basis, but Suave Naturals also contain methylisothiazolinone, which this NIH study found could trigger neurodegenerative disorders in humans; it was found to be highly toxic to neurons in culture. And V05 contains some other weird chemicals for which published findings in the Journal of Toxicity indicate may not be exactly safe. Although this is not irrefutably conclusive evidence, it is enough for me to keep it out of my bathroom. So, even though Desert Essence Organics and Aubrey Organics are considerably more expensive, I choose to use them for health/safety reasons, because I can identify pretty much every ingredient in both of them, which gives me at least a little peace of mind.
I usually wet my hair only three times per week. The other four days, I just take a shower without getting it wet. On one to two of those days that I wet it, I CO-wash. The remaining day(s) that I wet it but don't CO-wash, I do a water-only rinse. Since my hair is not unusually dry, as is typical with curlier hair, I have to wet my hair at least three days per week, or it will begin to look oily. At the beginning of my no poo experiment, my hair was pretty trashed; I guessed it was probably a 1c/2a type, which is pretty different from the 1a hair I had in childhood. However, as my hair gets healthier, it is not as dry, and I would call it maybe 1b at this point. As I rid it of damage, it seems to be reverting back to the way it was when I was a kid; straight and silky. Especially on days when I do just a water-only rinse, I will rub the ends of my hair with coconut oil that has had plumeria petals soaking in it (for added fragrance). This does a pretty good job of keeping my ends in good condition.
I haven't had a haircut in 13 months; I'm actually really afraid to go to my hairdresser, because I know she's going to want to shampoo it. Also, it actually is in such good condition; the split ends are very minimal considering how long it's been since I've had it cut. Alas, I do need to get it cut soon, because it is getting very long. Surprisingly though, it is actually still quite manageable at this length, just because it has sustained a lot less damage than it normally would have by the time it was this long, had I still been shampooing, straightening, etc.
I also want to address heat styling. I do as little heat styling as possible. The most I do is on days that I wet it, I will quickly blow dry the roots, but not the length, on low. I hate having wet hair right up against my head, so that is why I just blow the roots quickly and let the ends air dry. As for straightening or curling irons, I rarely ever use either one anymore. I used to use a straightener on a daily basis, because my hair was out of control. But now that it's getting straighter and silkier, it is for the most part, unnecessary anymore for me to straighten it. I rarely curl my hair to begin with, so this is reserved really only for special occasions a couple of times a year.
So that's it! Although I am always tweaking and evolving my haircare routine, this is the summary of what I've done for the last eight months and what I'm doing now. At the very beginning, I doubted it would ever be possible for me to not have to wash my hair every day, or that nine months down the road it would be in such good condition. The first couple of months were rough, and filled with really, really bad hair days. But there is light at the end of the tunnel! My boyfriend has even been no pooing for the last nine months with me, and he loves it too. He mostly does water only, and CO-washes only once every couple of weeks, but he can get away with that because his hair is so short.
Think I've figured out the fine art of WO-washing. I last WO-washed on Thursday night, so this morning, I decided to try it again. It wasn't super greasy, I really probably could have gone all day, but I'm going out with some friends after finals, so I wanted to try styling it to see what I would be working with. So I WO-washed it this morning, and it got very nice and clean. The key is definitely water pressure. And rinse, rinse, rinse for several minutes. I probably spend a good 10 minutes rinsing my hair and massaging my scalp. I wanted to try a straight style, but for obvious reasons, I haven't been using heat styling because I want to let my hair have a chance to get healthy again. But I can't go straight without at least a little heat (I'm somewhere between a 1C/2A hair type, in case you're wondering), so when I got out of the shower, I gently detangled with a wide-tooth comb, and then took my trusty blow dryer on the lowest setting possible (both heat-wise and how much it blows), so it was just a very light breeze of barely-warm air coming out of my dryer. The test was that I held the dryer right up to my hand. If it doesn't even bother my skin, it's probably okay for my hair. I slowly and gently dried my hair, using my fingers to smooth over it. And the finished product is great! It's sleek, smooth, and very, very clean. It doesn't stink at all, and I have fewer fly-away hairs than I used to after shampooing. And to boot, I don't even need hairspray!
The way my hair was just one month ago, I never would have dreamed that I'd be able to WO-wash so soon. My hair used to be a greasy, matted mess after only one day of not shampooing, but now I haven't CO-washed in a week, and my hair looks great every day! My hair seems to actually be doing better without CO-washing. Why was shampoo ever even invented? Oh right, profit motive!
The tresses are looking pretty good today; very shiny and full of body. My last CO-wash was on Wednesday, and I did a WO rinse yesterday. No need for any cornstarch today, my hair is not in the least bit oily. I am not wetting it today either; it doesn't seem to need anything.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Day 24 So I've been doing CO-washes about once every three days, because that seems to be the only thing that's really agreeing with my hair as of right now. Last week I did a baking soda rinse, and I used less, and it worked better on my hair, but it was still pretty drying. My last CO-wash was on Wednesday and it is now Saturday. I didn't wet my hair on Thursday and it was not greasy at all. I also didn't wet it on Friday, but it was pretty greasy by then, so I picked up some cornstarch from the store and fluffed it through my roots, then combed. The result was actually surprisingly good. I was afraid I'd look weird and powdery, but that was not the case. I have started combing my hair more than brushing it, as combing seems to not aggravate the oiliness so much. Today, I decided I should wet my hair, so I did a WO rinse, massaging my scalp for a good 10 minutes in the shower. Air dried. To my surprise, my hair really wasn't very greasy. There was a slight amount of greasiness in a few spots (temples), but really not nearly what I expected it to be.
I'm actually pretty pleased with the result; my ends aren't as frizzy as they used to be, and some of my natural waves are gradually returning. The cornstarch is actually working amazingly well to clean up little oil patches without having to wash my hair with anything other than water. It really just looks super shiny - not greasy at all. So there you have it - four days since my last CO-wash, and this is coming from someone who used to be a greaseball after one day of not shampooing. It seems that my scalp is beginning to adjust its oil production, now that I've stopped stripping it. My hair is super low maintenance on in between days, and it's beginning to look a bit healthier. Also, my boyfriend still confirms that it doesn't stink. It actually still has a slight fragrance of my conditioner that I use for CO-washing. It's Dessert Essence Organic Apple Conditioner. My ends need to be trimmed, but I'm a little hesitant to visit my hairdresser, because I know she's going to want to poo me. I think when I go, I'll CO-wash my hair that morning, and then tell her that it's already been washed, so she can hold off on the poo.
Day 11 Today is Monday, and this is what I did to cleanse my hair this morning:
First I massaged my scalp to loosen any dirt. Then I rinsed with a dillute ACV rinse. I then scrubbed my scalp with a sea salt water mixture and rinsed again with a camomile tea mix that I allowed to steep overnight. Then I rinsed with A LOT of water and finished off with a blast of cold water to seal the cuticle.
The result? Awful. All this did nothing to help with the grease factor, and it looks pretty much like I did a WO rinse. So much for not looking like a greaseball at school...
Day 10 Pretty oily today, but I'm not going anywhere, so I'm going to stick it out until tomorrow morning. I have to go to school tomorrow, so I prefer not to start out the week looking totally gross, because my hair will be plenty gross by the end of the week.
Day 9 My hair is not looking too bad today. It's not really too greasy, but it's also not good enough to wear down, so I have it up again. I can tell it is going to be pretty oily by tomorrow. Today is Saturday - I think I'm going to try to hold out until Monday morning, when I think I'm going to try tea and/or salt rinses. I doubt I'll try the baking soda again, because I felt it was too drying, which is kind of going
against what I'm trying to do, which is to get my scalp to produce the appropriate amount of oil. That won't happen if I'm drying my hair out with baking soda, just like it wouldn't happen using commercial shampoo. I think I am starting to notice a slight difference, in that the second day after a wash still seems a little bit greasy, but not as bad as it used to. Hopefully, this is a good sign that my hair might be adjusting.
Day 8 My hair was unbearably greasy today. It looks like it's wet. I know my adjustment period is going to be horrible, because I've got fine hair and an oily scalp to start with. I started out the day with a hat on, but mid-day, I couldn't take it anymore and decided to try a CO-wash today. It worked beautifully. My hair got very clean, but the ends felt a little dry, so, lacking any other oils, I put a very small bit of olive oil on my ends.
Day 7 Another super greasy day. Wore it back with the headband again, and am really trying to minimize the look of the greasiness. I tried to fluff it up a bit at the crown so maybe it just looks like I have too much product in it; actually, it looks like I styled it with vasoline...gross. I've been really self-conscious about it the last couple days. Not that I usually put that much effort into my appearance on a regular basis anyway, but that doesn't mean I'm okay with looking dirty. On the plus side, it does not smell. I've had my boyfriend check it every day, and he confirms it doesn't smell.
Day 6 I did another ACV rinse, but it didn't help much with the oiliness. Very greasy today, so I wore it back again with a cute headband to detract from its tragic state.
Day 5 My hair is quite a bit greasier today, so I wore a hat. I did not wet it today, because I felt like wetting it made it look even greasier. Thankfully, I only had one class today, so my appearance at school was only brief.
Day 4 I wore my hair back because it was starting to look a little bit greasy. When I got home for the evening, I took another shower and rinsed it with water only.
Day 3 I had a wedding to go to today, and my hair was pretty greasy, so I decided to do my first baking soda wash, followed by a weak ACV rinse. My hair was VERY clean, but I feel like the baking soda was too drying. My hair tangled a lot throughout the day and my ends hate me for it.
Day 2 My hair is a little bit waxier today. I did a dilluted ACV rinse, and the hair around my temples is starting to get pretty oily. The ACV rinse didn't seem to help with the oiliness.
Day 1 I've always been one of those unfortunate souls who has fine, limp hair that gets oily at the scalp within approximately 8 to 10 hours of washing, but whose ends are terribly dry. I've been trying to be nicer to my hair for the last few years, and have seen marked improvements, but it's still not the way I would like it. I haven't colored my hair in over five years, and stopped the daily blow drying about two years ago, and started using natural, SLS-free shampoos about two years ago. The only vice I ever used really was my straightening iron on rare occasion when I had a special event to go to. I've got a natural wave to my hair, but it's not the cute wave that every girl wishes she had. No, it's the crazy wave, where it is really curly in one place, straight in another, and a psycho poof-ball in another. It's just nonsense. I recently realized that in all of my efforts to be nicer to my hair, I was overlooking one big thing: my shampoo, although better than most, was probably doing most of the damage. I got online and started looking around at various people who were basically on the low poo agenda, when I happened to stumble across some people talking about no poo; this was the first I'd ever heard of it. I read all these wonderful stories about people who'd had success with it, and I started thinking maybe I should give it a try. I thought that maybe my hair isn't so bad - maybe I'm not genetically doomed to this seemingly illogical "combination" hair. Most of what I found online was directed at people who had very dry, curly hair, which is definitely not me. I've found some information from people with hair types similar to my own, one of them was pretty comprehensive from which I've gotten many ideas, but I wanted to make a log of my own journey. Today is February 19, and this is day 1 of no more shampoo.
Today was the first day of not shampooing my hair. It's not too bad, but seems a little waxy. I did a water only rinse today.
Found in many conditioners and shampoos, methylisothiazolinone (MIT) is commonly used as a preservative to inhibit microbial growth.
