Curly naturals love their hair gel. A great styling gel tames edges and gives your hair a polished and sleek final look. Traditionally, however, gels contain alcohols and other dying ingredients that can lead to breakage and split ends. Enter the era of natural and supposed organic gels and the Eco styler brand turned out to be one of them.
In their lineup of more than 5 gel variations, there can be found a controversial active ingredient known as triethanolamine, TEA or TEOA.
So what is Triethanolamine (TEA)?
Triethanolamine is an ingredient that is used to stabilize hair product, neutralize fatty acids and thicken formulas. Research has shown that triethanolamine causes allergic reactions in some cases – irritation to skin and eyes and contact dermatitis. Additionally, when mixed with certain ingredients, triethanolamine can form cancer-causing agents.
To avoid deceptive ingredients lists, the best option would be to