About Us

It started with a email and a dream. Three friends came together after having their own reasons for going natural, to formulate a platform for empowering women to embrace their Natural Beauty. With hundreds of emails and tons of research between them, they had a vision to make their dream become a reality. Thus, The Natural Is… Group was formed and an amazing event soon followed. The Natural Is... blog empowers women to embrace their natural beauty and is a resource to promote and encourage quality healthy hair care. We do so, by enlisting the help of the best experts in the business to help drive home the message that Natural Is Beautiful!

Sunday, July 31, 2011

Natural Is...Informed: A Look at Eco Styler Gel

Hey ladies!! As I awoke at 6:00 am for no reason at all, I started doing some digging on the specific reasons why flax seed is good for the hair. During said digging, I came across an interesting statement. In speaking of flax seed gel, a young lady begins by warning us that our dearly beloved Eco Styler Gel contains a carcinogen called Triethanolamine. Now, we love Eco because it boasts  “Alcohol Free”. We all know the drying effects of certain alcohols on natural hair (already prone to dryness), so kudos to Eco on that! But what about this Triethanolamine (or TEA)? Come, walk with me into the science lab…

Yes, Eco Styler gels DO contain this liquid but is it REALLY carcinogenic? Let’s do some more digging. When speaking of the concern of Cancer related to Triethanolamine, Evironmental Working Group (EWG) says: "Cancer - not classifiable/not likely to be human carcinogen". So, on it’s own, TEA is non-carcinogenic. Good to know! Further, according to cosmeticsinfo.org, "Triethanolamine and Diethanolamine should not be used in products containing N-nitrosating agents to prevent the formation of possibly carcinogenic nitrosamines". Hmph! So the question is: does Eco Styler contain such an agent?

I pulled out the shovel on this one. I found that the answer is no! Really, the problem only comes when high concentrations of TEA (over 5%) is used in our products or if it interacts with other agents (at any concentration). Beauty aide manufacturers are only allowed to use below this percentage of TEA. It’s interesting to note, though, that TEA may cause allergic reactions and eye irritation. It can also dry the hair and skin. But maybe the Wheat Protein and Glycerin also found in the gel take care of that! We can safely say we’ve never experienced dry hair using it, but everyone is different.

So how about this other ingredient I can’t pronounce, Sodium Hydroxymethylglycinate (what a mouthful!!)? It’s the ingredient listed just after the aforementioned TEA on the back label. As is turns out, this substance can (doesn’t necessarily mean it will) break down into formaldehyde…YES the stuff used to preserve dead bodies is also used in some products as a preservative. As of June 10th of this year, formaldehyde has been declared a known carcinogen by the Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS). Sodium Hydroxymethylglycinate has been listed among some ingredients to watch out for because of this fact. However, like TEA, Sodium Hydroxymethylglycinate, in itself, is non-carcinogenic but is a skin & eye irritant. Those with sensitive skin may want to stay away from products containing this.

Now are we saying don’t ever buy Eco Styler Gel? Of course not! We at Natural Is… simply give you the facts as we find them. Please, ladies, feel free to roll up those sleeves, pull out that shovel, do some digging of your own, and make an informed decision.

So, what have we learned here?

~ NONE of the ingredients in Eco Styler Gel are known carcinogens

~ Don’t quickly take everything someone says as “law”, no matter how knowledgeable you may think they are in hair care

~ Please please please read the labels on your products!!

In the end, natural is always better. Everything we need to take care of our hair and overall health the best way comes straight from the earth. Natural hair means natural care! But if you do decide to run to your local BSS for a product, choose wisely and buyer beware! When in doubt, do without. Products rich in all-natural and organic ingredients are your best bet to getting the most out of your hair.

Happy Shopping!

12 comments:

  1. Great article..felt like I was in science class. Keep em coming

    ReplyDelete
  2. I found this site because I bought the ECO Styler gel (the clear one) and used it to do my twist out. Now, I've never used this on my entire head before but I decided to try it. I went to bed and woke up the next morning and my eyelids were swollen. It didn't occur to me right away that it was the gel. No, and it probably wasn't the gel. A wk went by and I decided to do the twist out again with the ECO styler. I woke up in the morning and my neck was itchy. When I finally checked in the mirror my neck was considerably swollen. I still don't know if it's the ecostyler but it's going in the garbage. I'm not playing lab rat for $5 anymore. I've used shea butter over 2 years on my natural hair with no issues. The ingredients seem OK, except for the one labelled simply as "fragrance" I plugged all of the ingredients into the EWG.org website and that is the only one that seems hazardous. Again, it was probably just a coincidence, put the entire jar is going in the garbage.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I just started using the flax seed Eco gel, i had slight itching first, and for the next two weeks, my eyes, first one, then the other was itchy, And would eventually be swollen shut, nothing new to my diet, no new cosmetics, so...... In the trash it goes!!!!

      Delete
  3. Hi, i wanted u 2 know my experience so I copied a review I made May 5th, 2013 on amazon.

    Every time i used eco olive--whether just on my edges, an entire wash and go, or mixing it with oils or conditioners-- It thinned my hair. I ended up with 3 bald spots in the middle of my head, and it made my edges thin. I kept using it b/c i was in denial, but ultimately it broke my hair.

    It was strange b/c i never saw hair fall out on my bed or in my brush, but then i would see the thinning, like it disintegrated my hair or something. I don't know how long it's gonna take for the nickle sized spot near my edges to fill in, but it's already been a year.

    I want to be able to slick down my edges, I don't really care much about curl definition, but i can't even do that. It also made my hair crunchy when i used it and stiff. No matter if i used small amounts or more, or mixed it w/ oil or conditioner, it's garbage. I've got tight 4b hair that gets more loose toward the nape of my neck, btw. I'm gonna try using the blue eco hold level 5 and hopefully that works

    Update: 6/1/13
    After buying the blue medium hold gel, I've come to realize that the hardness of the hold has nothing to do with the bald spots. This solidified what already knew from my results w/ layering and mixing the eco styler w/ oils and conditioners.

    When it came to function, The blue eco was alright-- gave shine, definition, and it also gave me more Hair Loss. I had thinning on my edges, and a piece of hair near that nickle sized bald spot that still hasn't gone away have shortened to half the size. I hate this brand of gel. I've never had any problems with balding until using this. I wouldn't even recommend it to someone I hate.

    I gave the green one away to my cousin b/c I just wanted it far away from me ages ago. She's telling me that the product has started thinning her hair as well. My hair follicles are damaged, the bald spot is completely smooth bare. It hasn't grown back since I noticed it a year ago, and even the blue one now has caused me problems. I am very frustrated with this product. Hopefully I can grow my curls back.

    I'm not sure what it is about this gel; it's supposed to be all natural, so I don't know what the problem is. Is it the excessive amount of protein? W/ the eco blue, My hair wasn't hard or tangled, and I no longer comb or brush my hair. I go in the shower, and let the water detangle while I smooth sections of hair w/ my fingers, and it get perfectly detangled.

    So there's no logical reason to me what could be causing the breakage. Maybe my hair just hates whatever is in this product. I hope someone can investigate the effects of excessive protein. My hair wasn't particularly dry, it was pretty moisturized, and soft.

    I've used flax seed gel, and another type of protein gel before that didn't claim to be "all natural" but also didn't leave me a naked spot on my head. And I've had natural hair for 6 years. Ah well, someone w/ this issue has to speak up about this so they can know they aren't the only one.

    Beware, pen spring tight 4b/ 4c curly girls, be vigilant and as soon as you notice your hair thinning, drop the product, it only gets worse.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I used the African Style brand gel until it went off teh shelves and the Eco Styler came out so I had no other choice but to try it. Since then I began having hair loss problems and now reading the last previous comment i realized its true. I have to stop using this product before i go totally bald. It gets worst every time i sued this product expecially when I take a shower and wash my hair thats when i notice more shedding. When i do not use the eco styler its a lot less....

    ReplyDelete
  5. I have also recently started experiencing a lot of hair fall since using eco styler gel (Krystal) consistently for two years; so I'm wondering whether to discontinue use or just get something more natural, as I really love eco styler krystal gel for my wash and gos (which is what I do every time) but I cannot afford to go bald.

    ReplyDelete
  6. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I as well used the Eco styler. I take really great care of my natural hair. I experienced no balding issues until I used this product. My edges began to thin and bald patches appeared. I use all natural products such as coconut oil,evoo, Shea butter. My hair was in pretty healthy shape, then I began to notice lots of shedding and balding. I stopped using this product and now I use kinky kurly custard. Not worth losing your hair! I became really convinced after I read all the negative reviews on Amazon. This is not a product for natural hair!

    ReplyDelete
  8. The same happened for me!!! I'm so glad I found this because I thought it was just me or I was sick or something. I wonder what other gels are out there that I can try with great hold!!!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Eco styler works grest for me. I don't have know issues,only that it creates a gel cast.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I have also experienced thinning edges from the consistent use of Eco Styler gel (olive oil).

    ReplyDelete