How safe is your child’s shampoo? 4 nasty ingredients we want you to look out for.

Shampoo. It’s a necessity and does a job. Some are better than others, and some appeal to kids because of their favourite character on the bottle. But have you ever stopped to think about what’s in your child’s shampoo? Well, we’ve done some of the hard work for you, to tell you what to look out for and to hopefully make that trip down the hair care aisle (or browsing the web) easier and less confusing.

Here are the four ingredients we absolutely refuse to use in our range. Even though they may make for a highly effective product, we are totally against using them on our kids - and would hope that after reading this, you will choose not to use them on yours.

1. Parabens. Parabens are used to stop products from becoming spoiled – especially when in moist, warm environments like bathrooms. They are found in many beauty and personal care products because they are cheap and effective. Parabens largely replaced formaldehyde many decades ago as a preservative - they stop fungus, bacteria and other microbes from growing in products, which in turn increases shelf-life. Some Parabens are said to mimic Oestrogen and are therefore postulated to slightly increase the likelihood of certain cancers. While this likelihood is debatable, we wanted to ensure that we produce the best quality and safest products possible. 

2. Sulphates. Sulphates are foaming and cleansing agents, commonly used in cosmetic products and industrial cleaners. Sulphates can also be found in body washes, shampoos, toothpastes, soap and laundry detergents. They give a thick, foamy-lather. According to research, Sodium Lauryl Sulphate (SLS) has been linked to cancer, neuro-toxicity, organ-toxicity, skin irritation and endocrine disruption. Way too risky to include in Punk Angel products if you ask us!  And no need for them anyway, as our shampoo lathers beautifully without them (insert happy dance here!). 

3. Petrochemicals. Petrochemicals are chemical products found in petroleum.  They are obtained from fossil fuels like coal, natural gas. That’s why we keep them away from our kiddies and want to keep them away from yours too.  Definitely no petrochemicals in Punk Angel, baby! 

4. Alcohol. When it comes to haircare, there are many ingredients that have the word “alcohol” in their names but only one of them is actually alcohol. Some examples include "cetyl alcohol" (this is a wax), "stearyl alcohol" (also a type of wax), and "benzyl alcohol" (a liquid used widely around the world as a preservative to ensure safe products and included in certified organic products). The material labelled "alcohol" is very different. It is sometimes known by names including ethanol and methylated spirits but in cosmetics it must be referred to simply as "alcohol". This is the hard stuff that we leave out of our entire range. To be honest, we’d much rather drink it!

So next time you pick up your child’s shampoo, take a look at the ingredients listing. Even though a product may look fine, be mindful of its ingredients and how they could potentially impact your child. There are some harsh chemicals in everyday products that you wouldn’t be aware of unless you went to the effort of researching ingredients. We’ve done that for you and created Punk Angel to give parents the choice. 

To learn more about Punk Angel, head to our Frequently Asked Questions page on our website. 

If you have any questions, feel free to drop us a line. Email info@punkangel.com.au. Want to cut to the chase, and pick up some Punk Angel for your precious ones? Shop online here and save big with our awesome value packs xx

By Punk Angel