How Toxic is Your Hair Oil?

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Dr Ashutosh GautamPick up your daily moisturizer, cream or lotion, and chances are they’ve got a common ingredient: Petroleum aka Petrolatum, Mineral Oil. Petroleum is popular in beauty products because it helps to coat the surface of your skin or hair and acts as a barrier to lock in moisture. It’s found in one out of every 14 cosmetic products in the market, including 15 per centof lipsticks and 40 per cent of baby lotions and oils. Even some major herbal and natural brands use petroleum as a diluting agent in their hair oils. The petroleum present in these oils range anywhere from 40 per cent to a whopping 91 per cent (there’s no upper limit for adding mineral oil or petroleum in cosmetics in India).

But there’s been a growing backlash against petroleum among manufacturers and consumers alike as evidence is piling up on just how damaging this ingredient can really be. It is contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), on the basis of which the European Union has classified petroleum as a carcinogen a chemical which can cause cancer and has restricted its use in cosmetics. The PAHs in petroleum can cause skin irritations and allergies as well.When applied to the scalp, petroleumclogs the hair follicles, exacerbating the problem of dandruff and sluggish hair growth over time. [To know more about other such harmful ingredients commonly found in our daily cosmetics, do visit http://www.mantraherbal.in/chemicals-you-can-avoid]

The other thing to watch out for in hair oils are the active ingredients present. Usually, different ones are claimed but in reality an active ingredient such as Amla extract oil usuallymakes up less than 2 per cent of the hair oil. In addition, many hair oil brands use cheap, processed refined oils,which are devoid of any nutritional value for scalp or hair, instead of oils such as coconut, sesame or mustard oil that are rich in fatty acids.MantraHerbals’MahabhringrajHair Oil has no petroleum. It contains cold pressed sesame oil which is full of essential fatty acids such asMyristolic acid, saturated fat, MUFA and PUFA processed in extracts of twelve vital herbs such as Bhringraj, Amla, Haldi, and Mulethiwhich ensure a healthy scalp and lustrous, strong hair.Pick up your daily moisturizer, cream or lotion, and chances are they’ve got a common ingredient: Petroleum aka Petrolatum, Mineral Oil. Petroleum is popular in beauty products because it helps to coat the surface of your skin or hair and acts as a barrier to lock in moisture. It’s found in one out of every 14 cosmetic products in the market, including 15 per centof lipsticks and 40 per cent of baby lotions and oils. Even some major herbal and natural brands use petroleum as a diluting agent in their hair oils.

But there’s been a growing backlash against petroleum among manufacturers and consumers alike as evidence is piling up on just how damaging this ingredient can really be. It is contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), on the basis of which the European Union has classified petroleum as a carcinogen a chemical which can cause cancer and has restricted its use in cosmetics. The PAHs in petroleum can cause skin irritations and allergies as well.When applied to the scalp, petroleumclogs the hair follicles, exacerbating the problem of dandruff and sluggish hair growth over time

Dr.Ashutosh Gautam

manager clinical operations & brand development at Shree Baidyanath Ayurveda Bhawan Pvt.ltd

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