Mineral Oil, (THE BATTLE)
Products marketed for Black women usually contain petroleum and mineral oil, for two reasons: it makes our hair have an artificial shine and these are cheap products to make and sell. Petroleum and mineral oil clog the pores on your scalp and coat the strand, making hair much more prone to damage and breakage in the long run. If you are using an expensive product and one of these items are near the top of the ingredient list, sorry to say but you’re most likely wasting money. (via motowngirl.com)
Mineral Oil is known to clog pores (Mineral oil, petroleum and cyclomethicone are listed as having no pore clogging properties, HOWEVER as they are not absorbed by the skin, they dont technically clog…. they just sit there and prevent anything from going in or out, bad or good. Therefore they have a lubricating function, which is NOT good in terms of haircare) For me personally, my hair hates mineral oil, but some products i use (miss jessies, some leave ins) contain mineral oil, but small amounts. For some people, their hair thrives on it, but just do your own research and find out what works best for you. The wonderful thing about our hair is that its diverse and everyone has their own hair DNA.
For further information this website has a list of scalp/pore clogging ingredients. The COM #, that stands for comedogenic, The IRR stands for irritant. So the COM # is what you’re looking for. I take this with a grain of salt almost, because it says one of my favorite oils (coconut) is known for clogging. Maybe the high natural fat content in coconut oil makes it a 4? I’m not sure how they came up with that conclusion, but you can research it if you wish. Plus, I know too much grease WILL clog your pores. Especially if used daily and left on the scalp for more than a week.
Other articles
