Suave shampoos, long touted as the economical alternative to expensive "brand name" shampoos, get shelf space in 50 percent of American households, according to the Suave website. The product ingredient labels read like a chemist's soup kitchen, thanks to FDA rules that require official chemical names of all ingredients on labels, but most of the ingredients fall into one of several categories. All of the shampoos share a list of common ingredients in addition to the special ingredients featured on the front labels.
Detergents and Foaming Agents
All shampoos in the Suave lines include ammoninum lauryl sulfate, a surfactant that reduces surface tension in water so that it can lift dirt from your hair, and sound-alike ammonium laureth sulfate, another surfactant and a skin conditioner. A third ingredient, ammonium chloride, thickens the shampoo, and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, a substance found in plant cell walls, keeps the ingredients from separating in the bottle. Cocamide MEA and PEG-5 cocamide, fatty acids found in coconuts, help make the shampoo's foam and keep the suds thick.
Preservatives
Some common ingredients prevent bacteria from contaminating the shampoo and keep it fresh. Those ingredients include citric acid, which also helps smooth hair. DMDM hydantoin and sodium benzoate prevent mold and mildew, and retard spoilage.
Hair Improvers
Suave shampoos also include several ingredients that moisturize your scalp and smooth your hair. Polyquaternium-10 reduces static electricity. Dimethicone, a silicone oil, smooths the hair shaft and makes your hair shiny. Propylene glycol is a humectant--a moisturizer that pulls moisture from the air. It keeps the shampoo from drying out in the bottle, and attracts moisture to your hair. Tocopheryl acetate is the chemical name for vitamin E, which is a skin conditioner.
Botanicals
In addition to the common shampoo ingredients, many Suave shampoos also include botanical extracts. The botanical ingredients included in the Suave Professional line are certified organic. The ingredients used include sweet almond oil, shea butter, aloe vera, lemongrass, rosemary leaf oil, chamomile, lavender, nettle, spearmint, ginseng and jojoba seed oil.
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