Ingredients 101
We get it, you want to look great whilst taking care of your body and the environment. Not too much to ask, right? Well, we agree. And we love that about you.
When it comes to colouring your hair, we all want to make the healthiest possible choice without having to sacrifice results. That’s why we’ve taken care to hand-pick each ingredient in our colours with your wellbeing in mind.
It’s not currently possible to create a truly permanent hair colour with 100% natural ingredients, so there are a small number of synthetic ingredients in our formulation. There’s no way around that unfortunately, but we use them in absolutely minimal quantities and only where there is no natural alternative.
The problem is there’s a lot of mixed messages online about which hair colour ingredients to avoid, so we’re going to break it down for you right here.
Let’s take a closer look at the ingredients in Oiamiga colours:
PEG-2 Oleamine
This is naturally derived and we use it for its anti-static, emulsifying and thickening properties. To put it simply, this is what helps the colour to stay on your hair instead of sliding right off.
Aqua
This one’s just water. Filtered, de-ionised water. Nothing fancy.
PEG-4 Rapeseedamide
This is a naturally-derived mild surfactant and thickener which helps give our colour its consistency.
Denatured Alcohol
Not the drinking kind. This is a solvent which helps the molecules in our colour to properly function. Denatured alcohol contributes to the texture of products by preventing separation and crystallisation. It also functions as a viscosity adjuster. Smart, eh?
Propanediol
We include this in our colours as a naturally-derived moisturiser and humectant. That means the moisture it’s adding to your hair gets locked in for maximum nourishment.
Oleic Acid
This is naturally derived, and is also partly responsible for delivering dye molecules into the hair fibre. We also include this in our formulation to neutralise any residue from the next ingredient.
Ethanolamine
This one’s synthetic and takes the place of ammonia, which we all want to avoid. Ethanolamine helps open the cuticle to allow the colour to deposit. The process of opening the hair cuticle with ethanolamine is much gentler than with ammonia and also allows us to use less PPD in our formulation, as well as meaning less protein and moisture is lost from the hair during the colouring process.
Parfum
We use a blend of natural and synthetic fragrance. We’d love to use a completely natural fragrance, but that wouldn’t be stable in our formula.
Sodium Sulfite
This is a synthetic anti-oxidant salt which prevents oxidation of dye precursors over time, and is important for maintaining shelf life.
Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein
This is a great natural conditioner. The hydrolyzation process makes the wheat protein small enough to access keratin through the hair cuticle. It also adds volume, texture and condition to the hair, preventing it from drying out and leaving it feeling soft and silky.
PEG-7 Glyceryl Cocoate
This is a naturally-derived anti-irritant to keep your scalp feeling great while the colour processes.
Sodium Hydrosulfite
This is a synthetic antioxidant salt and preservative. We need this one to give our colours their shelf life.
Ascorbic Acid
This is vitamin C, and it’s an amazing anti-oxidant.
Tetrasodium Glutamate Diacetate
This one is a naturally-derived chelating agent. To put it simply, that means it helps the other ingredients in our colour to perform the way we want them to.
2-Amino-4-Hydroxyethylaminoanisole Sulfate
This is a synthetic pigment.
N-Phenyl-p-Phenylenediamine Sulfate
This is a synthetic pigment.
p-Phenylenediamine
This is the most commonly-known synthetic pigment, PPD, which we use in the lowest possible quantities. Through all of our research and testing, we’ve come to find that using extremely low levels of PPD is better than using higher levels of the alternatives, such as PTD and TDS which all come with similar warnings and characteristics.
4-Amino-2-Hydroxytoluene
This is a synthetic pigment.
Symphytum Officinale (Comfrey) Leaf Extract
This is naturally derived and great for extra conditioning and soothing.
p-Aminophenol
This is a synthetic pigment.
Tocopherol
This is vitamin E, which is another great anti-oxidant.
4-Chlororesorcinol
This is a synthetic pigment.
Aloe Barbadensis (Aloe Vera) Leaf Extract
We all know and love aloe for it’s amazing soothing properties. That’s why we include it in our formula, to keep your scalp feeling great.
Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Peel Extract
This is another naturally derived anti-oxidant.
Citrus Grandis (Grapefruit) Fruit Extract
One last naturally derived anti-oxidant to keep your hair looking and feeling great.
As well as being packed full of all these incredible ingredients, Oiamiga colours are proudly non-toxic and free from these nasties:
- Ammonia
- Aminomethyl Propanol
- Animal Bi-Products
- Coal Tar
- Cocamide DEA
- Coconut Oil
- Carcinogens
- DMDM Hydantoin
- Diethanolomine (DEA)
- Formaldehyde
- Gluten
- Lead
- MI
- Nuts / Nut Oils
- Polyethylene Glycol
- Phthalates
- Palm Oil
- PEG-3 Cocamide
- Parabens
- Petroleum
- Plastic
- Petro Chemicals
- Resorcinol
- Silicones
- SLS
- Toluene
- Triethanolamine
Phew. We weren't lying when we said we were good!
To find out more about our colours, be sure to check out our other blogs.