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Is eco styler damaging to hair in the long run?

Angelayalet

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I don't mean in the "man-made=bad" or nature fallacy way. I mean will contiuned use over long periods damage my hair (like breakage or other hair loss) in a similar way to chemical or heat damage? I use eco for my wash n gos because it's cheap with amazing hold but if it's damaging in the long run, i'll switch to different gels. The ingredient that i'm worried about is triethanolamine (TEA) since i've heard that it can be toxic.
Also about botanical gels are they really all that good? I've heard that they tend to require a "topper" gel to actually hold hair. Which make me think that they're basically like leave-in conditioner with light hold.
 
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I agree with Jennifer Rose's take on eco styler in that as long as you are regularly shampooing your hair, I don't see how it can damage it or dry it out. The A's say that it is a heavy duty gel that should only be used for special occasions, but I have had no problems rinsing it out of my hair. The first ingredient is water so I don't know why they group it with oils and butters
 

MERVEILLEUSE

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You don't need a topper gel, people just like using one because they want to. Botanical gels don't hold as long as eco, but that's not an issue for me and I don't care too much about longevity when I can just redo my hair whenever I see fit. A leave in conditioner is not a styling product, so no they're not the same thing.

But gels like Eco can be damaging for the same reason any non soluble product can be: product buildup. Over time, all of that excess gel can leave residue that will make your hair chronically dry and brittle, which will cause breakage.

If you're sticking with Eco, stick with sulfate shampoos. You'll need it, but then you might come up against another reason why non-water soluble products can cause damage over time: the harsher cleansers you need to effectively clean your hair free of them might be too drying. You will have to counter with good conditioners... but it can be a very tough balancing act (it was for me).
 

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I personally prefer botanical gels for wash-n-go and ecostyler for slick back ponytails and anything where I need a stronger hold.

I use this botanical gel:

It's light to medium hold so I don't have that crunchy feel but my hair also won't get frizzy and will stay in place. Ecostyler would have my hair feeling hard and honestly doesn't look good with my wash-n-gos
 

MERVEILLEUSE

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I personally prefer botanical gels for wash-n-go and ecostyler for slick back ponytails and anything where I need a stronger hold.

I use this botanical gel:

It's light to medium hold so I don't have that crunchy feel but my hair also won't get frizzy and will stay in place. Ecostyler would have my hair feeling hard and honestly doesn't look good with my wash-n-gos
This is me. I will still use a little eco on my edges, but nevveerrr on my whole head for a w&g.
 

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as far as slicking hair down, i moved from ecostyler to the slick back creme styler. doesn't make my hair dry, crunchy, and dead feeling. i barely use eco on my edges now. it turns white & flakes on me for some reason now, never did that before
 

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I agree with Jennifer Rose's take on eco styler in that as long as you are regularly shampooing your hair, I don't see how it can damage it or dry it out. The A's say that it is a heavy duty gel that should only be used for special occasions, but I have had no problems rinsing it out of my hair. The first ingredient is water so I don't know why they group it with oils and butters

You don't need a topper gel, people just like using one because they want to. Botanical gels don't hold as long as eco, but that's not an issue for me and I don't care too much about longevity when I can just redo my hair whenever I see fit. A leave in conditioner is not a styling product, so no they're not the same thing.

But gels like Eco can be damaging for the same reason any non soluble product can be: product buildup. Over time, all of that excess gel can leave residue that will make your hair chronically dry and brittle, which will cause breakage.

If you're sticking with Eco, stick with sulfate shampoos. You'll need it, but then you might come up against another reason why non-water soluble products can cause damage over time: the harsher cleansers you need to effectively clean your hair free of them might be too drying. You will have to counter with good conditioners... but it can be a very tough balancing act (it was for me).

Agree with both of these fonts. If you are 'lazy' to the point where you don't wash your hair with a SUITABLE shampoo at least weekly, you will definitely run into problems.

I used to use eco styler back in the day exactly as merveillese described in the bolded, If I did wash my hair I used weak sulphate free shampoos that didn't sufficently get the product out.

I use s curl gel which has similar ingredients and isn't a problem. I wash my hair every 3-4 days now.
 

Angelayalet

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You don't need a topper gel, people just like using one because they want to. Botanical gels don't hold as long as eco, but that's not an issue for me and I don't care too much about longevity when I can just redo my hair whenever I see fit. A leave in conditioner is not a styling product, so no they're not the same thing.

But gels like Eco can be damaging for the same reason any non soluble product can be: product buildup. Over time, all of that excess gel can leave residue that will make your hair chronically dry and brittle, which will cause breakage.

If you're sticking with Eco, stick with sulfate shampoos. You'll need it, but then you might come up against another reason why non-water soluble products can cause damage over time: the harsher cleansers you need to effectively clean your hair free of them might be too drying. You will have to counter with good conditioners... but it can be a very tough balancing act (it was for me).
Do you know which ingredients are non-water soulable? so that i can avoid these in my search for an alternative gel
 

IrisOsiris

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I don't mean in the "man-made=bad" or nature fallacy way. I mean will contiuned use over long periods damage my hair (like breakage or other hair loss) in a similar way to chemical or heat damage? I use eco for my wash n gos because it's cheap with amazing hold but if it's damaging in the long run, i'll switch to different gels. The ingredient that i'm worried about is triethanolamine (TEA) since i've heard that it can be toxic.
Also about botanical gels are they really all that good? I've heard that they tend to require a "topper" gel to actually hold hair. Which make me think that they're basically like leave-in conditioner with light hold.
when you find out, lemme know. all i know is that the internet tells me its bad, but a girl i knew in real life who swore by it wore her hair in wngs nonstop and her hair was down her back with the most exquisite curls you ever did see.
 

MERVEILLEUSE

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Do you know which ingredients are non-water soulable? so that i can avoid these in my search for an alternative gel
They're your usual suspects: raw oils and butters, 'cones, waxes, petrolatum (main ingredient in old school greases), and in gels it's the carbomers. Now, some carbomers (and cones) are supposedly water soluble, but in general these ingredients don't mix well or at all with water so they need surfactants (in shampoo!) to "unstick" them effectively from your hair and scalp.

This is a general guideline, but basically, anything that is sticky, goopy, meant to coat or "seal" your hair, or is a styling product with a lot of hold (and crunch!) is a product that will likely require shampoo of varying strengths to remove.

Some people that avoid all water soluble ingredients find that they don't need products with surfactants (shampoo) at all. I think those people are going too damn far and shampoo should never be completely abandoned, but the reason why it is feasible is because they don't use "sticky" products.
 

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I’ve been using eco styler since August last year and I have not noticed any negative side effects.
 

ReinaDuNord

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I alternate between the flaxseed version and Aunt Jackies don’t shrink for wng. I should do a real comparison so I can decide which I like better :)

I use the olive oil version for ponytails/slicking down hair.

I use a chelating shampoo (that also clarifies) and a sulfate shampoo regularly. I don’t have issues with build up.
 

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But that's a logical fallacy, something being natural doesn't mean it's good and man-made things are inherently bad.
I don’t know how you twisted all that up because one isn’t synonymous with the other lol my hair is extremely long and thick and it got that way by me keeping synthetic things out of it and not manipulating it. I don’t know what else healthy hair is about.
 

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If you want something similar to eco's hold but without the anxiety, try Jello Shot by Ecoslay. It is definitely STRONG hold l, and it has a teeny bit of a learning curve, but it's a good gel overall.
 

Angelayalet

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I don’t know how you twisted all that up because one isn’t synonymous with the other lol my hair is extremely long and thick and it got that way by me keeping synthetic things out of it and not manipulating it. I don’t know what else healthy hair is about.
Nothing's twisted up, i just notice that the comment used faulty reasoning. Didn't mean any harm by it.
 

Rangiku

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I stopped using Eco because personally I noticed my edges became brittle and dry and I've never been one to go longer than maybe 5 days without shampooing and clarified regularly. I would use it for my buns and to slick back my edges for half wigs. It may be a coincidence who knows but all I know is when I stopped using Eco the front of my hair stopped being brittle and dry.
 

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I used it a lot when natural and it eventually destroyed my scalp by making it dry out and peel. Terrible product
 

MzNicety

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I've used Eco for years with no issues, but I no longer use it anymore because they effed up the original formula, it doesn't have much hold as it once did. I've been using Wetline or something similar instead.
 

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I used to love using ecostyler but since companies have been coming out with gels that have better ingredients with same hold for eco, I have not looked back. I still have it in my stash to put my hair in a high puff, but my hair is really long so it's hard to get a high puff for me.
 

Angelayalet

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I used to love using ecostyler but since companies have been coming out with gels that have better ingredients with same hold for eco, I have not looked back. I still have it in my stash to put my hair in a high puff, but my hair is really long so it's hard to get a high puff for me.
What gels do you use?
 

LadyMT

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I use it from time to time. To answer your question, no. As long as you are actually cleansing your hair then there will not be any problems. Just like any other product, you want to wash it out.
 

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