I’ve been back and forth here about the topic of surfactants (Sodium Laureth Sulfates, Sodium Laurel Sulfates, SLS’s) in shampoos. For a while now, I thought that if a shampoo had SLS’s in it, it could not be used on color-treated hair as in, it would not make it last. Period. End of story. How did I come to this conclusion? Probably from a lot of things I read, heard, and the trend of sulfate-free products coming out didn’t help either (and do you remember a few years ago when I discovered that just because a shampoo is sulfate-free doesn’t mean it will make you hair color last any longer? Yup, it’s a confusing world!).

I’ve been lucky enough to come across some major hair people lately and decided to ask them their opinion about SLS’s and if yes, they do kill hair color, or not.

With the Internet, there is just so much info on beauty products, ingredients, etc that it can really make your head smoke from it all! So hopefully I can shed a little light on the subject of hair color and the shampoos.

In addition to info from both brands below on the topic, I also met with the Director of Marketing, Cindy Van Steelandt from the Zerran International Corporation recently to try their Reallisse Vegan Hair Smoothing System (feature on that next week).Cindy loves all thing science so she was perfect for my line of questioning on the subject! “Know that no one ingredient is inherently good or bad for your hair,” said Cindy, “there are terrific surfactants out there, but they will still play nice with your hair (color) or play not-so-nice depending upon their supporting ingredients, concentration and formulation. Sulfates can be good, sulfates can be bad, but it depends upon the crowd they run with. Conversely, other non-sulfate surfactants also can be good or bad, too.” So the bottom line here is just because a product has SLS’s doesn’t mean it will kill your hair color. As far as trying to be as smart about the subject and buying shampoos and products that will help your hair color investment last, Cindy says to just get informed and know what you want out of your hair care products and make sure you get it.

So with that said, I am taking out the question mark off of these next ones recently came out. Yes, both have a surfactant in them (we love our suds, don’t we) as the second ingredients listed but both say that they are gentle and the support ingredients make it color-safe.

And I think the important lesson here is to always be open to information and just because one outlets says it is true, doesn’t mean it is. Do your research and come to your won conclusions. I’m glad I was open as I would have let two new products slip through my fingers without talking about them.

BUMBLE AND BUMBLE’s new Let It Shine Shampoo ($22/8.5oz) and Let It Shine Conditioner ($23/8.5oz). Both @ bloomingdales.com – works to gently remove residue on strands to leave them shiney and nourished using sunflower seed oil and a special lipid protein.

SEBASTIAN PROFESSIONAL Color Ignite Single Tone Shampoo and Whipped Conditioner and if you have multi-tonal and lightened hair, I recommend the Color Ignite Multi Tone Shampoo and Whipped Conditioner. Shampoos $14.95/8.45 and Conditioners $16.95/6.66oz @ sebastianprofessional.com for locations – these ones really tailor what they do depending on the color technique applied.

Disclosure: Samples of these items were provided for review purposes.