We are lead to believe that the shampoo we buy for our babies must be the most gentle form of cleansing, our babies skin is so delicate that it has to be just as delicate, surely! It would seem that we assume so much.
Have you ever wondered why and how the no tears formulas work? I have done a little research and added to my hairdressing knowledge of chemicals used safely within the salon, I have put two and two together and I have moved my daughters off no tears formulas as soon as they understood to put their head back in the bath. This link to the how stuff works website explains it in full but I'll explain it simply...
http://science.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth/everyday-myths/tear-free-shampoo-not-sting-eyes1.htm
Everything has a ph value, this is a measure of how acidic or alkaline something is, the values run from 0-14 with 0-6.9 being acid and 7.1-14 being alkaline, 7 in the middle is neutral.
The ph value of hair and skin in 4.5-5.5, so a fairly mild acid ph. The ph value of the eye is on average 7 but it can vary slightly either side. The ph value of tear free formulas designed for babies is 7, therefore as it is the same ph level it does not sting the eyes. This all sounds relatively ok, until you compare the ph value of other things that you would defiantly not want to be used on your baby!!
The active ingredient of a colour is Ammonia, this has a fairly strong alkaline level, ph 11.6 to be exact, ammonia is an alkaline and is used safely in colouring everyday. Hairstylists are taught to respect this chemical as it swells the hairs cortex allowing colour molecules to be passed through into the cortex. The actual bowl of tint that is applied to your head does not have such a high ph value though, by the time the ammonia is mixed with colour molecules and other ingredients in the tube your stylist uses as well as hydrogen peroxide (an acid with ph 3.5-3.8) the whole bowl has a ph of roughly ph 7. The same ph level as a no tears formula baby shampoo!!
When I realised that the product I was using to colour clients hair and talking to them about how the ph level needs to be brought back down after a colour, was the same ph level as the shampoo I was using on my very young children I was mortified!! I vowed to find a better product for them and their hair!! I was lucky that my then 4 year old and 2 year old were big enough to understand 'put your head back' and I was always at hand with a facecloth to catch any drips heading for the eyes so a change to a basic salon shampoo was relatively easy for us as a family, the hardest part was getting Daddy to change what he had done for the last 4 years!! Within a couple of weeks after changing their shampoo, I noticed a big difference in their hair, the tangles were reduced making brushing their hair in the morning a lot less traumatic (for us and the neighbours!!!), their hair felt strong, looked shiny, and had a lot less static. Now my two daughters have both got long hair, they both understand their hair washing routine and even tell Daddy to give it an extra rinse!!
Please don't get me wrong, no tears formulas are a perfect start to keeping babies heads clean and help to encourage enjoyable bath times for all involved, as children's hair changes from baby fluff to be more dense with a better structure then the higher ph level is not as kind as you think for their hair and you could even be causing more problems by continuing to use it.
As a colourist I recommend clients who are trying to remove colours prior to big changes to start their process with a few shampoos of baby shampoo as it helps to strip out colour!!
I hope this helps you make better decisions about your hair
Olivia x