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The New Hair Product Offering From DAX And Why I Would Not Use It

April 6, 2012 by 25 Comments

DAX roots jojoba oilI had this question from one of our visitors last week and I thought it was important to highlight it.

There is a new product from Dax that states no petrolatum, no mineral oil. But the main ingredients is hydrogenated vegetable oils, is that good for the hair? Other ingredients are coconut oil, castor oil, and of course jojoba what about the hydrogenated vegetable oils??

The product in question is Dax Roots Jojoba Oil pictured here. So why wouldn’t I use it if it does not have the dreaded mineral oil? Two words Hydrogenated Oil. Manufacturers use hydrogenated oils in cosmetics first because they are cheap and transport well and secondly, they contribute to a thicker more luxurious final product.

Anyone who has ever gone on a health or weight loss kick will no doubt have heard about the dangers of hydrogenated & partially hydrogenated oils also known as trans fats. The primary risk for trans fats is the increased risk for heart disease. A 1994 study attributed an estimated 30000 deaths per year to the consumption of trans fats and by 2006 100,000 deaths were being suggested. These oils increase the risk for heart disease more so than any other macronutrient.

But that’s not the only the only reason why trans fats are bad news. Just to drive the point home, here are 3 more reasons why you should never consume trans fats, they increase the risk for the following diseases too:

1. Cancer

2. Type 2 diabetes

3. Autoimmune disease

Ok, ok, so whats the big deal, they are only hair products, we are not going to eat them, right? Even if you do not directly consume them, anything that touches the skin has the potential to be absorbed into the bloodstream. Surprise, human skin is porous! That’s why you can apply ibuprofen cream directly at the site of pain and have the pain disappear shortly thereafter. Some of these topical medicines even have warnings that applying too much in a short period of time has the potential to cause death due to large amounts being absorbed into the bloodstream.

I always have a cursory glance at ingredients in any new products I purchase. I may still buy a product if it has something there that I don’t recognize (which is common with hair stuff!), but seeing the word hydrogenated in the labels sets alarm bells ringing in my head as it should in yours. Seriously folks, even mineral oil is better than hydrogenated oil. The molecules of mineral oil are too large to penetrate the skin so it may clog your skin’s pores but won’t get the chance do do more damage inside your body.

We can’t live forever but I’m sure we all want quality of life as we age and battling heart disease, cancer or diabetes in our twilight years is not ideal. Natural hair products all the way!

**Edit**

I thought this was pretty obvious going by the title of the article but due to some of the comments that I get I would like to state categorically that this is purely an OPINION POST. You may not agree with me for whatever reason which is fine but my opinion holds.

Alma

About Alma


Hi! I'm Alma Ruddock, a full time blogger. I stumbled on a hair care forum in 2008 frustrated with my breaking relaxed hair and the information that I found there changed the fate of my hair forever!. I started BlackHairInformation.com as a way to help both myself and other women of color achieve their dreams of long healthy hair. I have now achieved my goal length and I continue to bring new information about hair on both this website and my personal blog.




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  • Primus

    Amen! Trans fats are the devil!

  • Cymone

    I am trippin!!! For once, I thought I found a good product with Castor oil, only to realize HYDROGENATED oils are worse than Mineral oil!!! Thank u for pointing this out!!

    • http://www.blackhairinformation.com/ Alma

      No problem girl!

  • Caryn

    first formaldehyde, now hydrogenated oils. when will they quit putting rubbish in our food and hair stuff? 

  • Parent34

    Disgraseful from DAX. I’m sick of industry sneaking dangerous cr*p into our food and cosmetics. WTF??

  • Graycatt4

    Hydrogenated oils are saturated fats and saturated fats do not readily penetrate the skin. Hydrogenation of an oil or fat results in stearic acid which is saturated, these are not very water soluble which is what reduces its ability to penetrate the skin. Further more the skin which is our major barrier has methods of metabolizing, and safely eliminating substances that penetrate its layers. Topical application of hydrogenated oils will not enter into your body, nor contribute to your blood levels of fatty acids unless you applied it maybe to an open cut. The reason why ibuprofen penetrates is due to its molecular weight as well as additives that are used as carriers to help it to diffuse throughout the skins barriers. Oh and I’m a toxicologist so this is an informed scientific post.

    • http://www.blackhairinformation.com/ Alma

      Interesting point Graycatt4. If you relax and you have scabs on your scalp then like you said, you may just get penetration of these fatty acids so I wouldn’t take the risk to be perfectly honest. In any case, it’s time the industry learnt not to throw cheap ingredients into our hair products and promote them as good for the hair. There are many quality natural oils and fats to choose from like coconut, olive etc, I don’t see why I should waste my hard earned cash on the cheap stuff. that will just coat my hair. Coconut oil is uniquely able to penetrate the hair strands and reduce protein loss and olive oil will coat the strands to seal in moisture. There are so many other natural oils like jojoba, castor etc, that are preferable to cheap hydrogenated oils. Sorry to carry on but I get really peeved by manufactures sometimes treating black ppl like second class citizens. :(

  • http://www.facebook.com/michelle.rivera.54379 Michelle Rivera

    It is very unfortunate the misconceptions people have from reading poor literiture. The reality is that for your body to process a hydrogenated vegetable oil as you have stated the material must pass through your digestive system and be abosorbed into your body through your intestines. This is how we absorb fat, sugars and other very essential nutrients and vitamins that we derive from food. In no way shape or form can a hydrogenated vegetebale oil be absorbed through the scalp even with a scab on the scalp. This is false information. Please refer to a doctor prior to making claims such as the one in your article.

    • Shae

      Carry on using the hydrogenated stuff then and we will carry on not using them.

      • http://www.blackhairinformation.com/ Alma

        @ Michelle, like I said above there are many quality natural oils and fats to choose from like coconut, olive etc, I don’t see why I should waste my hard earned cash on the cheap stuff. Plus there are is preliminary research showing that lipids can be absorbed through the skin

  • http://www.facebook.com/michelle.rivera.54379 Michelle Rivera

    In fact using materials such as Hydrogentated Vegetable Oil will minimize what is called TEWL (Trans-Epidermal Water Loss) which will allow the moisture (water)content on your skin and hair to remain and not evaporate or disipate so rapidly.

    • http://www.blackhairinformation.com/ Alma

      And your point is? Doesn’t olive oil or sebum do the same?

      • http://www.facebook.com/michelle.rivera.54379 Michelle Rivera

        Sebum is another word for oil. Olive oil can have similar atttributes; however it will run and not remain on the skin long enough such as a thicker textured material. The bottom line is that the concerns you noted in your article do not apply in the case of a hair care or skin care product since in order for a Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil to be absorbed and have the effects you noted it must be ingested and absorbed through the intestinal tract over a period of time. Please do the appropriate research before you make claims you cannot back up.

        • http://www.blackhairinformation.com/ Alma

          SERIOUSLY?? Olive oil won’t remain on the skin long enough? Where are you getting this stuff from? LOL. Bottom line for me is that I stand by my article and you and I will have to agree to disagree.

          • http://www.facebook.com/michelle.rivera.54379 Michelle Rivera

            Sounds about right. Just wish you knew your facts before making false claims.

          • Penny

            I would like to have my say too. Even though I can’t confirm the validity of the statement that fat is absorbed through the skin, nobody can because there hasn’t been enough research into the matter. The link Alma provided shows that it is certainly possible but far from decisively confirmed.

            Michelle Rivera I think you are missing the point of the article that natural oils are the best. Olive oil is a fabulous moisturizer. It has been used around the mediterranean for thousands of years and remains superior to all man made hydrogenated fats.

            Personally I wouldn’t eat hydrogenated oils because of the CONFIRMED heath concerns. Does that mean that I want them in my hair products? Hell no! Much the same as a vegan searches out cosmetic products that don’t contain lanolin or other ingredients of animal origin.

            It’s a matter of principal and if you dont get that, then we can’t change the cosmetics industry for the better.

          • Keisha

            I have seen ‘contains wheat gluten’ in some cosmetic products too. Aint nobody going to be eating handcream yet they feel the need to warn coeliacs to avoid the products? Of course stuff gets thru the skin. Duh

          • Keisha

            I have seen ‘contains wheat gluten’ in some cosmetic products too. Aint nobody going to be eating handcream yet they feel the need to warn coeliacs to avoid the products? Of course stuff gets thru the skin. Duh

          • Cila

            lol, yeah go troll somewhere else with your theories on olive oil! Someone should tell all those mediterannean women that olive oil is just sliding off their skin. What a pile of nonesense!

          • Keesh

            even if your points are vaild, you come off as very rude. You could right your own article, and that would be more helpful. But why be informative when you can be rude?

  • Penny

    I would like to have my say too. Even though I can’t confirm the validity of the statement that fat is absorbed through the skin, nobody can because there hasn’t been enough research into the matter. The link Alma provided shows that it is certainly possible but far from decisively confirmed.

    @Michelle Rivera I think you are missing the point of the article that natural oils are the best. Olive oil is a fabulous moisturizer. It has been used around the mediterranean for thousands of years and remains superior to all man made hydrogenated fats.

    Personally I wouldn’t eat hydrogenated oils because of the CONFIRMED heath concerns. Does that mean that I want them in my hair products? Hell no! Much the same as a vegan searches out cosmetic products that don’t contain lanolin or other ingredients of animal origin.

    It’s a matter of principal and if you dont get that, then we can’t change the cosmetics industry for the better.

  • Obviously

    Michelle obviously works for Dax

  • http://www.blackhairinformation.com/ Alma

    Come on people, let’s calm down. Everyone’s entitled to their opinion and @facebook-1035916644:disqus is no exception. I certainly believe that there’s a case to be answered but she does not. In any event we have agreed to disagree.

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