How to read a natural hair label in 60 seconds

Ingredients are in order of weight

Everything after fragrance or preservatives exists in tiny amounts. That means the ingredient you were sold on — the chebe, the rice water, the black seed oil — is often near the bottom. Judge the product by its first five names instead.

Read the first five

• Water first usually means a light, moisture-delivering product. Good for daily misting and layering under oil.
• Butters or heavy oils first means a sealing product. That is for ends and thick hair, not for the scalp under a braid.
• Alcohol denat near the top means it will dry quickly and may leave coarse hair parched.

The watch list

• Mineral oil, paraffin, petrolatum. Not dangerous, but they sit on top of the strand. On a braided scalp they trap debris against the skin.
• Fragrance and essential oils at the top. A common trigger for itching and irritation on a sensitive scalp.
• Strong sulfates. Fine for a reset wash, hard on a scalp that is already irritated.

Do not reject a product for these alone

• Silicones. They smooth and add slip. They are not the reason your hair stopped growing.
• Glycerin. Excellent in humid weather, awkward in very dry air. That is a climate issue, not a bad ingredient.
• Protein. Helpful during breakage, stiffening if used every wash.

One question before you pay

Ask what step this product is. Cleanse, condition, moisturise or seal. If you cannot answer, you are buying a bottle that will sit unused — and the shelf already has enough of those.