We all know now about the chemical companies that put in our beauty products. But did you know that there are also many synthetic chemicals in our shampoos and conditioners? While they seem to get the job done, some of us may want to reduce our exposure due to personal interest, skin conditions, or to improve overall hair health. A popular way to change things up in your washing routine is with a sulfate-free shampoo. Products without this chemical can be the reason your hair feels consistently dry and your dye job fades unusually quickly.

If you look at the ingredient list of your average shampoo, you'll likely come across sulfates by their technical term, sodium lauryl sulfate or sodium laurel sulfate (also known as SLS). This ingredient is a salt and acts as a surfactant. This substance reduces the surface tension of water, causing shampoo to loosen grease and sebum from the hair and scalp.

That may sound useful, but this ingredient is also commonly found in household detergents and cleaning products. Beauty companies use this ingredient along with many other toxic and synthetic ingredients because they are cheap and seem to "get the job done."

However, when it comes to our hair and when using regular shampoo, sulfates strip the outer effective layer of the hair and can remove the color from a dye job much faster. It may be a good idea to treat your hair more gently and invest in a sulfate-free shampoo and conditioner. But like anything, there are pros and cons to using sulfate-free shampoos and each shampoo should be carefully weighed to find out if this option is right for you.