A Comprehensive Guide To Grooming Ingredients

Debunking the biggest 'toxic' grooming myths, so you know what's safe, what's risky, and what's pure hype

- By Sukriti Shahi

People, problems or products—we are quick to judge things and situations largely due to misinformation. From undeserving grooming ingredients gaining popularity to the deserving ones falling prey to the internet’s ruthless cancel culture, the newer trends in grooming are often confusing. We are talking about extreme hate towards certain ingredients due to poorly researched videos. I write this while I patiently wait for a haircare brand to give me a solution for effectively removing product buildup while they have convinced me that sulphates are bad.

Labels that mention “sulphate-free” or “no parabens” like a badge of honour are often preferred, but why? The truth is, some ingredients do deserve their bad reputation, but some are simply misunderstood, made into villains by marketing or half-baked science. Here's a guide to the big red flag names in skincare and haircare and which ones are fine to use and why

Parabens

Simply put, parabens work as preservatives for the products; they help in keeping them last longer. They keep bacteria and mold from setting up in your shampoo or face cream. The bad press comes from studies that linked parabens to hormone disruption— though the doses in those studies were way higher than you'd ever find in a bottle. They are also said to cause allergies, and skin sensitivities. The narrative spread quickly, amplified by the rise of clean-beauty marketing and consumer distrust of chemical-sounding ingredients. As brands realised that ‘paraben-free’ labels boosted sales, parabens became shorthand for everything supposedly harmful in personal-care products.