SODIUM HYDROXIDE IN YES TO CUCUMBERS!!!!

Ok, I was looking for a good moisturizing conditioner that did not have protein in it. I heard rave reviews about Yes to Cucumbers conditioner. I looked at reveiws on youtube, and quite a few hair forums. I really heard nothing bad about; no bad ingredients or anything. So I go to target to pick it up and near the bottom of the list of ingredients( 3rd to last) I see sodium hydroxide. I bought it anyway because I think its used a s a ph balancer, but I am still worried about it. I looks at some reviews and when they listed the ingredients there was more than one difference and it did not contain sodium hydroxide. So I am guessing they have changed the formula??? Has anyone else noticed this? Should I be worried?

Sodium hydroxide (aka Lye, Soda lye, Caustic soda)
Avoid
Known as “alkaline perms”. Often found in relaxers and texturizers. Highly caustic. Denatures hair and can dissolve it. In smaller concentrations, it's used as a pH adjuster. In higher concentrations, such as in relaxers, it can cause severe burns on skin. Begoun pg 155. Of the same pH found in oven cleaners, drain cleaners and hair removers. If you've ever relaxed your hair without gloves (hopefully not), and noticed your hands felt really slippery but it wouldn't wash off, here's why: "The reason sodium hydroxide feels slimy is because it is chemically reacting with the fatty acid esters and oils naturally found in your skin. Essentially, you’re turning bits of your skin into soap. (The reaction is called saponification). And as you know, soap is slippery.”
See also: Lye
Source(s): Begoun http://thebeautybrains.com/?s=panthenol&x=0&y=0


I just got that from the tightlycurly site where Terri (the creator) lists all the ingredients in almost all hair products, and explains what they are used for and if they are good or bad for your hair. Check out her site ingredients dictionary: http://www.tightlycurly.com/ingredients/

Thanks!!!

well im glad i came across this..guess im sticking with shea moisture conditioner

I just checked my bottle and the leave-in and neither have it. Hmmm...not cool, but I have read that if it's low on the ingredients list it's not harmful, because it's there for PH balance.

I just checked my bottles also (Yes to Cucumbers, Carrots, and Tomatoes) and none of them have Sodium Hydroxide. I got mine from Ross and Walgreens...maybe Target has a new/different version??

I'll definitely have to stock up next time I see it in Ross.

It is listed on the new formula. I just purchased and used it. It is at the bottom of the list. To me there was no difference in the performance of this product.

Thanks for the heads up I got some from Walgreens and I can't even remember if I checked the ingredients bacause of the rave reviews.. I got the Yes to tomatoes from Ross.. I think I did check the back of that. Its best to stock up on the old version..

I purchased my first bottle of YTC from Target a few months back and sodium hydroxide was not listed in the ingredients. Yesterday, I went to Walgreens to get a new bottle and yep, sodium hydroxide was listed. I know it's low on the list but I won't be repurchasing.

I previously purchased YTC from Ross, but when it was time to restock and I couldn't find it there, I broke down and bought it from Target. Trust I was really trying to save some money but I had fallen in love with YTC. I noticed that the label was different and after using it my hair also did not feel quite the same as it normally does. After reading your post I compared a bottle that I bought from Ross with the one from Target I saw sodium hydroxide listed. This new version does not agree with my hair don't think I will be purchasing YTC anymore!

Sodium hydroxide helps to reduce the acidity of the conditioner.

http://thenaturalhaven.blogspot.com/2009/04/sodium-hydroxide-lye-is-always-lye-or.html

Wow. And I love YTCucumbers... I need to check my bottle for ingredients. That's really too bad because I'm on the fence about buying it in the future now.

I have a full 'new' bottle at home. I will check later today. Is it in Yes to Carrots also?

It's a pH adjuster in low concentrations. I have a facial cream that is mostly natural but contains NaOH as well. I say, if it's working for your hair there's no reason to stop using it. It's not something of detriment. At least not to me. If you ate fast food today, I'm pretty sure there were worse things in it. Just my opinion. I do watch ingredients and try to use all natural products. I stay away from things that can cause the health of my hair to suffer such as sulfates, mineral oil, and cones. But I don't see a big deal about this.

On Cosmetic Database, sodium hydroxide has a good guide rating of 3/10. So it can't be too bad. Here's the link.

http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/ingredient.php?ingred06=706075

This is the site I use to get my information about product ingredients.

Well it may not be harming my hair but it is also not agreeing with hair either, looking for a new conditioner!

I had been using the Yes To Cucumbers conditioner for a while as both my detangling conditoner and as a leave-in. The last bottle that I bought, I noticed that the label had changed, but I didn't see anything where they said that they had updated/changed the formula so I went ahead and purchased. Usually YTC conditioner detangles like a dream - tangles literally feel like they melt away! But this time I immediately noticed a difference - it felt like the conditioner was just sitting on my hair. The smell was different, too. While the new formula doesn't smell bad, it definitely doesn't smell as good as the old. Afterwards, when I compared the ingredients in the new formula to the ingredients in the old one I noticed that several other ingredients had been added/removed/switched around in addition to the sodium hydroxide. Personally, I won't be buying YTC again mainly because it doesn't perform the same for me anymore. I've gone back to using Trader Joe's Nourish Spa conditioner as my detangling conditioner.

Oh wow. This sucks. I didn't know the new formula didn't work as well. I've only bought it from Ross. So I guess I'll keep doing that. As much as I love this conditioner I probably wouldn't repurchase. Not because of the ingredients, but I'm such a PJ I'll probably want to try something new. Lol.

hmm i just bought a bottle of YTC..and notice last night while washing my hair out with it my curls were a little bit looser..it was a big difference but they were a lil more looser and a lot softer..although this product has sodium hydroxide I still gotta give it its prop..this products does wonders!!

so i guess sodium hydroxide is going to just become my friend because i cant let it go!!!! I mite swing by ross and Walgreen and see it there ingredients are different

Thanks for all of the info ladies!!! I found some old formulas of the product at Walgreens. I like it but since sooner of later all there is going to be is the new formula, I won't be repurchasing.