Think about it… Any product you use on your hair comes in contact with your skin. This happens when rinsing shampoo and conditioner in the shower and as freshly-styled hair touches your face, shoulders, chest, or back—and this product residue can linger on the skin for hours!1 Even if you don't have acne-prone skin (and especially if you do), why would you use hair care products with ingredients that could potentially clog your pores—and possibly contribute to breakouts on your face and body?
The importance of non-comedogenic hair care
If you’ve ever experienced acne, you’re likely used to seeing “non-comedogenic” on your skincare products. This term means that the product has been tested and found to not clog pores—and you deserve the same peace of mind from the hair care products that come in contact with your skin as well.
SEEN founder and Harvard-trained dermatologist Dr. Iris Rubin had this “A-HA! moment” when she realized that she often experienced breakouts after visiting the salon. “I did my research and traced them back to a surprising source: The hair products they used. That’s when I saw the need for non-comedogenic hair care that cares for the skin and doesn’t get in the way of other acne-fighting skincare efforts,” she explains.
Are you using hair care ingredients that clog pores?
Remember that residue we talked about earlier? Common hair care ingredients are known to clog pores, cause irritation, and even create a film on the skin that can trap these ingredients on the skin. Among the ingredients that can clog pores are coconut oil, wheat germ oil, and cocoa butter. Some waxes, as well as polymers that are used to create “hold” in styling products, can be pore-clogging culprits as well. Then there is a list of “sneaky” ingredients (such as laureth-4), which you probably never paid attention to. In terms of irritation, sulfate-based cleansing ingredients like sodium lauryl sulfate and sodium laureth sulfate can be potential troublemakers—while preservatives and even some naturally-derived, botanically-based ingredients can be major offenders.
These are the last things you want hanging out on acne- or irritation-prone skin (or any skin for that matter), which is why Dr. Rubin left these ingredients out and turned to non-comedogenic, non-irritating alternatives when she started developing SEEN.
- SEEN’s clean formulas feature hemisqualane, a plant-derived silicone alternative that provides all the frizz-reducing, strand-smoothing, and heat-protection benefits minus the potential downsides.
- Sulfates don’t do any favors for your skin or your hair. This is why we turn to a gentle, coconut-derived surfactant that gives SEEN Shampoo the foamy suds you love without drying or irritating the skin—or stripping your hair of moisture.
- SEEN Conditioner serves up soft, silky strands with skin-caring ingredients instead of common conditioner ingredients that may leave greasy, pimple-promoting residue behind.
- SEEN Blow-Out Creme and Curly Creme don’t rely on oils that can potentially clog pores to enhance hair strength and shine, or protect strands from the elements. Instead, we use good-for-the-skin plant-derived ingredients like squalane, along with Ceratonia siliqua (carob tree) and Moringa oleifera extracts.
SEEN's scientific proof
SEEN offers a full range of hair care products that have been clinically proven to be non-comedogenic so you know your hair routine isn’t going to cause unexpected breakouts or make existing problem spots worse. In fact, in a dermatologist-graded study, 70% of participants with body acne and 52% of those with facial acne saw improvement—and 74% said their skin looks and feels healthier, after using SEEN as a regimen for eight weeks.2
And a healthier-looking complexion is just the beginning… SEEN’s luxurious, non-irritating, non-comedogenic formulas also reduce frizz by 74% when used as a regimen. Safe for color- and keratin-treated hair as well, SEEN Shampoo and Conditioner have been proven to reduce breakage by 59%,4 and increase hair volume by 306% for up to eight hours after using SEEN Shampoo, Conditioner, and Blow-Out Creme.5
Still not taking our word for it? Check out these five-star reviews from real SEEN users!
1 TRI Princeton, March 2019 study using top-selling hair products in U.S. salons based on Kline PRO database Q1-Q3 20182June 2021 study to be published in the Journal of Drugs in Dermatology
3 Independent 3rd party testing lab, Jan 2020 study assessing “Anti-frizz Benefits of Hair Care Products”
4 Independent 3rd party testing lab, Jan 2020 study assessing “Anti-breakage Benefits via Repeated Grooming”
5 Independent 3rd party testing lab, March 2020 text “Volume Measurement via Image Analysis”
