Color it and seal it!

Color Guard Shampoo

Protein-enriched, moisturizing shampoo for chemically treated hair, and all colored hair! This gentle shampoo rids your hair of the impurities that can dull your hair color. Light-reflecting ingredients are added to improve the depth and vibrancy of your color.

Use our Protein, Vitamin & Herbal Conditioner to Complete your Color Guard hair needs!
The shampoo is a unique blend of natural balancing extracts with the blend of mica, which enables cleansing but also deposits color into the hair. Keeps the hair at a natural ph balance of 7, this frees the hair of color build up and stops color fading.

Contains no Sodium Lauryl/Laureth Sulfates, bleach, peroxide, ammonia, alcohol or artificial preservatives and will not stain your skin. Finally, you are in control of your hair color while improving its health, shine and body.

The Most Effective Way to Keep Hair Colored: This shampoo extends time between colorings which saves you time, money and creates a more healthy hair.

Whether you have your hair professionally colored or you use a home hair coloring kit, you probably want to make your hair color last as long as possible. There are several things you can do to maximize your newly colored locks so that the beautiful new hue remains gorgeous and vibrant as long as possible.

LifeSource’s Color Guard uniquely strengthens and restores moisture to hair weakened by chemical processes and sun exposure. Restores shine and manageability with botanical extracts and gentle natural oils. Reduces color lost between services
Hair color and coloring procedure performed by salons by nature are very harsh on the hair stripping it of vital protein strands. By doing this is leaves the hair cuticle open. This open cuticle will then drain of moisture as it is no longer protected by the cuticle.

The result is hair damage. Over time this damage can be very harsh. The simple solution is to replace what hair color depletes from hair. Replacing specific proteins will allow the structure of hair to remain in tact preventing dull drab and lifeless hair.

By now you have seen women and men as they age their hair becomes lifeless and many times coarse and unmanageable or sometimes thin and unmanageable hair. Replacing key structural proteins in the hair can help to prevent these hair conditions in both men and women.

Listed below are several techniques you can try for finding a great hair color you will love:

• Select the hair coloring product that is most compatible with your life style. If you don't have time to redo your roots every 3-4 weeks, you may want to select a hair color shade that is only 1-3 shades lighter than your natural color. The closer you go to your natural hair color, the less your roots will show as they grow out. When your roots are less obvious, your hair color will last longer before you have to touch up your roots. Always select the type of coloring product that is easiest for you to maintain.
• Apply a deep conditioning treatment to your hair a few days before coloring. The better conditioned your hair is, the easier the color will take and the longer it will last. Recently conditioned hair will also be softer and shinier. As an extra bonus, a deep conditioner will protect your hair against any possible damage from the color chemicals.
• Color hair that has not been washed for one day. The natural hair oils will assist in making the hair color application more successful. The color will cling better to hair that is not dry.
• Avoid exposing your colored hair to the sun or chlorine in swimming pools. The sun may fade your hair color and the chlorine may damage the color. In some severe cases, if you have colored your hair a very light color the chlorine may leave a green tinge to your hair.
• Keep your hair conditioned. Hair coloring will make your hair drier than normal. It is important to keep your hair conditioned and soft. Conditioned hair holds color better than dry, brittle or damaged hair. Conditioned hair also makes the colored hair shinier and brighter.

“ Why is it such a big deal that LifeSource’s Shampoo’s, Conditioners, Soaps and Lotions are all Sulfate Free? We have studied sulfates and read this type of frightening report below as well as reports that defend the safety of sulfates, but in good faith, and with our being a company that works for God, we will not put the foaming agents known as Sodium Lauryl / Laureth Sulfates in any of our products! Or ANY Sulfates for that matter. My own family uses these products, how could I add these possible deadly ingredients to save a few dollars? ”

Bruce Brightman – Founder
LifeSource Nutrition

The AJT report states that "Other studies have indicated that Sodium Lauryl Sulfate enters and maintains residual levels in the heart, the liver, the lungs and the brain from skin contact. This poses question of it being a serious potential health threat to its use in shampoos, cleansers, and tooth pastes."

Both Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES) and its close relative Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) are commonly used in many soaps, shampoos, detergents, toothpastes and other products that we expect to "foam up". Both chemicals are very effective foaming agents, chemically known as surfactants.

Unfortunately, both sodium laureth sulfate and its cousin are also very dangerous, highly irritating chemicals. Far from giving "healthy shining hair" and "beautiful skin", soaps and shampoos containing sodium laureth sulfate can lead to direct damage to the hair follicle, skin damage, permanent eye damage in children and even liver toxicity.

Although sodium laureth sulfate is somewhat less irritating than SLS, it cannot be metabolized by the liver and its effects are therefore much longer-lasting. This not only means it stays in the body tissues for longer, but much more precious energy is used getting rid of it.
A report published in the Journal of The American College of Toxicology in 1983 showed that concentrations of SLS as low as 0.5% could cause irritation and concentrations of 10-30% caused skin corrosion and severe irritation. National Institutes of Health "Household Products Directory" of chemical ingredients lists over 80 products that contain SLS and SLES. Some soaps have concentrations of up to 30%, which the ACT report called "highly irritating and dangerous".

Shampoos are among the most frequently reported products to the FDA. Reports include eye irritation, scalp irritation, tangled hair, swelling of the hands, face and arms and split and fuzzy hair. This is highly characteristic of sodium laureth sulfate and almost definitely directly related to its use.

Skin Irritation

SLS is used routinely in clinical studies. This may suggest a level of comfort, however, the way in which it is used is disturbing. Despite being the number one active ingredient in virtually all soaps, shampoos and cleansers, the sole purpose of using SLS in clinical studies is to cause skin irritation that can then be used to identify the properties of other chemicals!

Amazing isn't it? For years, we have been applying known irritants to our skin on a daily basis. To quote the ACT report "The abbreviated symbol for Sodium Lauryl Sulfate is used around the world in clinical studies as a skin irritant. SLS is the universal standard, by which a measured percentage is evaluated to promote a given level of irritation and reaction. By this SLS standard level of irritation, it is then possible to evaluate the healing or modifying characteristics of any ingredient or formula used on the SLS irritated skin."

Most worryingly, irritation has been shown to occur at concentrations of 0.5%, which is 1/60th the concentration found in some hand soaps. Caveat emptor!

Hormone Imbalance

In the last 100 years or so, many new health problems have come to light. These include PMS / PMT, the so-called "menopausal symptoms" which never used to exist, and more recently a massive drop in male fertility which threatens our continued existence in many western countries. SLS is most likely a major contributor to all of these problems due to its oestrogen mimicking activity.

Oestrogen is a hormone found quite normally in both men and women. Like all other hormones, it's circulating levels are rigidly controlled by the glands of the body due to the potent effect of its presence on virtually all cells. Not only does SLS irritate the skin, it is also absorbed through the skin (high levels of skin penetration may occur at even low concentration). Once in the body, the SLS molecule attaches to oestrogen receptors, mimicking the effects of the hormone in various body systems.

The result is hormonal chaos. The body can no longer control it's own oestrogen levels (or at least, what it sees as it's own oestrogen levels - it can't tell the difference between endogenous oestrogen and SLS) and therefore loses control of many normal endocrine (hormonal) functions.

In men, whose oestrogen levels are normally extremely low, this massive increase causes breast enlargement, reduction of male hormone levels and a massive drop in both sperm count and sperm motility (ability of the sperm to fertilize an ovum). Gender confusion may also be related to SLS levels, either in the male himself or in his mother during pregnancy.

In women, the reproductive system, which is totally controlled by oestrogen and progesterone, goes haywire. Rapidly shifting oestrogen levels and their effect on progesterone levels mean that the body is totally confused, leading to menstrual problems, menopausal symptoms and potentially infertility. Because this subject is so important, we have devoted a whole section of this site to women’s health.

Eye Irritation / eye deformities in children

Have you ever got shampoo in your eyes? Yes, so have I - not pleasant is it? However, the potential effects of SLS on the eye are much more worrying. In animal studies, 10% SLS caused acute corneal damage. However, it is not just direct eye contact that is the problem. According to the American College of Toxicology, "tests show permanent eye damage in young animals from skin contact in non-eye areas".

In other words, because SLS is absorbed through the skin, it can cause PERMANENT eye damage WITHOUT ever directly coming into contact with your eyes. As a result, you would expect that children’s products would be SLS-free. Unfortunately not, most children’s shampoos contain just as much SLS as those for adults.

Thankfully, alternatives DO exist, though you would be hard-pressed to find them in your local chemist or supermarket.

Protein Denaturing

Our cells are made from protein. The development of those cells is strictly regulated by the reproductive processes that are continually at work removing damaged and old cells and replacing them with healthy new ones. Virtually every cell in the body is replaced at least every 7 years.

SLS exerts its effects on proteins by forming a chemical bridge between the fat-soluble and water-soluble parts of the protein molecule. This disrupts the hydrophobic forces needed to maintain the protein structure and the molecule collapses, rendering it useless. This effect is usually irreversible.

The result of this is two-fold. Firstly, existing proteins are damaged, leading to an increase in the amount of healing required by the body. Secondly, new proteins can be damaged and cells disrupted while they are under construction. It is exactly this type of activity that can lead to the early stages of skin cancer.

In the skin, this process can be so severe, that skin layers may separate and inflame due to its (SLS's) protein denaturing properties.

Carcenogenicity

Quite apart from it's potential to cause pre-cancerous conditions by denaturing proteins, the oestrogen mimicking effects of SLS also offers massive potential to cause cancer. It is known that many cancers, not least breast and ovarian cancer are directly related to oestrogen levels, in fact some cancer cells actually secrete their own oestrogen, which contributes to the growth of the tumor.

Clearly, by disrupting normal oestrogen levels AND by causing similar effects at a cellular level as endogenous oestrogen, SLS exhibits MASSIVE potential to both cause and worsen cancerous states. The incidence of breast cancer has increased several-fold in the last 50 years, both in women and in men. Currently, according to the American Cancer Society, men account for approximately 1% of all breast cancer cases. This subject is discussed in more detail in our women’s health section.

There is also a third way by which SLS can potentially cause cancer. Carcinogenic nitrates can form in the manufacturing of Sodium Lauryl Sulfate or by its inter-reaction with other nitrogen bearing ingredients within a formulation utilizing this ingredient (many shampoos contain nitrate compounds). A single shampooing can produce more cancer-causing nitrates in the body than eating a pound of bacon, which is VERY high in nitrates!

Whether it is by these means or not, SLS in a known mutagen - it is capable of damaging the genetic material found every cell in your body. As mutagenicity has been strongly linked to cancer, this is a major concern.