What are the Benefits of Natural Edge Control?

Edge Control is used to style the small hairs at the hairline and reduce frizz. However, depending on the ingredients in the edge control you use, it can help or damage your hair. When looking for your next edge control, here are a few things to keep in mind before you buy. 

Use Edge Control Year-Round

Edge control can be used on natural or relaxed hair throughout the year. Despite the misconception that edge control is a seasonal product, or should be used sparingly to reduce damage, our natural edge control is not like the others. 

Our non-toxic edge control offers a variety of benefits based on the ingredients we choose to use and choose to leave out. It does not cause flaking, a white cast, or dry out your edges. Our non-flaky edge control is paraben-free and alcohol-free. This allows the product to trap moisture in your hair rather than drying it out. Our natural edge control is beneficial to growing your edges year-round, by locking in moisture in the dry and cold months and being sweat-proof and water-resistant in the hot and humid months. 

Since our clean edge control protects and hydrates your hair, it makes it one of the best edge controls for 4C natural hair. Anyone with kinky and curly hair can use this product to create a slick back look or to lay down those edges in style any time of the year.

Non-Toxic Edge Control Ingredients: 

The ingredients in our clean edge control are selected to maximize hair health while maximizing styling efficiency. Our ingredients offer hydration, a protective barrier, and hair growth stimulation without leaving a white cast, residue, or flakiness. Here are the ingredients used in Bask and Lather’s non-toxic edge control and their benefits:

• Aqua - water-based edge control for additional hydration
• Beeswax - locks in moisture without leaving an oily or greasy residue on your hair
• Styrene Acrylates Copolymer - added to cosmetics for color, forms a protective film, and does not penetrate the skin, makes the edge control water-resistant 
• Menthol Lactate - used as a fragrant agent in skin and hair care products
• Argan Oil - promotes hair growth, hydrates skin and hair
• Peg-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil - protective hydrating layer
• Ocimum Americanum Leaf Oil - enhances hair growth
• Parfum - adds a slight fragrance to our clean edge control, that is safe for your hair and skin. Negative skin reactions or irritation from fragrance oils are typically a result of phthalates. That's why we use a Phthalate-Free fragrance. 

Avoid These Ingredients When Buying Edge Control 

As seen in our viral edge control video, these ingredients can be potentially toxic or harmful. These ingredients are found in most edge control products even when they are flagged for potential hazard or risk of negative side effects. 

• DMDM Hydantoin - a formaldehyde releaser, may develop a formaldehyde allergy

• Peg-20 Hydrogenated Lanolin - to soften the hair, can cause irritation
• Oleth-2, 5 & 20 - allows water to mix with oil, can lead to mild to moderate eye and skin irritation
• Ceteareth-25 - enhances skin absorption and can irritate. 
• Peg 7 - is a synthetic polymer that may contain potentially toxic manufacturing impurities such as 1,4-dioxane. Contains ethylene oxide which can react negatively with other chemicals.
• Peg 7 Glyceryl Cocoate - aims to help soften skin and smooth skin. 
• Peg 7 Hydrogenated Castor Oil - a binding agent in synthetic and petroleum waxes, adds protective barriers. 
• Benzyl Salicylate - a fragrance with acute toxicity, risk of skin and eye irritation, not safe for sensitive skin
• Isoceteth-20 - used to solubilize perfumes or other ingredients into the water, with risk of skin irritation, inflammation, dryness

• CI 42090 - add blue coloring, which can cause skin irritation and redness among people allergic to dyes

Edge control ingredients are very important to consider when it comes to selecting which one to buy. Other factors include your lifestyle, weather, hair needs, and styling preferences. For example, if you are very active, love saunas, or live in a hot and humid climate, then you need a sweat-proof edge control. If you have really dry hair, trying to regrow your edges, or protect those baby hairs so they can grow, then you need hydrating and protective edge control. If you like to keep your edges styled for several days without having to redo them when you wake up, then you need a strong holding edge control. Bask and Lathers's clean edge control can provide all of these benefits without a white residue or flakiness. But not every edge control can. It is important to know what questions to ask before buying your next container of edge control.

Is the Edge Control Sweat Proof or Waterproof? 

Yes, our non-toxic edge control is sweat proof and waterproof. So if you are ever caught in the rain, go for a swim, live in a hot and humid environment, or are very active, this natural edge control can keep your edges flat. 

Why Won’t My Edges Stay Down?

Try placing some edge control on your skin where you want the little hairs to stick. Then use your edge brush to style the edges onto your skin. If you need to, wrap your edges in a headband to apply pressure to the hair so it will adhere to your skin. For best results, apply edge control to clean hair. If your edges are curling up, you may be using the wrong product for your hair. We recommend looking at the ingredients and possibly switching your edge control for a new one. 

Should I Wrap My Edges at Night? 

Yes, you can tie a headband or satin scarf over your hairline to keep your edges flat when you sleep. Covering your edges reduces the pulling and friction on your hair, which can help make the edge control last longer.

Why Does My Edge Control Flake?

If your edge control is flaky, then it might not be mixing well with your other hair care products. Some edge controls that use an excessive amount of ingredients, chemicals, and alcohol are more likely to have a negative interaction. This could range from skin irritation to counteracting your hair care products. Some edge controls dry or break your hair, making you invest in more hair care products to fix these issues. Having all of these chemicals on your skin and hair can lead to product build-up. 

Too many products can lead to your edge control not working and leaving flakes behind. This is why it is essential to reduce the number of chemicals that go into your hair. Our natural edge control doesn’t flake and helps you grow and protect your hair. This way you don’t need several products to do the job of one. 

Why Do Some Edge Controls Have a White Cast?

If you apply too much edge control, it can clump together on your hair and scalp, leaving a white cast behind. This is a common mistake when people are trying a product out for the first time and don’t know how much to use or are using a product that does not work for them. To combat the first mistake, start with a small amount of product and you can always add more if needed. For the latter, try different edge control products to see what works for you. It may help to take notice of the ingredients and their side effects. Some edge control ingredients are more likely to create a white cast, luckily, our natural edge control doesn’t. 

Try Clean Edge Control on your Natural Hair

Style your edges with confidence, knowing you are using clean ingredients and that the product will hold. Our edge control is water-resistant, non-toxic, alcohol and paraben-free, as well as sweatproof. Protect your edges from dangerous chemicals and unnecessary friction and frizz when you use our natural edge control. If you are looking to help your hair growth journey, check out our Scalp Stimulator and our Health Hair Growth Collection for more natural products.