8/10 shampoos sold in Australia could be contributing to hair loss and causing dandruff ? Do you know what's in your shampoo?

Your shampoo could be giving you dandruff, contributing to hair loss, and long-term could even damage your internal organs and immune system, according to Dr Peter Dingle, an environmental toxicologist at Perth's Murdoch University. Some brands, he says, are little more than a 'toxic cocktail.'

Eight out of ten shampoos sold in Australia still contain 'sulfate' cleansers like sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), which Dr Dingle warns can produce a dry, itchy scalp and dandruff as well as corrosion of the hair follicles leading to hair loss. Health hazards long-term he says, are even more sinister. "SLS is readily absorbed by the skin and can result in damage to the heart, liver, lungs and brain. It's also been associated with cataracts if it gets into the eyes."

A popular alternative to SLS, its cousin sodium laureth sulfate (SLES), undergoes a chemical process which makes it a little less irritant but may leave it contaminated with 1,4 dioxane - shown to cause cancer in animals.