At one point I was given a prescription to remedy a condition on my scalp. I personally don’t like taking or applying any prescription to my body because of all of the warnings attached to these drugs. So what I did, was start using hair products that use less added ingredients, and one that was even 100% organic. Now, I don’t have any more issues.
I learned about these products through a book, Gorgeously Green by Sophie Uliano. I was on vacation in Kauai, and this book caught my eye in a tiny little café. I decided to purchase a used copy on Amazon. What I love about this book is that it has a list of all of the ingredients to be weary of. It says that consumers should stay away from a list called “red alert.” It also explains what these ingredients are, what they do and why you should stay away from them.
With this information I started to purchase a different type of shampoos to see if that would help. The first brand I tried was Aubrey Organics, which I purchased from Swanson Health Products. All of the ingredients pass, they are all organic, vegan and not tested on animals; an all around good product. It even smells good! Aubrey Organics uses a selection of essential oils to sent their products instead of fragrance, which is on the “red alert” list. The only thing that was hard to get used to was that it doesn’t lather like a typical shampoo. This is because it lacks Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS), a foaming agent, which the book states is also “used in brake fluid and antifreeze.” Shocking!
Another product I just purchased was Burt’s Bees Pomegranate & Soy shampoo because it smelled good. This product lather’s nice, but doesn’t include the SLS; at least it doesn’t spell it out that way. However, this product does use fragrance, which Sophie Uliano states are used to “mask hundreds of ingredients…which disrupt the endocrine system and could cause reproductive and development harm.” My conclusion would be if they mixed these two great products together we would have the perfect shampoo. I will continue to try other shampoos to find out which one is best for me.
Another movement that I have been hearing a lot about as of late is the no-poo movement. No, this isn’t what you think it is. The ladies and gentlemen, who go no-poo, decide not to use traditional shampoo. The shampoos have chemicals that are harsh to your scalp and hazardous to your health. Also, the natural oils your scalp produces are enough to keep your scalp healthy. Sometimes you may need to use Baking Soda to keep the oils at bay.
For these options, I would prefer to use an organic shampoo. I can’t see myself not washing my hair. I have heard that if you go no-poo, then for some unknown reason, decide to wash your hair, you have to go through the 2 week to 2 month transitional period over again. Maybe if I decide to cut my hair, and keep it short, I may re-consider. If you have any additional information, or may tips to help me find my perfect shampoo, please leave a comment below.
Apple cider and baking soda huh? Interesting. I might have to try that some day. I want to try that Burt’s Bees shampoo too.
I did no poo for three years; it was great! I only went back to washing my hair because my hormones changed after finished feeding my daughter and then I ended up with an oil slick for a few days.
It was great though and I’d love to give it another go but yes, you have to go through the ‘detox’ again because your hair has got used to having the oil washed out, so it produces more to combat the effects of that.
Now I use clay – it’s fabulous because you can use it for everything – skin and hair.
The cosmetics database is brilliant if you find an ingredient you are unsure of; just type it in and find the info: http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/
and the campaign for safe cosmetics is worth getting up to speed with. Some of the ingredients are scary…
http://www.safecosmetics.org/
I say a third option…instead of the no-poo, go no-sham or poo only. That has got to be extra organic!