A lot of people out there are searching for less toxic shampoos, so that's our topic for today.
Conventional shampoos are full of toxic ingredients like sodium lauryl/laureth sulfate (a topic for another post) and numerous others.
Even big-name natural companies like Burt's Bees and Jason have their shampoos rated at 3 and above on the Skin Deep Database.
So without further ado, in the Make category...
Toxic ingredients with a hefty dose of Pinterest-fueled DIY has led a lot of people, including me, to try to make their own shampoo.
The best recipe I've been able to find is this one from Jillee at One Good Thing. It's based on coconut milk and Dr. Bronner's liquid castile soap. I've tried it, and it actually works great! There are two catches: 1) If you are a vinegar-rinse kind of person (as I am), do NOT do it after this shampoo!!! Vinegar mixed with castile soap has got to be one of the vilest things I've ever experienced in my entire life. It's slimy, you can't rinse it off, and it STINKS!! Trust me on this one. 2) Coconut milk spoils quickly, so this needs to be made in small quantities, and preferably refrigerated. I'm not really one to massage cold liquids onto my scalp, so this is not a good option for me.
Buy...
I've mentioned before that I have a greywater system, and as usual, this was a driver for me to seek a less-toxic shampoo. The problem with almost all natural shampoos on the market, even the really good ones, is that they have some form of sodium on the ingredients list. Sodium in some forms isn't inherently bad for you, and is pretty easy for municipal water systems to deal with, but I just can't be salting the earth in my garden with my shampoo. Fortunately, Miessence shampoos don't contain sodium in any form, so I don't have to worry!
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You can tell from my photo that I'm a Curly Girl. Those of us with curls often experience perpetually dry hair, and there is a very large contingent of curlies (and even some non-curlies!) who advocate the "no-poo" method, meaning they don't use shampoo. Generally they still use something to clean their hair, it just doesn't have a shampoo label on it. Baking soda is one method, but can be incredibly drying to the scalp. I did it once and my hair took an entire month to recover. More common is a method known as co-washing, which stands for "conditioner only." The idea here is to find a light conditioner as close to natural as possible, and use it to massage the scalp. I did this for about a year, and it was okay, but not great, and I can say with some certainty that this would not be a good choice for somebody with oilier hair/scalp.
However! Even though I've been using actual shampoo again for maybe 2 years, I've had an interesting observation. Since I started using hair care products that don't contain junk that leaves a residue, I find that I actually don't NEED to use shampoo very often. These days, I honestly only wash my hair 3-4 times a month!
Now, hair care is an intensely personal decision, and I say that not to put more gravitas on it than it deserves but just to acknowledge the great variety among us in hair care needs. I encourage you to experiment to find what works for you, and to do so using safe products that don't contain products that are toxic to your family and the environment.
If you are looking for natural shampoos, Miessence has two choices for you.
For dry hair & scalp, Desert Flower is very mild and doesn't dry out hair. This is the one that I use, and coincidentally, so does my dog. It leaves her (and me!) smelling fresh, without any skin irritation, so I can bathe her as often as she decides to roll in something stinky.
For oilier hair & scalp, there is also the Lemon Myrtle shampoo. The scent is invigoratingly clean, and helps to control the oil very well.
Both are made almost entirely with certified organic ingredients, smell delicious, are safe and effective for the whole family.
Please don't hesitate to contact me if you're interested in trying out some samples!
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| Lemon Myrtle Shampoo (for normal to oily hair) |
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| Desert Flower Shampoo (for normal to dry hair) |
