Green Beauty Products: Hair Care

It's time to stop suffering from dry skin or frizzy hair. This week we'll offer tips for finding green beauty products.

Tip # 2: Go With Green, Natural Shampoo

Whether you have long, short, thick, thin, curly, or straight hair, you want it to look, smell, and feel clean. Most conventional brands leave your hair laden with proteins and residues instead of providing that clean, healthy sheen. For unconventional, natural cleansing, try Terressentials. Or be green and reduce waste by opting for a solid shampoo like the ones Lush sells; one bar saves three 250ml bottles.

Comments

[Samantha]

I always do my best to buy earth-friendly, non-animal tested comsmetics, but even with those, everyone once in a while, I just need to rinse my hair clean of everything using an apple cider vinegar rinse (1 tablespoon vinegar to one cup of water - adjust one part to one part depending on length of hair). The best shampoos an conditioners can still build up depending on the quality of the water where you live.

A lemon juice rinse is also good, but those with darker hair might not opt for this one.

[Reason17]

No matter how natural or "green" you think it is, I recommend checking out all beauty and self-care products on The Environmental Working Group's "Skin Deep" site (http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com). Many natural products contain ingredients that are hazardous to our health. I looked up every product my family uses and it was eye opening!

[Juliet]

I like the idea of the Lush solid shampoo bar because no plastic bottle is needed. I found a store in my city and plan to buy it. However, if you had to have it shipped to you, I would imagine that the energy involved in the shipping process overcomes the benefit of not needing a plastic bottle.

[Laurie]

I also like the idea of solid shampoo to save on packaging waste. Juliet, I wonder what store you found it in?

As for the Terressentials, it looks like another product using Green language for marketing but without any different environmental impact than other products. A sham.

[thegreenchick]

Before using any personal care products checkout the research done by the Environmental Working Group on product environmental and health safety at:
http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/index.php?nothanks=1.

[CEC]

Another good option: look for liquid natural shampoo, conditioner, and hand soap in bulk; you can refill the bottles many, many times. Saves resources and it's cheaper, too.

[Sara B., Norfolk, VA]

Hmmm...I've used "Beauty w/out Cruelty" products, but really like the "Pure and Natural" line. However, the #2 ingredient is sodium laureth sulfate...but it says "derived from coconut oil". Any thoughts ont that? Anyone recommend some natural conditioners? I have frizzy curly hair!

[Lehua Lin]

I have fine hair that's naturally frizzy. Coconut oil is the best! It comes in a big jar from the health food store. The brand name doesn't really matter. Just make sure the label shows it's pure extra virgin coconut oil.

[Mary]

If you have fine curly hair try not using shampoo at all. Check out the book Curly Girl by Lorraine Massey.

[plant lover]

There are options that don't include any industrial product: an egg mixed with (homemade, "green") yoghurt for fatty hair or with a little oil and vinegar for dry hair, add a teaspoon of vinegar to the last quart or two of rinsing water. And, look at your hair before washing: Is it really necessary, or just a habit to wash it every day?

[Christy]

Juliet, about having products shipped to you: it actually often saves energy, or at least uses the same amount as if you had bought it at the store.

If you buy something online, it is shipped to you from a warehouse through UPS/Post Office etc. When you buy from a store, the only difference is that it was shipped there, and then you bought it from the store and transported it home. In fact, often times when we buy from a store, there is yet another middle man involved (and generally another middle place to send the product) that does not exist when bought online. As long as you are buying from the actual wholesaler, as you are with the bar shampoo product, you do not waste energy. The only difference is there MIGHT be more packaging. The times you do use more energy are when you buy from a small store (not a mega store with warehouses-like Target). In those cases, yes, it will just be one added route to ship it to you, and they will generally have to repackage it, instead of using whatever it came in for them.

[Doris]

Laurie,
You need to actually go to the Terressentials site. They are truly the real deal. They have done what almost no one else has bothered to do. They have received their USDA organic certificate. ALL of their products are certified. They do not use ANY chemicals in their products. I use the hair wash. It leaves my hair soft and clean. I can also be sure I'm not washing any chemicals or derivatives into the waterways-especially important since I have a well and septic. Please use the EWG site with caution. It is a good place to BEGIN your research. They have become a "he who donates the most gets the best ratings" type of organization.

[Doris]

Laurie,
You need to actually go to the Terressentials site. They are truly the real deal. They have done what almost no one else has bothered to do. They have received their USDA organic certificate. ALL of their products are certified. They do not use ANY chemicals in their products. I use the hair wash. It leaves my hair soft and clean. I can also be sure I'm not washing any chemicals or derivatives into the waterways-especially important since I have a well and septic. Please use the EWG site with caution. It is a good place to BEGIN your research. They have become a "he who donates the most gets the best ratings" type of organization.

[Antonio]

bars of shampoo may be green because they save plastic but that doesn't make these natural or healthy. lush claim to mostly be free of sodium lauryl sulfate but all their bars contain sulfates--if not sodium lauryl sulfate then sodium coco-sulfate and/or ammonium lauryl sulfate, which just means they are using a different oil to react with the sulfuric acid. I hate these word game--they aught to be required to call it hydrogen sulfate, then they can try claiming that is a natural cleaner derived from coconut oil (to be fair that was another brand I am quoting, not lush.)

these chemicals are all detergents, as is the allegedly milder sodium laureth sulfate, and they shouldn't be allowed to call them natural or safe. it is disingenuous of manufacturers to imply that products made with them contain coconut oil or coco butter or any other natural oil they are "derived from." sulfates do not conote any meaningful presence of the original oil, nor do products made with them possess any of the positive and gentle qualities of those plant oils, unless that oil is added directly as a separate ingredient.

in contrast good old fashioned soap can be identified by containing saponified oil of ____, that is an oil (or fat) reacted with either sodium hydroxide (aka caustic soda or lye) or potassium hydroxide (caustic potash or potash lye.) while the oil in question is consumed by the saponification process, many small soap makers use extra fat beyond what will convert into soap to make a milder more moisturizing soap or shampoo. and of course they may also add oils and other ingredients for their beneficial qualities separately, after the reaction is completed.

personally I use castile soap (saponified olive oil) for everything (face, hands, dishes, dog, shower, kitchen, car, and, yes, hair.) the key to using soap for shampoo is finding the right conditioner for your hair. I used to use vinegar with tincture of rosemary and/or stinging nettles (not for the fair haired, I hear chamomile may be better for blondes) but got lazy and found just vinegar is almost as good. right now I have a bottle of dr bronner's shikakai citrus conditioning hair rinse, which I got for my partner who has lighter, slightly kinky hair, but it didn't work well enough to suit her. fortunately it works for me, even better than my home made stuff. not sure if it works as many times better as it costs, but it compares favourably to buying any other brand of natural conditioner since it is highly concentrated. (which also means fewer bottles.) it comes in #1 plastic.

on the other-hand so does a lot of vinegar, though the good stuff comes in glass, and I don't like to take that into the shower. lemons come in their own biodegradable little containers, as do eggs. and beer cans (again, bottles a little dangerous) are very recyclable. just to mention a few other possible conditioners you may have around the house already. as for real soap, there are a lot of good ones available now--dr bronner's and sapo hill, just to name two--but I would encourage you to find a local craftsperson to patronize if possible. they may also be able to recommend what conditioners compliment and neutralize their soaps best.

[sunsilk philippines]

I have a curly and sticky hair that's why I am looking for the right shampoo that suits for me.

-krisha-