A Quest for the Perfect Organic Shampoo
I long ago accepted that chemicals in my beauty products were probably going to get the best of me – sure, natural products are nice, but isn’t the chemically, tough, super-duty effective stuff just so much better?! My new London Correspondent Katherine McKenney disagrees with me, and has been passionately educating me about natural and organic beauty these past few weeks. She will be writing a series here on Jolie about natural beauty and also poking around London for the best beauty finds. Enjoy!
London Correspondent Katherine McKenney writes:
Earlier this year I decided to switch to natural, SLS-free hair products. Sodium lauryl sulfate is all kinds of nasty: it’s a toxic chemical which overstrips your skin so that other harmful chemicals can more easily enter your skin (and bloodstream) and it makes your skin overproduce sebum. In industrial settings, it’s used to clean machine engines; it’s also what makes products like shampoo foam. Not exactly what I want to be putting on my body – “But do SLS-free hair products work as well?”, I wondered. The test began!
I started my mission by purchasing the highly rated Logona Repair Shampoo Gingko for dry, damaged hair and Logona Hair Repair Jojoba. My hair is naturally wavy and in the past I always purchased shampoos and conditioners that were very moisturizing. I used to use Kerastase hair masks as my regular conditioner and wash my hair only 3 times per week. In addition, I only blew out my hair 1-2 times per week, and I used hair straighteners even less frequently. Whenever I went for a hair cut in a salon, I was always told that my hair was in good condition and I attributed this to infrequent washing and styling, and high end products. Therefore when I purchased the Logona products I presumed that I should pick from same repair/dry hair range.
5 weeks after using the products my hair was extremely greasy and I’m ashamed to say that there were a few dreadlocks starting in the back. Mortified that my little organic experiment was going so wrong, I was beside myself. Further research on the internet told me that people who stopped washing their hair altogether for 6-8 weeks found that their hair would start to “rebalance” and actually be in better condition than before. Since stopping washing my hair altogether was not really an option (gross!) I switched from Logona to A’kin products.
At this point I didn’t know what my “natural” hair type was. I knew that with products that contained SLS my hair type was dry/damaged, or at least those were the products that always gave me the best results. Having recently switched all of my facial products to organic products, I had deduced that my facial skin was probably normal to slightly oily. Therefore I deduced that the skin on top of my head was probably similar to the skin on my face. I purchased A’kin Lemongrass Shampoo for (gasp!) oily hair and A’kin Macadamia & Wheat Protein treatment conditioner. Even though my scalp was slick as an oil well, I knew that my hair itself still needed intensive, moisturizing care in order to maintain a smooth texture.
I washed with the newly purchased shampoo, poured a concoction of egg and green tea on my head (which I read was a good remedy for oily hair), and then used the Protein treatment conditioner. I thought it might take a few washes to get the oil to settle down but when I was combing out my wet hair, I could already feel a difference. But would it stand up to the blow dry test? Luckily it did. After one wash my hair was nearly as grease free as SLS-using days. Whew! Mission accomplished.
Since the experiment has ended I’ve also tried and really liked John Masters Organics Lavender and Rosemary Shampoo for normal hair. The lavender is soothing, the rosemary cuts through the grease and overall my hair feels clean and soft.
Tags: A'kin Lemongrass Shampoo, A'kin Macadamia & Wheat Protein treatment condition, GREEN BEAUTY, John Masters Organics Lavendar Rosemary Shampoo, Katherine McKenney, Kerastase Masquintense, Logona Hair Repair Jojoba, Logona Repair Shampoo Gingko, ORGANIC, SLS, SLS-free shampoo, sodium lauryl sulfate
December 1st, 2009 at 10:12 pm
Wow! I’m so excited about the series she’s writing. I’ve always wonder what made “organic” different from the chemical stuff.
December 2nd, 2009 at 2:43 pm
I’ve recently switched to more natural, SLS/silicone-free hair products too, and I couldn’t be any happier with Burt’s Bees. Not saying it works on any hair type, I actually changed from their too drying pomegranate range to the fennel and green tea one that’s supposed to be for coloured hair. Mine isn’t coloured but curly, and it seriously shinier, healthier and with better curls than ever!
I also noticed my roots stay cleaner longer when I use silicone-free products.
December 2nd, 2009 at 5:38 pm
I’ve been trying to switch to organic food but haven’t had much luck with soap/beauty supplies. I tried Burt’s Bees too and it was fine. It was a bit harder to tell where I had shampoo without the suds and I used more of it and the conditioner but my hair seemed pretty normal as far as cleanliness and behavior, perhaps even a bit fewer flyaways. I also tried their body wash and I liked the smell. It worked fine, but I also found I needed a bit more quantity than normal since without the sudsing it didn’t seem to go as far.
Really looking forward to seeing more organic products on here, but it would be great to see products I can find in the states too. Ordering can be a hassle if you need to sign to receive the shipment and work during the day!
December 2nd, 2009 at 5:55 pm
I don’t want to burst anyone’s bubble, but all the shampoos tested contain detergents chemically related to the feared sodium lauryl sulfate:
The Lagona shampoo contains sodium cocoyl glutamate. A’kin contains sodium lauryl sulfoacetate. John Master’s product contains sodium cocoyl sulfoacetate. All of these are main ingredients. While these derivates are more mild than sodium lauryl sulfate, they will likely provoke the same sensitivities in users.
As a medical student I know many people who have serious skin conditions aggravated by sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) which is a very strong detergent that strips natural moisture from our skin that is found in almost all beauty products (face wash, shampoo, toothpaste).
If you are trying to go totally SLS and SLS derivative free, California Baby makes these products for sensitive skin. Also, a brand called Squigle makes SLS-free toothpaste for those who suffer from canker sores.
I just wanted to chime in because often products marketed as “organic” seem to good to be true because they are.
December 2nd, 2009 at 7:15 pm
I’m really looking forward to hearing more about natural products, especially ones that work as well as the ones chalk full of chemicals. Anyways, loved this first installment!
December 3rd, 2009 at 3:27 am
Such great advice, I am slowly switching to natural products and at times its a pretty painful process to find the right one.
I tried Boots (British Drugstore) range and some products were great but the hair serum was diabolical!
For shampoos I use quinessence http://www.quinessence.co.uk who are excellent, and have base shampoos (SLS free) that you can then add a couple of drops of your favourite essential oil to! I have also attended Katherines beauty parties in London and she is becoming quite presence here in the natural beauty sphere with great advice and lots of practical tips!
December 3rd, 2009 at 6:16 pm
I too am becoming interested in actual “organic” and “natural” products, as I’ve learned that ANY product can call itself “organic” and/or “natural” since there’s absolutely NO regulation in the USA for labeling cosmetic products this way.
With regards to SLS and SLES, they’re not as bad as they’ve been made out to be. A lot of the bad hype around SLS and SLES is due to a complete misunderstanding of a study done at the Medical College of Georgia: http://www.beautypedia.com/ArticlesDetail.aspx?id=181
I look forward to hearing more about Katherine’s adventures!
December 5th, 2009 at 7:48 am
I use Tela organic shampoo and conditioner (it’s SLS free, but the ingredients do list sodium cocoyl isethionate, which I assume is a milder derivative). I’m very picky about shampoo, and I like this a lot. If you live in NYC, you can get it at Barney’s.
December 10th, 2009 at 8:14 pm
Thank you so much for shedding light on this very important topic of these cheap, toxic chemicals that overtime accumulate and can cause problems. It is a great start to eliminate SLS from your beauty products, but that is by no means the only ingredient to watch for. As someone mentioned earlier there is absolutely no regulation on natural or organic products so you have to become a label reader. I use only and represent organic and certified organic personal care products that contain absolutely no chemicals at all.
We recommend a hair detox that can easily be done at home when switching to organic shampoos in order to avoid knots. The reason why you get knots is because if you have been using hair care products with silicone derivatives (dimethicone, cyclomethicone, any chemical with “cone” in it)it is literally like having plastic covering your hair. You need something harsh like SLS and other chemicals to break through the plastic to wash your hair. Until you detox the plastic off your hair, the organic shampoo will not work, thus causing knots.
One way to detox: Take a couple baths of 1 cup sea salt, 1 cup apple cider vinegar, 2 cups bicarb soda.(hop in the bath and swish your hair around)
For more information on buying food-grade certified organic Miessence body products you can visit my site at http://www.karmaorganicsonline.com
December 12th, 2009 at 6:17 am
I love all of this discourse on natural beauty. This is what it’s all about afterall! Thank you M for the medical opinion. Do you know of any good sites which rate the toxicity of ingredients? I like http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com but it only rates overall products and not the individual ingredients. I guess we still have a ways to go to developing more natural detergents but if we all say no to SLS together maybe we can influence the largest beauty players to consider safer alternatives.