suggestions for organic and natural poos and conditioners

[spookyghost]

I really want to use an organic s&c. One without chemicals that has all organic and safe ingredients. Leave it to me to make even this more difficult than it probably is!:p

I did google organic s&c lhc and some threads did come up but they didnt really give me too many ideas. Some brands that did come up were Aubrey Organics, Natures Gate, and Lush. But when I researched these brands they still had chemicals in them. To give these brands the benefit of the doubt, I am not that educated in many of the bad ingredients. So please someone educate me if Im wrong. If Aubrey Organics or Natures Gates are great products that have nothing harmful in them please let me know. And Im not specifically looking into those brands, I just used them as an example. I just want to use something, anything, that is really good and healthy for my color treated and damaged hair that is shedding alot more than usual. Something that will be great to use and hopefully protect from further damage and splits while my damage hair grows out. But everthing thing that comes up on the net still has chemicals in them. Plus they warn that even though many people love these products and they get great reviews they are not completely chemical free.

Is there even such a thing? Maybe I should just find the shampoo with the least amount of chemicals in it. I just went to Sally's and bought two samples of Hair One-wen knock off. Im so tired of searching the net and not finding anything. I just want to try something so I just bought a couple samples.

Anybody have any suggestions? Everyone on here is so hair smart and I am not-trust me!:D I figured that the people on this site would know what s&c to stay away from and which ones are really the best for what I want. Thanks so much!

P.S.-I did like what I read about All Natural products. It sounds really good but pretty pricey. Anyone use/used All Natural hair products?

[Libbylou]

I am currently a big fan of toadstoolsoaps. Cheryl has a massive list of scents. They are sold on etsy and artfire. I like that it is homemade and few ingredients. Works well on my hair.

[Kelikea]

I would think toadstool, Dr. Bronner's, or Dr. Woods castile soaps would be very natural, but need to be followed with an acidic rinse.

[louzen]

I currently buy a scent free conditioner from the Green People here http://www.greenpeople.co.uk/organic-base-no-scent-conditioner-200ml.aspx

It's the best cleansing conditioner I've ever found in terms of natural ingredients and it doesn't contain any controversial preservatives. I also find it extremely moisturising. I don't buy their shampoos since they use coco-sulfate which I read somewhere is just as bad as SLS, but I might be wrong...

Aubrey Organics are pretty good too, although I'm sensitive to fragrance so haven't bought any conditioners from them.

It's best to always do your research on the ingredients, even if the company claims the product to be 'all natural'. The following ingredient dictionary sites helped me a lot when researching ingredients:

http://tightlycurly.com/ingredients/

http://www.cosmeticscop.com/cosmetic-ingredient-dictionary/A.aspx

[spookyghost]

Thanks. I forgot about toadstools. It never came up when I searched the net. A while back I tried to contact Cheryl with a few questions and something went wrong. I think I had to register, which I did, and then it said I wasnt registered and my email was wrong. I tried to correct my email it but it wouldnt let me because it said that I wasnt registered! I just gave up. I think I was on Esty. Its been a while.

What do you like about it? Ingredients do look good. I dont think the price is bad considering what I have been seeing for some products! Do you think your hair is healthier or getting healthier for using it?

I just used the Hair One product for damaged hair/with jojoba. Not sure how I feel about it. My hair doesnt look any worse than before-maybe slightly better. Slightly. It does seem thicker. Which is really unexpected and nice but why would it feel thicker? My hair is shedding to the point where I cant believe I have any left on my head and if this was a natural product that didnt have any chemicals in it then I would be pretty dang happy. But its not. I was just desperate to try something different.

Which toadstools do you like? My hair doesnt seem to like protein or coconut.

[kitcatsmeow]

I adore everything Aubrey Organics :)

[bunnylake]

All ingredients, to my knowledge, that are used in the majority of shampoos and conditioners on the market ARE safe. Also, please remember that even water is a chemical. Chemical does not = bad or harmful, neither does synthetic. Even "organic" products are produced with chemicals. Unfortunately there's a lot of marketing hype surrounding organic products that lead the public to believe that the alternative (non-organic or synthetic ingredients) are "evil". It's simply not true. It's just marketing vs. science! Personally, I like more natural products better myself. But that is just my personal preference... it isn't because I believe they are safer or somehow superior. I currently use Shea Moisture, which contains mostly natural ingredients and it works and smells amazing. You might also look into Everyday Shea, Nature's Gate, Aubrey Organics, Burts Bees, Chagrin Valley shampoo bars. You could try making your own, which might be a fun project. You could look into ayurvedic herbs which are really interesting and great for hair.

Good luck finding what works for you!

[spookyghost]

Bunnylake-I have been thinking about the Shea Moisture! What do you like about it and what have you noticed about your hair since you have been using it?

One of my problems is that I think way too much about things and since Im not that sharp on good/bad ingredients I have been on the internet for hours trying to educate myself! Well the only place that has gotten me is confused!:confused: All I really want is a good s&c that is good for my hair. Something that is going to help it get healthy again and hopefully help prevent any more damage and splits. I know there is more to healthy hair than a good s&c and Im doing pretty good in that department.

I just want to thank everyone who has given their advice. I love it and any more is very welcomed!

[Loviatar]

Toadstool has a big following on LHC. Personally I love (non-detergent) shampoo bars - Chagrin Valley, Sweet Creek Herbs, Bobeam, Apple Valley. I follow them with a lemon juice rinse.

I don't like the Lush shampoo bars for washing unless I want a sulphate wash.

Conditioner wise I love Biolage which probably won't be to your taste, but I also like Nature's Gate and Green People.

[bunnylake]

I love Natures Gate but it is strongly scented and has a lot of protein. Great if your hair likes protein and you like strong scents!
Shea Moisture makes my hair incredibly soft and smooth.

[BambooBeauty]

I like organix line. You can get it at wal mart. They have so many scents. Also burts bees makes natural shampoo and conditioners.

[kdaniels8811]

Check out indian herbs if you truly want to go natural. Hesh brand is a good one for hair wash powder, or they sell the individual herbsshihakai, amla, brahmi, to name a few. I find mine in an indian grocery or they are available on line. To prevent split ends, try catnip teas soaks instead of conditioner. There is a huge long thread on it. Changing to that treatment let my color treated damaged hair grow from APL to waist within a year when I started using catnip tea because it prevents breakage and split ends .

Good luck with whatever you try. Natural herbs are so much better for my hair than any shampoo I have tried. I have herbs on my head right now - smiles!

[spookyghost]

Toadstool has a big following on LHC. Personally I love (non-detergent) shampoo bars - Chagrin Valley, Sweet Creek Herbs, Bobeam, Apple Valley. I follow them with a lemon juice rinse.

I don't like the Lush shampoo bars for washing unless I want a sulphate wash.

Conditioner wise I love Biolage which probably won't be to your taste, but I also like Nature's Gate and Green People.

Im curious if an acidic rinse is always needed with shampoo bars? I did a lemon rinse once and my hair was dry and straw like afterwards. I cant remember the ratio I used but it was pretty diluted. If anything I thought it wouldnt have done anything at all. And I get up at 4 am for work and a rinse may not sound like a big deal but Im half dead that early and dont need to do any extra steps!:p

I have heard alot of people say that they love Biolage. Do you know if its sulfate/paraben free and pretty healthy like?


I love Natures Gate but it is strongly scented and has a lot of protein. Great if your hair likes protein and you like strong scents!
Shea Moisture makes my hair incredibly soft and smooth.

I like the way Shea sounds! Unfortunately my hair hates protein. You would think my hair would love it since its chemically treated and damaged. But my hair hates it.

[spookyghost]

Check out indian herbs if you truly want to go natural. Hesh brand is a good one for hair wash powder, or they sell the individual herbsshihakai, amla, brahmi, to name a few. I find mine in an indian grocery or they are available on line. To prevent split ends, try catnip teas soaks instead of conditioner. There is a huge long thread on it. Changing to that treatment let my color treated damaged hair grow from APL to waist within a year when I started using catnip tea because it prevents breakage and split ends .

Good luck with whatever you try. Natural herbs are so much better for my hair than any shampoo I have tried. I have herbs on my head right now - smiles!

I have also thought about the cat nip and herbs. Ill have to check both out. Oh my gosh-decisions decisions! I just wish a voice would tell me exactly what to do to help my hair and I would be done with it. This finding out stuff is for the birds!:smile: And if anyone hasnt already figured it out-Im not the best decision maker!:lol:

[moltabella]

i switched from organix to the tresemmé organic avocado & aloe vera, silicone-free conditioner.

it really made a difference for me. I love it!

[Dragon]

I like yes to carrots and yes to cucumber conditioner. I haven't tried there shampoo but use giovanni tea tree triple treat shampoo and giovanni 50/50 balanced shampoo.

[Agnieszka]

I currently buy a scent free conditioner from the Green People here http://www.greenpeople.co.uk/organic-base-no-scent-conditioner-200ml.aspx

It's the best cleansing conditioner I've ever found in terms of natural ingredients and it doesn't contain any controversial preservatives. I also find it extremely moisturising. I don't buy their shampoos since they use coco-sulfate which I read somewhere is just as bad as SLS, but I might be wrong...

I so can't wait to buy this one as soon as I get back to the UK. (I did quite a lot of research online:-)) Never done conditioner washing before but I will with this product. Happy that you gave it a good review.

[louzen]

I so can't wait to buy this one as soon as I get back to the UK. (I did quite a lot of research online:-)) Never done conditioner washing before but I will with this product. Happy that you gave it a good review.

Glad I could be of help :) I also gave a more detailed review under the LHC Review section here http://reviews.longhaircommunity.com/showproduct.php/product/807/cat/all

It's has a thick consistency, so you may want to dilute when using it for CO. I've been using it exclusively since I started CO washing about 3 months ago and haven't found anything as good and as natural.

[torrilin]

But when I researched these brands they still had chemicals in them.

You have chemicals in you. If you had no chemicals, you'd have no BODY. Chemicals aren't bad, it's just a fancy word for "matter" or "stuff".

Tocopherol acetate often shows up on product labels. Sounds freaky right? Really, it's a form of vitamin E (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tocopherol), and it's often used as a kind of preservative in beauty products. And well, no chemical does just one thing... since it's an oily vitamin, it also can act as an emollient or as a vitamin. Going along with being an oily vitamin, it's possible to eat too much and give yourself an overdose too. Even safe and healthy things can be dangerous.

While I'm not religious about it, I do mildly prefer products that are organic. While the pesticides used in farming may not harm me, they can harm farm workers, so shooting for lower pesticide use overall is a good thing. I *strongly* prefer products that are fair trade tho, because I think people should be paid for making nice things. But minimizing chemical accidents for farm workers and paying them wages doesn't actually affect how the product works.

I also tend to use fragrance free products. In the US, that means no ingredients are added just for scent purposes. It's a pretty strictly regulated term, and I have a lot of unfortunate reactions to fragrances. It's pretty common really :-/. But just because it's fragrance free doesn't mean safe either. If I let my mom borrow one of my conditioners, she could have a nasty reaction. She's got a latex allergy, and the conditioner has shea butter in it. Shea nuts are one of the natural sources of latex, and even very pure shea butter can cause reactions.

In short, there's no real substitute for boning up on what affects *you*. For the average person, fragrance is no big deal. Most people aren't allergic to anything, and will never go into anaphylactic shock. And you're not going to get a ton of pesticide exposure from the most pesticide laden shampoo on the market.

[JuliaDancer]

If you're interested in avoiding bad chemicals, I would read "No More Dirty Looks". It's very easy to read, and the writers have done a lot of research. It not only talks about "bad" chemicals and lists them, but it also specifically lists which products they've used which are "good" and actually work well. You can find organic and natural products that just don't work very well, and others that do, and they've tried all the products themselves. They cover shampoo and conditioner, nail polish, makeup... pretty much everything beauty related. I highly recommend the book!

[CorinaS]

I like Urtekram products, especially their Henna shampoo and the Nordic Birch anti-dandruff shampoo. Bioearth products are also very good. As for conditioner, I really love Alepp Conditioner, but I'm skeptical about continuous usage because it contains Phenoxyethanol.

[Chanie]

I love kevin murphy stuff :) its not totally organic i think, but it has'nt any sls or bad cones in it, and it has a lot of natural ingredients

[spookyghost]

All you guys have been so wonderful responding-thank you!:) I mentioned earlier in the thread that I bought a sample of Hair One-the wen knock off. At first I saw a slight improvement-ever so slight. Nothing much to get impressed over. But as the day went on I really started to notice my hair. Maybe because everytime I went into the bathroom I was looking at it in the mirror!:p My hair may not be the bomb after using Hair One but there is more than a slight imrovement, afterall, from using it. I actually like it!:D My hair has a thicker look and feel to it. This I like-big time. And it feels clean. It just feels different than before. I still have the damaged look but theres no helping that till it grows out. But the damage look to my hair does look better. And even if it looks just a little less damaged-Im sold!

I went to Sally's and bought a bottle. I had another sample of the olive oil one but I have colored hair and plan on coloring my hair one more time back to my natural color so I feel the Hair One meant for colored treated hair is the one I should use. I will just save the olive oil sample for the future sometime. Im really excited about this. I hope my hair continues to do well with this. Sometimes a product will work for a while and then stop working all of a sudden. I hate that!

Oh something else I noticed is that I had this smell to my hair. My hair dresser noticed a strange smell. I noticed it too. She thought it was due to some strange build up I had on my hair but I noticed the smell only after I got my hair color. The smell wouldnt go away. I tried two different s&c since April and the smell was still there. After using Hair One one time the smell is gone! I didnt see that coming at all. Thank goodness too. No one else noticed the smell. Just my hd, because she put my hair up to her nose, and me. But it was starting to really bother me because thats all I smelled. I cant believe its gone. Hair One is worth that alone!