The Official Sulphate Free thread!

[SleepyTangles]

I just realized that there isn't any official thread for sulphate-free routine, so... here it comes! Seems like a lot of people are considering to start an sls/sles free esperiment, so hopefully this thread will be useful: feel free to share your experiences and thoughts!
The theory in short:
Our scalp produces naturally oils that protect and keep sealed the hydration of our hair; using harsh cleansers not only dries up the hair, but it can boost up an abnormal production of sebum, as the stripped out scalp tries to overcompensate.
After switching to sulphate free shampoo you should notice not only that the hair is softer and more conditioned, but the scalp is also cleaner and stays clean for longer periods.
The practice:
Not every hair is the same, for sure: switchng to a sulphate free routine usually needs a "transitioning" period in wich your scalp will assess to it, and probably not behave nicely.
This is just an in-between stage, and should not bother you for long.
Obviously, not every sulphate free shampoo is the same: you won't find instantly your holy grail product, so be patient and don't give up after a try.


Switching to a sulphate free routine is more difficult:
-When you live in an area with very hard water
-When you use products that cause build up very quickly, like coney leave ins, mousses, heath protectants.
Tip: you can switch to a low sulphate shampoo (like one with ammonium lauryl sulphate), before going completely sulphate free.

If someone who is more expert wants to do a better introduction, is absolutely welcome

[Vampyria]

I have sensitive skin, so my scalp loves sulphate free. It was always itching after washing my hair and I started shedding a lot, so I decided to change the shampoo. I switched to sulphate free from sodium coco sulphate. Some say coco sulphate is gentler than other ones, but some say that it's really not.:shrug:

I even started diluting my sulphate free shampoo (I used too much of it otherwise) and it works great, and I wasn't even sure it's going to work at first. Switching from sulphate free didn't take a lot of adjusting for me. Diluting it took some adjusting, not as much for the scalp, but mostly because I had to figure out the amount of shampoo, water and such and didn't put the cap on the dilution bottle at first.:doh:

Also, I've washed my hair every 3 days with the previous shampoo and it's the same now. I don't use any products, just coconut oil as a pre-wash and the shampoo removes it well. I still clarify from time to time, when I feel like it. I washed my hair less frequently with SLES shampoos though, only once a week.

I was lucky to find the right shampoo in a second try (not that there was much choice where I live anyway, but that was a good thing in my case). I tried AO GPB first, but I found it drying.

ETA: I use Sanctum for normal hair.

[Kwongdzu]

Thanks for starting this thread! I have fine hair and just switched to a sulfate-free (though coney) Aveeno shampoo. I really like it, and can go 2 days without washing as opposed to everyday.

[Nebulae]

Great to have a thread about this, and you did a really good introduction! :)

I've been sulphate free for a year now, and I love it. I was lucky enough to have a really smooth transition period that was almost unnoticeable.

I started out with The Body Shop's Rainforest Shine shampoo, and it worked really well and I didn't have to use much for every wash. It did leave some residue in my hair though, which I noticed when I started using my Tangle Teezer.
I recently switched to another shampoo, Urtekram Rose shampoo. I was hesitant to try it since it contains sodium coco sulphate, which some people reported is just as harsh as SLS (which I am sensitive to). I haven't reacted to it yet so I think it's gentler. I'm happy with the shampoo, not my holy grail but not bad either. Leaves no residue, cleanses well, however I find I have to use more of this to clean well all over.

That's what I have to share now, looking forward to hearing what has and hasn't worked for others :flower:

[Words]

I have been sulphate free since 2011 and I love the way my hair behaves without sulphates. I recently bought the new Weleda shampoo, which I really like. I don't even have to use conditioner.

[Sunny_side_up]

Back on sulphate free and pretty sure my shedding decreased, phew. I use Jason shampoo, though I think its recipe has changed doesn't seem like it used to. Actually lathers more now, maybe to attract more custom? Love the Jojoba aroma and it clings to my hair. Was enjoying the Manuka honey Dr Organic shampoo too in the past.

[monsoonstorm]

I've used SLS free for about 15 months.

To begin with I didn't see what all of the fuss was about, it made no real difference to my dry, flaky, itchy scalp, my hair didn't seem much different either. I stuck it out more for eco-friendly reasons I think...

Then I noticed that the shampoo I'd been using, whilst SLS free, had some other weird similar sounding name, so I switched again. Slowly over time I noticed that I was having to use my anti-dandruff shampoo less and less often (I used Selsun which is designed to be used once a week or so). I started being able to go two weeks, then three. Now I only ever use it if something has disturbed the balance and my scalp has had a bit of a meltdown for some unknown reason...

My hair feels much softer now (although I have made other changes too in the interim - silk pillowcase, henna, oiling). For the first time in absolutely years I am actually loving my hair, despite it still having a lot of chemical dye left in it.

I think for me, SLS free was the first step in a chain reaction... it's nice to feel like you're doing some good for your hair, so you start exploring what else you can do! I now tend to CWC, avoiding the lengths on the wash unless I've just henna'd or something.

SLS free I tried:
Eco & More - That's the one with some other weird thing in it. Still seemed quite strong, didn't really notice any difference at all...
Pure & Basic - nice.
Acure - LOVE the smell! Like heaven in a bottle. I need to import it though which is costly. Very rich.
L'oreal Everpure - now my standard go to due to the fact that it's easily available.

I'm currently dabbling with shampoo bars from hennasooq. Only tried twice so far and it didn't go too well. Will give it another go.

[Johannah]

Whoehoe, an official thread! I'm in! :cool:

I'm sulfate- and conefree since september. I've tried this before and I gave up, I can't remember why actually. Until now I like it, but sometimes it's hard because I'm still searching for a routine. I started stretching my washes till once a week but I hated it. My hair still got greasy after 5 weeks so I quit. Now I'm washing it twice a week and I like it. When I'm in the city when I study at university, I wash my hair with sulfate-free shampoo and conditioner from Petal Fresh (tea tree). When I'm at home I do a heavy oiling and wash it out with CO. I'm doing this for two weeks right now and I enjoy it. Hopefully it stays that way.

For people who like a mint smell - try Petal Fresh for sure!!

[carrielynn]

I've been sulfate free for about a year. While I do use occasional cones in styling products (I use cone-free conditioners), the coco-beteine in many low-poos keeps it from building up. I love the Shea Moisture shampoos, I go back and forth between the coconut-based Curl & Shine and the yucca/baobob-based Thickening. My hair always feels clean, but not stripped.

[ExpectoPatronum]

I wish I could say going SLS free was life-changing for my hair, but it really wasn't. I don't see that much of a difference between the two. The truly hair-changing thing for me has been CO-washing and NOT fighting my curls. When I do need to shampoo, I do like using SLS free as I noticed my hair doesn't feel stripped after like a regular shampoo. The one I like using is Shea Moisture's Moisture Retention Shampoo. It makes both my hair and scalp very happy, and since I shampoo once MAYBE twice a week, the bottle lasts for forever.

[steffa]

I actually just switched over to a sulfate-free shampoo and in order to kick the transition people in the butt I Just forced my self to go 7 days without using shampoo (but would rinse and massage with warmer water) I found that worked fine for me took awhile to clean with just water but when I switched to sulfate free my hair was already use to not being washed as much...I found my hair was actually a little dry the other day so I just used a coconut oil mask and it did the trick....the cold air also dries my hair out sometimes so the oil treatment is awesome.

[piccplayr]

I've been sulphate free for a year now. I didn't realize how long it had been until just now! It took me about four months of experimenting to settle on DevaCurl NoPoo and OneCondition. I tried everything; water only, CO, shampoo bars, etc. My transition was particularly nasty at first because water only and CO just did not do it for me, and then more natural sulphate free options were too drying. DevaCurl is the only thing I've found that properly cleans my scalp and hair without drying it out. I will never go back to sulphates!

[animetor7]

I've been sulfate free for over a year now, since joining the LHC. I now am mostly CO with cone free conditioner with a sulfate free shampoo once a week that is also diluted to at least 1/2 strength. I do use sulfates about every three months, but this has also been diluted.

[Libbylou]

I have been sls free since 2011. The reason I went sls free was because of my psoriasis issues. For several years I was seeing a dermatologist. All they did was give me expensive creams that didn't work. I thought back to the time I didn't have psoriasis signs. That was about the time sls was put into soaps and shampoos. Yes, I am old. It took a while but now my skin is much better.
I did go through a transition period, lasted a couple months. Glad I stuck it out.
I use toadstoolsoap shampoo and leave in conditioner. I use 2 drops of mineral oil on damp hair. I don't need the leave in, just like the scent. I wash every other day due to working in a dusty environment. I also do henna glosses with henna maiden light brown to cover the silvers.
It must be working because when I get my bangs trimmed, the stylist's are always petting my length and commenting on the healthy condition of my hair. I usually just go to the walk in chains to get my bangs trimmed and get a different stylist many times.
I find that the 10oz bottle of shampoo lasts a few months.
I also use homemade soaps that I buy at fairs and festivals throughout the year.

[Zebra Fish]

I started sulphate free few years ago, without even knowing what it means. I dyed my hair red and was losing colour realy fast, so I ran across the L'Oreal Preofessional shampoo fro dyed hair, but it has a sulphat free variant that was written to be good for red/violet dyes that lose colour faster. I asked my hairdresser at that time (I miss her :love: ) and she told me to buy it thats it is good and instructed me to dilute it while using (because it was dense and I had a hard time to wash it out). So thats also when I started diluiting shampoo :p.
After that, I was using the L'Oreal Serie Nature (stopped dying and tryed henna few times), that was also SLS free. BUT!! my big mistake all this time was using coney conditioner so I got a buildup.
I heard for the clarifying shampoos, but as I was a student then, and most of all thius stuff you could just order from the internet, I didnt have money for all of it, so I never bought it.
In the end, last january, (first time I was at another hairdresser coz my usual one had a cold - and stopped working as a hairdresser so it was hard to get her for a trim, result : havent been to a hairdresser since then :p), I bought a clarifying shampoo and, as I was pissed of what that hardresser did to me, I started googling and found lhc :) :). Since then I'm consciously using SLS free and cone-free, just that after learning alot of stuff (and the web page I was ordering stipped selling the nature series), I moved to Lavera.
My first reactoin was - my hair is crap!! but after a while (and now clarifying every few months when I feel my hair needs it) my hair became (again!!) reaaaaaaaly soft and it has even too much slip (a pain coz i have to redo hair too often). Today is day 4 after washing, and it is still too slippery.
Oh, yes, and I wash once a week. Dunno what happened after summer (living at sea), but after I clarified and started again on the "non summer hair care" I immediately didnt have problems with greasy hair and could go on once a week (usualy I had a bit of transition period to getting on the once a week again).

[askan]

I'm in! I bought my first SLS-free shampoo a month ago. Before that, I CO washed with the occasional sulphate-shampoo due to bad planning :P Always a lighter conditioner to wash the scalp, and then I used a little heavier conditioner for the lengths. I was worrying that CO made me shed more than normal so that's why I decided to try sls free shampoo.

Anyway, my shampoo is called Weleda Baby Calendula Body Wash & Shampoo. It has a strong smell which I don't like, and if I wash with it and condition the ends, my hair ends up feeling kind of dry and bristly. But last week I shampooed, rinsed, and then put my washing conditioner all over the scalp and put an SMT mixture on the lengths. Amazing results, my hair turned out more wavy than ever and it was like satin all week, no frizz whatsoever. I am thinking of trying to premixing the shampoo with washing conditioner to see if my hair might like that.

[Zebra Fish]

askan reminded me :) I tried CO wash, but I would get realy greasy after 3/4 days, so after 2 months (gave it a try) I returned to SLS free shampoo :)

[Firefox7275]

My skin and hair hate sulphates and other anionic surfactants. My face and scalp became less greasy and atopic eczema healed the first week I started co-washing. I occasionally clarify with a clear shampoo base containing cocoamidopropyl betaine which is effective on silicones, polyquats and cetyl esters build up.

The olefin sulfonates are as harsh as SLS, avoid if you want gentle on skin and hair.

[bunnylake]

I was sulfate-free for a few years until a couple months ago, when I tried a couple of different Lush shampoo bars. I never noticed any difference in my hair actually, so I figured it didn't matter. I'm thinking of going back to sulfate-free shampoo, though. Maybe if I pay more attention I'll find that my henna fades a bit less and I might not need to wash every single day... :)

I actually never had any issues with build up when I was sulfate-free and I used lots of coney conditioners and serums. I started having build-up issues when I started using natural oils. *shrugs*

[bunnylake]

I was sulfate-free for a few years until a couple months ago, when I tried a couple of different Lush shampoo bars. I never noticed any difference in my hair actually, so I figured it didn't matter. I'm thinking of going back to sulfate-free shampoo, though. Maybe if I pay more attention I'll find that my henna fades a bit less and I might not need to wash every single day... :)

I actually never had any issues with build up when I was sulfate-free and I used lots of coney conditioners and serums. I started having build-up issues when I started using natural oils. *shrugs*

[Foxylocks]

I have a very dry and flaky scalp, and sulfates wreak havoc on it. Shampoo bars don't completely resolve the issue, but my scalp does not behave nearly as badly. I would buy a dandruff shampoo, but unfortunately they are all filled with (Big surprise, you guessed it....!!!) Sulfates! This lovely addition would completely counteract any effect the anti-dandruff ingredients would have on my scalp.
Also, even if I were to use a sulfate free shampoo, the heavy fragrances make my scalp terribly itchy, so I cannot use those either. So, shampoo bars are the best option.
I live in an area with quite mineral filled water. I don't notice any adverse reactions with my shampoo bars. I do sometimes use cone conditioners, I just grab any conditioner off of the store shelf because I am certain that my hair is immune to any undesirable things that might occur with conditioners (I have used an unbelievable variety of conditioners, and my hair never reacted adversely to anything).

[DweamGoiL]

I have been sulfate free for about a year now. I also try to stay away from cones although some of my deep treatments do have cones in them, but I only use them 1-2 times a month tops.

[sourgrl]

I'm not sure how long I've been sulfate free. Maybe a year? I'd tried sulfate free routines off and on without much success. Once I found Giovanni shampoos, specifically their Smooth as Silk shampoo, I've been sulfate free. Going sulfate free has enabled me to stretch washes to two days. Gentler shampoo and less washing seems to be better for my wavy hair.