http://www.care2.com/greenliving/the-dirt-on-natural-shampoos.html
The Dirt on “Natural” Shampoos
Choosing whether or not to go with a natural shampoo has typically boiled down to one question: How much do you like suds? Until recently, going the natural route meant living without them, because the chemicals left out also happen to be the main source of lather. Still, as good as you may feel in sparing your scalp a chemical bath, it’s hard to feel too smug when you wind up with limp, lank, or even greasy hair.
And that probably explains why most all-natural shampoos really aren’t. Many shampoo makers actually keep the sudsing chemicals, toss in some botanical ingredients, and call it “natural.” But consumers are getting more demanding: These days, they want something safe and sudsy. And a number of companies are obliging by trading harsh sudsing chemicals, like sodium lauryl sulfate and sodium laureth sulfate, for gentler vegetable- and coconut-based latherers.
The result is a milder shampoo with lather. “Customers expect a great sudsing, foaming shampoo,” says Morris Shriftman, senior vice president of marketing at Avalon Natural Products in Petaluma, California, “so we gave it to them.”
Avalon, which recently teamed up with the Breast Cancer Fund in San Francisco to spread the word about environmentally safe cosmetics like its own, isn’t the only one charting this course. Blinc, Shikai Color Reflect, and Dr. Hauschka are among others that have kept the lather while removing what Shriftman terms “objectionable ingredients.”
So what exactly is the problem with these ingredients? Plenty, says Timothy Kropp, a senior scientist with the Environmental Working Group, a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit research organization that focuses on health and environmental issues.
In a review last year of 413 shampoos, it found that 11 percent of products contained a known probable or possible carcinogen (including selenium sulfide and coal tar, found in some dandruff shampoos), 17 percent had ingredients that may be linked to breast cancer, and 82 percent had ingredients believed to help carcinogens penetrate the scalp (including EDTA, propylene glycol, urea, and PEG-7 glyceryl cocoate). There’s also the possibility that certain preservatives called parabens might present a health risk.
The standard rejoinder to such concerns has been to ask whether any of these chemicals is on your head long enough to actually penetrate your skin and produce health problems. In a report three years ago, the industry-supported Cosmetic Ingredient Review found that the lathering laureths, and other ingredients, are nothing to worry about.
“The levels used in shampoos are not harmful,” says Wilma F. Bergfeld, head of clinical research in the department of dermatology at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. “And with 10 to 16 ingredients in every shampoo, the laureths are diluted. None of these ingredients has been shown to cause a problem in studies. Also, no one would put anything into shampoo that is caustic or harmful and can produce cancer.”
Kropp begs to differ. He notes that sodium laureth can cause harm at high concentrations by physically breaking apart the cells on your skin. “While it’s true you don’t use all that much at a time, we don’t know what the acceptable concentrations are,” he says. And what penetrates the skin could enter the bloodstream. “A cause for still more concern,” says Kropp, “is that there are so many other ingredients in these shampoos that haven’t been studied.”
Paul Dompe, a naturopath and product review coordinator for Bastyr Center for Natural Health in Seattle, agrees that caution is called for. “While it’s true you don’t leave shampoo on your head all day, there’s an abundance of these chemicals in many of the other products we use every day,” he says. “And the cumulative exposure can add up. One day we may find that it represents a real health risk.”
Happily, those who don’t want to take any chances don’t have to. You can find a list of companies that have pledged not to use harsh chemicals in their shampoos, moisturizers, and makeup on the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics site, which was launched in 2002 by a coalition of non-profit health and environmental groups.
Many shampoo makers are also working to comply with the European Union’s directive for cosmetics, which bans chemicals known or strongly suspected to cause cancer or genetic mutations. The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics plans to conduct its own oversight; this month it will publish a report card grading big-name U.S. companies on how successfully they’re reformulating products to avoid controversial chemicals. And many of their environmentally correct findings also give us suds. Now that’s heady news.
Keeping It Clean: How to wash with natural shampoos
You’d think the purest natural shampoos would leave your hair shimmering, too. But in reality, some can leave hair dull because of all those good nourishing oils and mild soaps. “You need to rinse them out more, because otherwise they may cling to hair,” says Anthony Rocanello, senior colorist at Julien Farel Salon in New York City. He recommends running water through your locks at least four times, ending with a cool rinse. “Just keep running water through it, as if you were standing under a waterfall,” he says.
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11 comments
add your comment »Okay, I just bought Organix smoothing shea butter shampoo because it says "sulfate free" on the back, but it also says it has "disodium laureth sulfosuccinate". Isn't anything with the word "laureth" unsafe? I can't find this brand on the "skin deep" database.
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Wild, I do not know about the shampoo but for the toothpaste here is what I do:
Mix together baking soda and food grade aloe vera gel until it is as thick or thin as you like. Then simply add essential oils. I have been using orange e.o. with peppermint about 5 parts orange to 1 part peppermint. Mix well and store in a container to just dip your toothbrush in. You can also wash an empty toothpaste bottle really well, let it dry and pour your mixture into it if you don't want everybody in the house dipping their toothbrushes into the mixture.
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Hello,
I have just purchased an Eco Organic Shampoo with ingredients you describe- SLS- but with a bit different name-does it suppose to trick us or are these really safe (I am not a chemist to know...)
Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate, Lauryl Glucoside, Lauroyl Sarcosine, Alcohol, Parfume, Limonene, Linalool
and the other shampoo of the same contains another SLS name:
Sodium Coco Sulfate, Coco Glucoside, Sodium PCA, Sodium Chlorid, Sodium Lactate, Sodium Cocoyl Glutamate??????????????????????????Are these ingredients ok or dangerous?
And could anyone tell me, how to make natural shampoo from pharmacy bought GLYCEROLUM 85% (and perhaps H2O2 to make a foam...and Tea tree oil-I do not know the exact mixture I should make...And does anyone knows how to home-make fluorid free toothpaste?)Many thanks
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I go the Indian way and use herbal hair powders Shikakai, Amla and Brahmi combined. I make it into a decoction and then thicken it until it looks like a gravy! I add things as I feel like it, such as Aloe gel, or honey and sometimes essential oils like Rosemary.
Traditionally an Indian woman would leave this on before rinsing out, but I find it cleans just as well if I massage it into wet hair and scalp until I think it is clean and then rinse. It might sound a huge ordeal, but factor in that my hair is thigh length and the fact that this is not that difficult, I think it is well worth it. My scalp has never been happier and my hair glistens after it's dry!
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I love the shine and feel of my hair using Green Tea shampoo.
www.naturalsaltessentials.com
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You can also wash your hair with baking soda - its alkalinity saponifies the oils in your hair so that they rinse out. Mix 1 tablespoon into a cup of warm water, pour it gently through your hair and massage your scalp a little to loosen any oils there. Then rinse very well, and follow with 1-2 tablespoons of vinegar (most people who do this use apple cider vinegar) in a cup of water to restore your hair and scalp's natural slightly acidic pH balance and neutralize any remaining baking soda.
You will probably want to follow this with a good conditioner, as baking soda can be somewhat drying. And I wouldn't recommend doing it ore than once a week, for the same reason. The baking soda and vinegar approach may avoid the various problematic additives in commercial shampoos, but it's not necessarily "gentler" to your hair.
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I use certified organic shampoo from ONE Group and love it. It suds up fine after a few weeks of use but it takes a while for the old buildup from other typical shampoos to wash off so hair can look worse first. I love their handsoap too. Not exactly cheap but for me it's been worth every penny to not need hand cream anymore. www.goodskinforlife.com.
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I use Pure Castile Soap. Lots of suds, no toxic stuff. And yes, rinsing with vinegar also makes your hair shine.
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I beleive you can also help your hair rinse cleaner if you add a mild acid. Mixing a little vinegar with your rinse water gives the cleanest rinse I know. Unless you use too much vinegar to water, there won't be a smell when it's dry. Lemon juice smells better, but the fructose can be hard to rinse out.
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If you ever saw how many of these companies test their products on innocent animals and how they suffer, you would also look for those products that say "NOT tested on animals".
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