Choosing an Eco-Friendly Shampoo

Organic Options for Washing Hair

Jul 9, 2009 Megan Jungwi

Here are a few tips to avoiding unhealthy shampoo chemicals and choosing an environmentally friendly shampoo.

Shampoo is filled with chemicals marketed to make hair shiny, voluminous, and clean. However, the way shampoo works may be bad for hair and the environment. Everyday millions of people pour shampoo chemicals down their bathroom drains – chemicals that have a questionable effect on human health and the environment. Fortunately, there are ways to keep hair clean and healthy while also being eco-friendly.

Reasons Not to Use Mainstream Shampoos

Shampoos contain many ingredients that give the mixture its expected texture, foaminess, and scent – all of which have little bearing on clean hair. The Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep database assesses the health hazards of a variety of ingredients and products. For example, Pantene Pro-V Classic Clean Shampoo has a moderate hazard of five out of ten while Garnier Fructis Fortifying Shampoo Body & Volume rates a seven. The ingredient Dimethicone may be toxic to wildlife while some fragrances may be toxic to the human immune system. These are just a couple examples of shampoos and ingredients in the database.

Choosing a Healthy Eco-Friendly Shampoo

The Skin Deep database can help consumers avoid certain products while also finding ones that are healthy to use. For example, Burt’s Bees Grapefruit & Sugar Beet Shampoo receives a low hazard score of one out of ten while Poofy Organics Lovely Lavender Shampoo receives a zero. The most hazardous ingredients in the Poofy Organics shampoo are vegetable glycerin and essential oils. As a general rule of thumb, stick to shampoos with fewer ingredients and look them up in the database.

Watch Out for the Organic Label

Unfortunately, the word “organic” is not federally regulated in the US and so has no universal meaning – standards that are used by one company may not be used by another. As John Leland points out in a May 18 2003 New York Times article “Is Organic Shampoo Chemistry or Botany?”, for many the organic label is simply a marketing maneuver. So before shelling out extra money for the fancy label, check the list of ingredients on the back and see how eco-friendly that shampoo really is.

Environmentally Friendly Homemade Shampoos

Perhaps the most environmentally friendly shampoo is the kind made at home. A homemade shampoo will contain only the ingredients the maker puts in it, and choosing safe effective ingredients is easy to do. Castile liquid soap is made from fat and lye, it can be made at home or bought from brands such as Dr. Bronner. Eggs, apple cider vinegar, cornstarch, and baby oil are also popular ingredients in homemade shampoos.

The copyright of the article Choosing an Eco-Friendly Shampoo in Green/Simple Living is owned by Megan Jungwi. Permission to republish Choosing an Eco-Friendly Shampoo in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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Sep 24, 2009 10:28 AM

Guest :

Some of the best shampoos are very simple to make and contain only natural ingredients. For example, applying coconut milk to your hair is especially good for those who swim regularly - a natural remedy for over chlorinated hair.

Tim
<a href="http://www.homemade-shampoo.com">Homemade Shampoo</a> blog

Oct 14, 2009 6:23 PM

Guest :

I love peppermint so I had to give the Made from Earth organic "Tea Tree Shampoo" and "Peppermint Conditioner" a try. I've used Castille soaps before and never really loved the distinct smell they have.

Anyway, the Peppermint Condition er and the Tea Tree Shampoo (from Made from Earth)are amazing and I LOVE the way it smells. And it really is true that you get a bit of tingle from the mint.

I only use sulfate-free washes because they don't make me dry and itchy. Sulfate-free washes are pretty hard to find so do yourself a favor and buy this wash!

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