I think you would agree that you would be hard put to find a 100% natural shampoo on the shelves at your local pharmacy or supermarket. Virtually all commercial shampoos contain many harmful ingredients, and the worst offender is Sodium Laureth Sulphate. This product is also used in degreasing cleansers, detergents used for washing cars, floor cleaners and more, and they also put this in your shampoo, the product you use to clean your hair. This product creates the suds and when you feel these suds in your fingers while you are washing your hair, psychologically you are thinking that the suds are really doing their job. Yes, they are cleaning your hair, they are striping everything out of your hair, irritating your scalp, drying your scalp and contributing towards hair loss at the same time. SLS is also used in toothpaste, something to think about next time you clean your teeth.
There are alternatives available, such as shampoos made with natural products. So, what is different about all natural shampoo's? A lot, I changed to natural shampoo many months ago, after going through years of scalp problems, itching and increasing hair loss. I started by making my own shampoo mix using liquid castile soap (made with olive oil), this was concentrated so I diluted it with water, chamomile essential oil (a few drops) and some jojoba oil (closest natural oil to the skins own oils). When I made the shampoo I used a recipe and I could not understand why one would add oil to shampoo, but followed the recipe to the letter. OK, ready to give it a go, wet my hair and applied my shampoo mix, it was very runny because this is the nature of castile soap, I tried to lather it but it wouldn't lather, so after two attempts gave up and rinsed it out, I then sprayed my hair with Apple Cider Vinegar, massaged it through and my hair felt like straw, the vinegar neutralize the PH of the shampoo and helps to remove any remaining residue and gives the hair a shine. I then debated whether to get the usual shampoo and re shampoo my hair, but thought, no, preserver. I dried my hair off and hit it with the hair dryer and it looked revolting, it looked dirtier than before I shampooed it, it was late and I didn't have time to re shampoo my hair so I left it, but it felt cleanish. Two days later I tried again with my castile mix shampoo, this time I was able to get a bit of a lather up, the end result was not dissimilar to the first attempt.
At this point I was ready to tip the lot down the sink, but something kept saying to me, don't give up just yet. The third time I used it, it was like magic, I got a lovely lather up and my hair was like silk when I dried it, and it was so easy to style, no added product needed at all. The shine was amazing and this came from the Apple Cider Vinegar in the final rinse. I found that when I used the vinegar my hair felt like straw and I thought how on earth am I going to comb this out before drying it because I am not using a conditioner. I shouldn't have worried, there were a few knots, but the comb soon went through them painlessly.
I was at a loss as to why my hair looked like garbage the first two times I used the castile shampoo and then read somewhere that what is happening is the castile shampoo is leaching out all the chemicals in your hair left them from commercial shampoos and once these chemicals are all out everything comes right.
I give my hair two shampoos and do not worry if I do not get a lather up on the first round, I know that the natural shampoo is still cleaning and this is proven when I get a good lather up on the second shampoo. The jojoba keeps the natural oils on the scalp in check and balanced and does not leave any oil residue on the hair shaft but it does moisturize it.
I have noticed that I am not losing as much hair as I was pre castile soap, my hair looks cleaner, feels healthier, to touch it is like touching silk and I am not having to shampoo my hair every second day, I can now get away with three to four days in between.
Would I ever go back to commercial shampoo - No Way. Even the dogs use natural shampoo now, made with castile soap, neem oil and essential oils, their coats are like silk.
Shampoo bars are another alternative and the same as the liquid castile soap, just that the soap has been prepared as a solid bar, great for traveling with. In fact, you could use any castile soap on your hair and finish up with the same result I did. Why not give it a try, stop cleaning your hair with car degreaser, but you have to promise to stick with it, because then you will see the great end result. Also, you will save yourself heaps of money, because liquid castile and shampoo bars will go a lot further than commercial shampoo and conditioner. Changing to natural castile shampoo was one of the best decisions I have made in a long time.
Virginia Reali in conjuction with beauty consultants in Australia developed the Missai Naturals range of skin care product where you design your own skincare range. Missai also imports mineral powders to compliment the range. http://www.bmnedirect.com.au
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