Friday, December 6, 2013

Shampoo Rant-Rebellion-Revival!


There are many reasons I started making my own shampoo. In fact it was one of the very first home products that I ventured into making myself, and one that I have absolutely fell as addict to. It all started when I was pregnant with my now three year old son. As a pregnant mother I was very aware of my health. During my time being pregnant there just so happened to be a lot in the news about a leading brand of baby shampoo. The headlines screamed of formaldehyde as the culprit for all the attention...as I investigated, I came to realize that it was not the only ingredient in shampoo that I ought to be concerned about. What about the caustic chemicals? Phthalates? Parabens? Sodium Lauryl? Laureth sulfate? Msg? Propylene Glycol? DEA? Dioxane? and Artificial Fragrances? So many dangers...so being the naive shopper I was, went looking for shampoo's for my family to use that had words I understood in their list of ingredients. Hum...nope, and nope. 

I was still hopeful though..there *must* be a company that makes a good natural shampoo? Then I happened across an episode of CBC's Market place that had investigated the increasing amount of false claims of  companies offering "Natural" products. After having my eyes widened a little, I came to the conclusion that I wouldn't be %100 sure of what I was using until I made it myself. And so it started. 

I started out with a basic recipe for making shampoo bar from scratch...after much trial and err, have established a nice balance of essential oils & wild herbal plants that works wonderfully for us. Transitioning to a bar soap was somewhat of a leap of faith. The first few washes were terrible. My hair came out knarley and very unmanageable. I had read about the switch being a transition where your hair needed to get used to being washed with a shampoo soap (as supposed to a detergent soap), and held tight to the promise that it would get better...way better...and it did. I used an apple cider vinegar rinse to strip my hair of commercial buildup, chemicals and residues for a few weeks and refrained form using *any* commercial products. This included no conditioners (aside from some coconut oil), no gels, no sprays, no blow drying, no straightening and no dying. Slowly and over time my hair has transformed...what used to be damaged, brittle, dry one day and a grease bomb the next has turned into hair that is sleek, shiny and only needs washed 2X a week. My hair doesn't get staticy like it used to in the winter...nor does it get super greasy between washings. On top of that, dandruff and itchy scalp is a fable from times past! 

I'm not saying all these wonderful things about shampoo bars to sell anything. I'm saying it because I know how hard the switch can be (at least it was for me). There is a way to get off the expensive, unethical, unhealthy, corporate commercial shampoo wash wagon, and it doesn't have to mean forfeiting nice hair either! So, if you are like me...and want free from the trash that is in cosmetics..just go for it. Start with one thing. If you aren't handy with cosmetic recipes, and don't have time to make them yourself then I can do the leg work....buy a bar :) ....or the new all natural liquid shampoo. You can trust it is pure, wholesome and free from trash. If it wasn't I wouldn't be using it myself. 

I've worked hours to perfect the liquid shampoo and have increased the size of the bars, so it was due time for a photo shoot. I need a good photo to use for the facebook page, and so here are the contending pictures. Let me know which is your favorite :)