What's In YOUR Shampoo?

 

Is your shampoo really detergent Look at the label on your shampoo.  Commercial shampoos are actually detergents.  Detergent is good for one thing--removing oils.  Detergent is great when you are cleaning laundry or dishes, but NOT when you are cleaning your scalp and hair! 

Detergent shampoo strip the natural moisturizing oils from your hair and scalp.  So after you wash your hair with commercial shampoo you reach for that bottle of expensive conditioner, to put back the moisture that was stripped away by the commercial shampoo.

The label of ingredients on a bottle of commercial shampoo has a long list of unpronounceable chemicals.  Whether or not these synthetic chemical additives are bad for you may be up for debate for some people, but chances are you are better off with none at all.  The chart below compares a Chagrin Valley Shampoo with a popular brand.

 

COMPARE for Yourself!
 

Chagrin Valley Rosemary Lavender Aloe Shampoo

Saponified oils of a rosemary, lavender, and sage
infused olive, castor bean, and sunflower
coconut oil
palm oil
virgin hemp seed oil
hazelnut oil
palm kernel oil
jojoba oil
mango butter
wheat germ oil
filtered rainwater
organic aloe vera
rosemary essential oil
lavender essential oil
tea tree essential oil
vitamin E oil
rosemary oil extract
  A Popular Shampoo that claims to be "pH balanced"

Water
Sodium Laureth Sulfate
(a detergent and surfactant found in many personal care products like soaps, shampoos, toothpaste etc.  It is an inexpensive and very effective foamer)
Sodium Lauryl Sulfate
(same as above)
Cocamide MEA
(synthetic foaming agent cationic surfactant in shampoos and bath products, also an emulsifying agents in cosmetics)
Zinc Carbonate (
added as an astringent.  Mild skin irritant--can cause pain and redness on long contact)
Glycol Distearate
(added to  impart pearlescence to  shampoo)
Dimethicone
(a type of silicone used to replace natural oils stripped by deteregents by coating the hair.  The silicone coating makes the hair feel softer and means it is less likely to tangle because the silicone coating separates each hair from another.   Dimethicone can be problematic since it can accumulate on the hair.)
Fragrance
(synthetic scent, often skin irritants)
Cetyl Alcohol
(a surfactant)
Polyquaternium 10
(a polymer used in shampoo to help hair lay flat.  Their positive charges also ionically bond them to hair and skin.)
Magnesium Sulfate
Sodium Benzoate
(synthetic preservative. Shown to damage cellular DNA--there is a whole array of degenerative diseases related to this damage--including the whole process of aging.)
Magnesium Carbonate Hydroxide
Ammonium Laureth Sulfate
(same as Sodium Laureth Sulfate))
Benzyl Alcohol
 (a bacteriostatic preservative known for its toxic effects including respiratory failure, vasodilation, hypotension, convulsions, and paralysis.  Neonatal deaths have been associated with the use of benzyl alcohol as a preservative in saline solutions. Also used as a general solvent for paints.)
Sodium Chloride
(table salt used as a thickener)
Melaleuca Alternifolia Leaf Oil (tea tree)
Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract
Methylchloroisothiazolinone
(a synthetic preservative. Like a number of other common cosmetics ingredients, it has been considered to be a carcinogen.  It is also an allergen--see Methylisothiazolinone.)
Methylisothiazolinone 
(a synthetic preservative.  Studies have shown it  to be allergenic and cytotoxic [toxic to cells], and this has led to some concern over its use.  It affects the ability of young or developing neurons to grow and process.)
Sodium Xylenesulfonate
(synthetic surfactant added to thicken shampoo and to help keep other ingredients in solution thus making the product clear or transparent)
Menthol
Yellow 5
Blue 1

Every day, people take baths or showers lathering up with commercial “shampoo.”  Keep in mind, our skin is the body's largest organ and like a sponge, absorbs chemicals.  In fact, today many medicines are now given in "patch" form to be absorbed through the skin. 

What do you want to put on your hair and scalp?

 


 

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