TreeHugger Asks: What's a Good, Green, Cheap Shampoo?

How about using Dr. Bronner's All-In-One soaps for shampooing? All natural, biodegradable, one less product/plastic bottle.

THe J/A/S/O/N shampoos aren't all the unreasonably priced at TJ or Whole Foods... and sometimes they are on special!

Another great site I like is :

http://www.ewg.org/reports/skindeep2/search.php?nperpage=10&main_cat=HAIR+CARE&category=Shampoo

GOOD LUCK!

Here's a second for the Dr. Bronner's, but don't use the almond scent. When you sweat you smell like parmesean cheese with that one. Peppermint would be good for oily scalp, tea tree would work for dandruff, and lavendar rocks for everything else. Follow with a cider vinegar rinse and you should be good to go.

Try J.R. Liggett's, the original formula may be a bit harsh for you, it was for me, but I only have to wash my hair twice a week with a different formula. I have extremely sensitive skin and lots of skin problems and this has been the best shampoo for me. I don't know if you can buy it locally, but if not it's really small to ship, and the packaging is very minimal. If you do have to ship it buy several bars at once, that way you don't have to ship as many times.

The website is: http://www.jrliggett.com/

P.S. I think I first got the link to their site from yours :).

There's always the bulk option at your local coop. I bought one bottle, then filled it up with Nature's Gate in the bulk section--it was cheaper than the shampoo aisle, since you're not paying for marketing and packaging. And you use less packaging.

There are a surprising number of folks out there who aren't using shampoo at all.

Recipes for "no-poo" living seem to include all kinds of things, from washing your hair with conditioner only to using raw eggs, or honey, baking soda, vinegar, and so on.

Your hair ends up feeling oilier, but it tends to look, smell, and behave just fine. For some folks with troublesome hair, it behaves better than if they use shampoo. A google search might turn up some possibilities. It doesn't get much cheaper or environmentally friendly than eliminating the product entirely.

Here is a good place to start looking for products:

http://www.ewg.org/reports/skindeep2/?key=nosign

They have looked at many, many cosmetic products and analyze the ingredients, etc.

I use the J/A/S/O/N Aloe Vera shampoo and find it to get the job done well. One good thing about JASON is that they divulge all ingredients in their shampoo.

Also, like the above comment said they are usually on sale at Whole Foods ( full disclosure: I work for Whole Foods ).

I used to use the Nature's Gate, which you can get a pretty good sized bottle for not much money and lots of conventional stores sell that, and as noted above finding it in bulk isn't out of the question.

Good Luck!

Lush (http://usa.lush.com/) makes solid shampoos that I really like. I bought a bar over six months ago, I've been using it regularly and have only used maybe 1/4 to 1/3 of the bar. So around $8 isn't too bad for a year or two worth of shampoo. Buy the tin too, it's a works well for keeping the shampoo from getting all over things when you're traveling. I'm not sure if they make a fragrance free bar.

http://usa.lush.com/cgi-bin/lushdb/catzoom.html?mv_arg=Solid%20Shampoos&expand=Haircare

Here's a great free online source for many non-toxic personal care and household products, compiled by the Environmental Health Association of Nova Scotia (Canada):

http://www.lesstoxicguide.ca/

It gives a lot of choices, surely one of those matches the criteria that you describe.

My mother is allergic to propylene glycol and fragrances. she uses MAGIC shampoo.

I, too, use Lush (http://usa.lush.com/) solid shampoos and conditioners. I started using them because I wanted to reduce my plastic garbage, but now I use them because I constantly receive compliments about how shiny my hair is and how good it smells.

All of their products are handmade and only use safe, green products. I really love the fact that I am not throwing away any plastics when I am done with my shampoo.

And it takes me two months to use an $8 bar so, I find it really cost effective.

I would only use the shampoo tin for traveling though, the bar will get mushy if it can't dry out.

try using a bar soap (one that works as shampoo). you can use it on your hair and body, plus no plastic bottle. i use soap from aroma bay, www.aromabay.com

i also occasionally rinse my hair with diluted apple cider vinegar which is like a clarifier for hair and makes it nice and shiny:D
hope that helps.

Here is a good place for all kinds of soap and shampoo bases.From large to small sizes. Hope it helps.
http://www.glorybeefoods.com/gbf/Shop_List.cfm?PC=5&PSC=49&ProductCat_Name=Soap%20Bases&Token=68.55.195.131:{ts_2007-01-12_12:30:24}-292110

I 3rd Dr. Bronners soap- its really concentrated, so you only use a bit and i occasionally also use it as toothpaste and a body wash- man is that stuff useful, i bought it for a camping trip and now use it all the time. I like almond (i havent noticed any smell when sweating afterwords) and peppermint- although peppermint is my fav.
In the past i have used burt's bees rosemary shampoo bar, but if your hair isnt short its not really worth it. My mom swears by kiss my face products, but i find them too expensive.

Druide makes good shampoos that come in large packages.

Our whole family (3 of us) currently use Herbal Glo Dandruff/Dry Scalp Shampoo

Try Burt's Bees. They make a bar soap/shampoo as well and are inexpensive.

http://www.burtsbees.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10751&storeId=10101&productId=10200&langId=-1&categoryId=&showSubCategory=yes

You can get Burt's Bees products all over the place as well.

I use only baking soda. That's it. I tried the "no poo" thing using apple cider vinegar, but that seemed to give me random results. The baking soda is the best treatment for my hair I've ever found. And obviously it's very environmentally friendly and cheap, and you don't need to use it every day. Comercial shampoos and soaps really strip your hair of it's protective oils and make it dirtier faster. The baking soda or vinegar hust balances out the PH levels of your hair, and leave the natural oils alone.

At least that's what I've heard. I don't really know the science of it, but I do know it works really well for me.

Hey John,

I use my homemade soap to wash all parts of me, including my hair. My hair is quite short, so it may not work for long, flowing locks.

Check out the old TH post on Easy Homemade Soap.

Ruben.

I also wash my hair with backing soda, with most excellent results ( I quit using shampoo 3 years ago). This article was really helpful when I transitioned to my backing soda + apple cider vinegar rinse routine:

http://babyslime.livejournal.com/174054.html

i use the whole foods store brand, you can get a really big bottle for like 4 bucks. it is scented, but in either a nice citrus scent, or peppermint. i dont kno if its as green as you want it to be, but its alot better than anything at your local drugstore or supermarket. and cheap, did i mention cheap?

how about good old fashion soap.
shampoo is a marketing gimmic

Personally, I use a bar of Ivory soap to wash my body and hair. It's 99.44% pure, right? So why not use it for my hair, too? I've been doing this for years without any adverse side effects.

I have gone one step further and shaved my head. Okay - not practical for lots of people... saves on product and the cost of haircuts! It was, well, departing anyway!

I'm going to post another vote for Dr. Bronner's--you can get it in massive bottles, too, which would probbly in the end cut down on the packaging you consume. If you try it, would you be interested in posting a review?

I agree with the Burt's Bees shampoo bar. The baby shampoo is very mild.. And it lasts a long, long time..

wouldn't vinegar leave a bad smell?

Try Dr Bronner's castille soap for hair, for skin and everything in between.
http://www.drbronner.com/soaps.html

acv works cause its acidic, you can use diluted lemon juice or anything acidic, and it will straighten the hair molecules and make the hair feel smooth... if you look at the ingredients for most conditioners youll notice lots of diff acids...

theres a nice essay called the the great shampoo scandal or somethin, google it if you want to read it

i went for about 6 months without using any hair products, people dont notice until you tell them, and then they get grossed out... strange

my hair got a nice protective layer of oil... pretty good for styling your hair, no gel necessary!

now i use the organic trader joes brand... its like 2-3 dollars a bottle... no sodium lauryl sulfates nor derivatives... pretty good stuff...

Yes, yes yes - Dr. Bronners! I've been using it consistently now for the past 15 years almost. It is soap and shampoo all in one, all natural, organic & fair trade. (Use the normal blue-label peppermint flavor - the peppermint oils really give you a zing after the shower!)

As soap it is perfect, as shampoo, it might take you a week or so to get used to it, but once you do, you'll never go back!

Trader Joes does sell it, as do cheaper outdoor goods stores as well. Some places you can get cheap refills from a 5-gallon drum. It runs about $6 a bottle, but is condensed - just a little bit and you can wash your whole body.

I echo the praise of Burt's Bees Rosemary Mint Shampoo Bar. It's a little expensive, but mine lasted for about three months, and that's using it on a very long beard, too. Now that I have gone beardless, I still use it on my medium-length hair with good results. The package is only a box made of recycled paper, so there's little trash involved.

A few months back, I went through my shampoo ingredients and after some research, was rather stunned too by what it contained.

After searching high and low for a product that was relatively earth-friendly, economical, easy to source and compatible with our blackwater treatment system, I settled on a simple vegetarian bar soap that my partner found in our local supermarket. The one I use (Priya) costs about 50% less than the same product in Dr Bronner's range, with pretty much the same ingredients. It's only available in Australia as far as I know, but a hunt around your supermarket soap section might turn up something comparable.

I use it every day and my hair hasn't suffered in any way that I've noticed, plus it looks and feels clean after use.

Not sure if Lush is so green. Admittedly, I don't know much about toxicology but I have heard sodium lauryl sulfate is a potentially nasty synthetic ingredient.

The Journal of the American College of Toxicology recently published a report on it (http://www.healthy-communications.com/journal_of_the_american_college_.html), noting its "degenerative effect on the cell membranes because of its protein denaturing properties," and that "high levels of skin penetration may occur at even low use concentration." Apparently, sodium lauryl sulfate "is used around the world in clinical studies as a skin irritant," and "carcinogenic nitrosamines can form in the manufacturing of sodium lauryl sulfate or by its inter-reaction with other nitrogen-bearing ingredients."

To boot, while looking through the ingredients lists of a few Lush shampoo bars, I found "propylene glycol" and "perfume." The following are excerpts from "10 synthetic cosmetic ingredients to avoid" at the Organic Consumers Association (http://www.organicconsumers.org/bodycare/toxic_cosmetics.cfm)

Propylene Glycol — Ideally this is a vegetable glycerin mixed with grain alcohol, both of which are natural. Usually it is a synthetic petrochemical mix used as a humectant. Has been known to cause allergic and toxic reactions

Synthetic Fragrances — The synthetic fragrances used in cosmetics can have as many as 200 ingredients. There is no way to know what the chemicals are, since on the label it will simply say "Fragrance." Some of the problems caused by these chemicals are headaches, dizziness, rash, hyperpigmentation, violent coughing, vomiting, skin irritation by a cosmetic that has the word "Fragrance" on the ingredients label.

I actually used Lush shampoo and conditioner for years, and while they are quite effective (and lasted a long time), I'm no longer comfortable using the toxicity-disputed ingredients. I have just switched to Aubrey Organics (from which I have heard a lot of good things), and am waiting to see the results.

Another vote for Dr. Bronners Peppermint. It's great for shampoo, body wash, etc. You can even brush your teeth with it (use sparingly). And the peppermint leaves your skin feeling all tingly.

If you want something free of all the bad stuff, don't use Burt's Bees, JASON, or many other "organic" products. Try Aubrey Organics- it works without the bad chemicals. Buy it through Vitamin Shoppe online and it's cheaper.

although it is a super cheap shampoo - Suave is fairly eco-friendly. My friend went on a trip to the rainforest and they all used Suave because it was safe to wash out

My wife and I use two types of "earth friendly" shampoo from Trader Joes. A good sized bottle costs $1.99. I think it is pretty reasonable.

It's so hard to find personal care products like shampoo - everyone's body seems to react just a little differently. For example, I tried Dr. Bronner's as a shampoo and just couldn't get used to the odor and the residue it left in my hair.

You might want to try California Baby Super Sensitive Shampoo. It doesn't fit all of your criteria (price point, etc.), but you can buy it in bulk, and it's relatively low impact.

http://www.californiababy.com/super-sensitive-shampoo-bodywash-8-5-oz.html

Although shampoo is more brainwash than hair wash, if you must use it or any other personal products, please check the product or its ingredients in the Environmental Working Group product safety database! Superb resource:

http://www.ewg.org/reports/skindeep2/?key=nosign

Have you considered buzzing your hair very short? That eliminates any need for hair care products, assuming the skin cleaning product you use is a good quality mild soap. Plus it would be an improvement over John's current hair style.

I'll chime in for the Dr. Bronner's soaps. They're great for hair and you can use them in a fairly dilute solution (Dilute! Dilute! OK!). Peppermint and Tea Tree work best.

I also use them as a body wash, which is convenient. One soap to rule them all! (I don't recommend using it for toothpaste though. Yuk.)

Some say about the odor and feel of Dr. Bronner's as shampoo. This trick helped. 1 T Dr. Bronner's (Liquid castille soap: no scent baby style :) with 2-3 T. baking soda, 1 c. water. This lasts for more than 3 washes, Your mileage may vary. Dr. Bronner's comes in 100% recycled plastic bottles that may be refilled from the large pump bottles. A big quart of dr. bronner's lasts a LONG time.

Or some just take baking soda (bought from bulk bins) and add enough water to form a paste and rub that into the scalp as a shampoo.

Rinse with either lemon juice (blonde hair) or vinegar (yeah apple cider smells better but costs a pretty penny more but does the same job for brown hair): some sources say can dilute it 50:50. Oily hair use 1 part vodka, 1 part vinegar, 1 part water. Vodka is challenging so...might want to find a different recipe.

I use Vermont Soap's bar shampoo which I can't recommend highly enough. The only area where it falls down is that it is lightly scented with organic essential oil of lavender. Other than that it's organic and contains no rubbish at all.

it's also very cheap. You can buy a 12-bar brick for $36, which is $3 a bar. Now, you don't need conditioner with this stuff so that saves you money and each bar lasts about as long as a 24oz bottle of shampoo if not longer. So it's excellent value as well as being just about the most environmentally friendly option you can find.

I like Ombra shampoo, myself- it's pretty cheap, and a drug store in town often has clearance specials on it, so bottles are $1. I don't know if it's completely organic, but it doesn't have many chemicals, I know that.

Once I washed my hair in the rain with their chamomile shampoo, and I had the softest hair ever.

Burts Bees Rosemary Mint Shampoo Bar
Six Dollars a Bar and 99% Natural. Also in Bar form less transportation fuel and you are not paying for the transportation of water. So far it is the best solution to the problem you described. cheers.

i don't kno if its as crunchy as you're looking for, but i use the whole foods store brand, it comes in a pretty big bottle for like 4 bucks, and both scents (mint, and some sort of citrus) smell good, not all nasty chemical fake. i use their conditioner with the shikai shampoo for brunettes (cos im high maintenance like that) and my overstyled overprocessed hair becomes silky smooth. and again, big, and cheap, erm, the bottles, not my hair.

ive also noticed with all the natural shampoo and conditioners ive used, that it takes alot less to get clean and smooth than regular drug store stuff.

As others have already mentioned, I too would recommend a combined soap and shampoo bar. (No left-over plastic bottles to contend with either!). You're basically looking for what's known as a cold-process soap (often advertised as 'hand-made' or 'traditionally produced').

I can't recommend a specific brand since I'm in the UK and what I use isn't available in the US. But basically, when looking for something, just make sure it doesn't contain synthetic ingredients (it's perfectly possible to produce soap without artificial preservatives) and that it has only a few ingredients (the fewer the better in my opinion). Good luck, and let us know how you get on in your search!

FYI, according to the Tom's of Maine Web site they are discontinuing their shampoos. Too bad, I wanted to give them a try.

I use Earth Science, the pure essentials kind.. I bought it at Whole Foods for $5.99, I think. So unless you use like half a cup of shampoo to wash your hair, it shouldn't cost $1 each time you wash your hair. I used the citrus one for awhile because it smelled so nice, but it dried my hair out too much.

Don't laugh. Use egg yolks like they did up until the 1920's when modern shampoos came into wide use. Separate the yolks (the cholesterol-laden portion) from the whites whenever you eat eggs, and use them to wash your hair. People have used yolks since the time of the ancient Egyptians, and it worked well for thousands of years.

I can't find a good earth friendly shampoo that does not use coconut oil. They all do and I`m allergic to coconut!!!

Anybody else has that problem?

Thanks

For the above posters who recommended LUSH--was a faithful user until I started doing some research on the cosmetics industry. Discovered that the LUSH "natural" shampoos and conditioners I purchased contained ingredients like sodium laureth sulfate and parabens. Wrote to the company asking if they'd be phasing these ingredients out and they were none too apologetic. Seems they dispute claims that these ingredients are even harmful. They stated that there is no conclusive evidence saying that parabens are unsafe (hogwash!).
I've found the same to be true with a lot of "natural" hair and body care products, including Kiss My Face (parabens!) and the Trader Joe's store brand (sulfates and parabens!).
I have been searching for a while and just came upon the Aubrey Organics website. They list all ingredients and don't use parabens, etc. They don't make excuses stating that it's necessary to preserve the product for "safety reasons" (heard that a million times). It's also reasonably priced.

I read an interesting article a year or so ago where a bunch of people tried not washing their hair with shampoo AT ALL!!! They just used water. After about a month their hair stabilised, was not smelly and kept itself naturally shiny without being greasy. I have not tried this myself but I would be interested to know people's results.

Terressentials makes a hair wash that cleans by using clay - no soap, no shampoo - and they make a no-fragrance-added kind (though some of the various herbal stuff - all organic - they put in does have its own scent). It does seem a bit on the expensive side, though, and you may have to mail-order it (or order online, rather), since it is stocked in very few brick-and-mortar stores. www.terressentials.com

But I think my top recommendation would be to check out the huge variety of home-made hair cleaning recipes that are out there, like others have suggested. The Long Hair Community has a huge archive of forums on those and other topics: www.longhaircommunity.com

I have not used shampoo per say for over 3 years. I wash my hair with cheap conditioner, ie. Suave, White Rain, no-name dollar store stuff. It takes about two weeks for your hair and scalp to settle down cause your oil glands are used to overproducing because regular shampoo completely strips all the oil after every use so the glands need to work really hard to re-oil. Use a fairly large amount of conditioner and scrub it into your scalp and really give your scalp a good massage. Then work the conditioner down to the ends and let it sit on your hair while you wash the rest of your body. Then rinse REALLY well (more scrubing the scalp with your fingertips and massaging) with as warm water as hot as you can stand and then finish with a cold rinse. Works for me!

I have extremely senitive skin, paid Doctors for years, now no Drs & I use Grandpa Soap Co. Pine Tar Bar Soap from top to bottom & no problems.
CHEAP too !!!
http://www.soapsgonebuy.com/Pine_Tar_CASE_p/gp1001a.htm

The original Wonder Pine Tar Soap 25/CASE Price
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Since 1878 this soap has been used for everything from poison ivy treatment to bathing and shaving. This soap is not for the "meek at heart". It has no perfumes or added colors - just good old fashioned rich brown color and the distinctive scent of natural Pine Tar Oil. Loyal customers can attest to its healing affect on Psoriasis, Dandruff and Eczema.

Ingredients - Coconut Oil, palm oil, purified water, pine tar oil (Pinus Palustris) vegetable glycerin.

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There are no parabens in Kiss My Face's shampoo. I hve no idea what they are, but it says so right on the front of the bottle, unless they are lying:)

For those doubting Lush.

Lush does no testing on animals, uses Essential oils, natural ingredients, and where neccesary, SAFE Synthetics.
Alot of our products are vegan, if certain products are not, then they may contain ingredients like, honey, dairy (some products have chocolate), lanolin, beeswax.

The "Synthetic Fragrance" mention above in a post.... Lush does not do "synthetic fragrance"... Lush's version is "perfume" which is a secret blend of essential oils, and potentially Safe Synthetics. it is secret so no one can copy it. there are even products that Lush has made that does not have any "perfume" in it.
If you look at the "Lush times" you will notice that the ingredients listed. are either Green or Black.
The Green ones are natural products, and the black ones are safe synthetics.

The Parabens used in Lush Liquid products (and a very small amount of solid products) are Propylparabens and Methylparabens.
And you will notice that these are almost Always at the end of the ingredient list.... because it is the smallest amount in the ingredients.
The parabens together don't even make-up 1% of the product.

and since when did ALL Lush products have SLSs in them.
For instance.
Figs and Leaves Soap:
Fig Decoction, Sodium Palm Kernelate, Glycerine, Aloe vera Extract, Perfume, Ylang Ylang Oil, Orange Blossom Absolute, Titanium Dioxide, Sodium Chloride, EDTA, Tetrasodium Editronate, Benzyl Benzoate*, Linalool*

*occurs naturally in essential oils

The only ingredients listed as Safe Synthetics are, Sodium Palm Kernelate, Perfume, EDTA, Tetrasodium Editronate.

The Sodium Palm Kernelate comes from combining Sodium hydroxide (lye) and Palm Kernelate Oil.
Lye is neccesary for soaps. it makes the soap hard and is able to Lather.

The perfume is a secret mix of essential oils, in this case there is also atleast 1 safe synthetic in the mix. if one of the ingredients in the perfume were likely to cause a reaction, like SLS's for instance, they would have listed it as a main ingredient.

the EDTA and the Tetrasodium Editronate are both safe preservatives.

This is not the only soap without Propylene Glycol and also Sodium Lauryl Sulfates.

And Lush does not just do Soaps.
There are facial cleansers that don't have any SLSs in them.
For instance,
Best seller, Angels on Bare Skin, has absolutely no syntetics in it. even the perfume is listed as Green, and so is only made up of Essential oils.

This is also the same as 2 other Facial Cleansers, Herbalism and Sweet Japanese Girl.

The Buttercreams, which are similar to soaps, but more moisturizing, have the Sodium Palm Kernelate, rather than SLSs

Have you tried other Lush products? rather than just the soaps or shampoos?
Lush has so much more to offer than just those.

Even Shaving Creams that don't Foam. they do contain Parabens, but they are, once again, listed at the bottom of the ingredient list, and they are needed as they are liquids.

a Majority of the Masage bars that are avaliable don't have synthetics at all. including the perfume.

So, even if you don't like the SLS's used in some of the Lush Soaps and shampoos.
There is alot of other things avaliable at Lush to make you happy.

Lye is necessary in soaps? I have never used soap with lye. What soap has lye, other than the cool pink ones from FIGHT CLUB? I use vegetable soap, and I love it. Is there lye hidden in there somewhere?

Ron-

Yes, all soap has lye. Without lye, your vegetable soaps would just be a bucket of vegetable oils.

Ron-

Yes, all soap has lye. Without lye, your vegetable soaps would just be a bucket of vegetable oils.

I use plain regular soap for my shampoo and deodorant!(jergens to be specifdic).
It works great.It is much better than shampoo and leaves my hair healthier because it doesnt have chemicals that strip and leave my hair flat.I was shocked that body soap is so much better.
I also use body soap as my underarm deodorant and it works better than any deodorant ive ever used.Its awesome.I was buying expensive organic audreys deodorant and ran out so i just said whgat the heck,i ll try soap.I wetted the soap bar and just held it and applied it tomy underarm like i would the regular deodorant.
Youcan spread iton thick and it illlast fordays.
I have very bad underarm perspiration and soap worksl ike magic.Nothing hasworked better for me ever.

I am very interested in the terrasentials shampoo that uses only aloe vera juice, betonite clay, and essential oils. I read that Native Americans used bentonite clay to clean with. I plan on making my own for use as an entire body cleanser and shampoo. I am trying to find some way to make my greywater cleaner so I can use it to water my garden without contaminating my soil or causing a buildup of oils and foaming products.

Incidentally, regarding sodium lauryl sulfate, that is an internet hoax. It can be irritating to the skin in some formulations for some people, however it DOES NOT CAUSE CANCER. There has been a lot of effort to debunk this myth, including this statement from the Toxicology journal in question:
http://www.ctfa.org/Template.cfm?Section=Internet_Rumors&Template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=867

The american cancer society and the canadian health department have both put out disclaimers regarding this internet hoax and the scientist who wrote the mis-quoted paper from the University of Georgia Medical School has expressed his embarrassment over the entire thing. He himself stated that he never did any more research on (after the early 1980s) it because it proved to be so safe!

Even Snopes has de-bunked this myth!
http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/household/shampoo.asp

This my sound crazy but we use a product from a company called ezall. We use the dog&cat shampoo as this company has very strict guidelines and is the only company we know of that has a true biobased shampoo that is absoultly fantastic. Here's the link if you want to take a look.

Hi all,

I've been using a shampoo that is made for men but my girlfriend uses it because it doesn't use any chemical foaming agents, all plants and is all natural. It leaves the hair very soft and the scalp without any dryness.

Here's the website if you are interested.

www.maxxcollection.com

John, This is it

Developed after a son innocently asked his dad " do what we put down the drain hurt the fish and other animals?

This simple question led to an amazing father and son journey through developing the best ever shampoo and conditioner for all living things, and it makes my hair look good to!

check out Zach and Joe at www.earthspiritcatalogue.com
for free samples go to www.professionalorganics.com

Enjoy,
John

In Japan, where more people are concerned about environment, many people try using naturally made soap as shampoo and they love it.
One of the popular soap to use as shampoo is called Marseille Soap made in southern france with traditional soap-making method which takes about 2 months. I believe you can buy one in Whole Foods for like $4.
Soaps have minimum packaging and these kind is very good on scalp. I have sensitive scalp but soap works fine.

If you want conditioning effect, instead you can dilute vinegar with 10 times of water and rinse.

Trader Joes shampoo is very economical and is plant-based (1.99). Burt's Bees soy pomegranate shampoo unfortunately makes my hair feel like straw... yuck!I am glad to see that someone linked to Skindeep.com which provides ingredient safety levels of common personal care products. Someone mentioned Suave products in their response... but according to skindeep, many of their products are unsafe for absorbing through the skin. Dr. Bronners is also really nice, but my kids hate the smell and don't like the tingling sensation. Options for using bars would apply to people with short hair, like John, but unfortunately, not for someone with long, super thick hair.

Natures gate is awesome and if you can find a health food store that sells in bulk you can reuse your bottles for cheaper. Vinegar leaves a vinegar smell so don't use it unless you want to smell like a salad and I would NOT recommend mayonaise as it greases your hair like nothing else and the smell is awful! However you could try baking soda...then use a small amount of olive oil for moisture....

My main problem with LUSH products is that I have a severe allergy to natural rubber latex. What that means is that I am also allergic to most of the fruits that contain cross-reactive proteins. I cannot eat or touch bananas, avocados, kiwi fruit, papaya, and now pineapple is becoming problematic for me. Check the ingredients of your typical LUSH product and you'll be hard pressed to find much that doesn't contain one of those. LUSH isn't alone - lots of "natural" body care products are including one or more of these into their ingredients list - especially avocado.

It's not fun to have so many hair & skin products that can send one to the ER. I've become adept at making my own shampoos and now I'm learning about how to make conditioners.

I'm African-American with kinky hair. Other than Aubrey's Originals shampoo and conditioner, are there any eco-options in shampoo for black or biracial black/non-black people (especially black or biracial black/non-black women, since the men can pretty much use whatever shampoo they choose)?

While I haven't tried either of these lines (yet!), I have heard wonderful things about the following two lines. If you're looking for upscale products, with a green foundation, you may want to check these out:

WEN, and Jonathan Products

WEN - his line (new, spelled backwards) is make without sulfates, detergents or harsh chemicals. His products are like a contemporary spa-like version of Dr. Bronner, because you can use one product to cleanse, and condition hair, as well as use it as a styling product, and shaving creme.

Jonathan Products - all of his products (except for one), are all Vegan, made without sulfates, and have fruit extracts. You can find his products in Sephora, and www.Sephora.com

Both of the products are available on: www.QVC.com.

Hope this helps a little! Good luck, and enjoy!! :-)

Norwex just launched a completely organic shampoo and conditioner (ceritifed by Eco-Cert) in August 2008. It follows Eco-Certs strict guidelines for oganic cosmetics - 10% organic ingredients, 95% plant or vegetable based an allowance for 5% synthetic ingredients (which must be approved by eco-cert for use) and not be on the 'negative list (synthetic dyes, synthetic scents, glycerin and more). It is made in Italy. I have been using it since it came out and it works great on my long, fine hair.

I'm with the no-pooers here

Shampoo is one of the biggest scams of our time. You don't need it. We're all being taken for a ride.

It takes a while to wean yourself off it (just like cigarettes - you don't 'need' them until you're hooked!) and for your scalp to stop overproducing oils to counteract the stripping action of shampoo.

During that phase I used bicarb of soda (scrub into wet scalp, leave a few mins and scrub/rinse out) and a conditioning rinse of apple cider vinegar (1 tbsp in a pint of warm water, poured on to lengths of hair but not scalp and rinsed out) Any chemist will tell you that conditioner works by being acidic - just like acv. My hair smells lovely - if it smells of AVC when dry, you are using too much!

I got so many comments on how nice my hair looked. Now (5 months on) I only need to do bicarb once every few weeks and am working towards using just water. My husband uses just water or sometimes our homemade soap and his hair looks and smells great.

Don't be fooled - you really don't need to buy anything special in yet another plastic bottle. The most environmentally sound way to live is to do without!

I don't know if the search goes on, but I have found a good, green, cheap shampoo:

http://www.soap-lady.com

is a little company that makes *great* solid shampoos. They clean my hair better than liquid shampoo.

Or, if you hate solid shampoos, there's EO shampoo:

http://www.eoproducts.com/Categories/Hair/Shampoo.aspx

Their 8-oz bottle is pretty expensive, but if you get the gallon size (admittedly an expensive initial investment) it's less than .50 an ounce, which is less than many shampoos you find on the drug store. (It's cheaper than the Pantene Pro-V I used to use.) My husband, who doesn't like solid shampoos (he says they take too long to soap up) uses EO Sweet Orange Shampoo and Conditioner.

I use Green Earth Invigorating Shampoo:

http://green-jeanne.blogspot.com/2008/07/my-hair-is-going-green.html

I've noticed a big difference in how my hair feels, and according to the label there's no sodium lauryl sulphate, which is definitely a plus.

Now that I'm reading the comments to this post, however, I'm tempted to try the baking soda! I love the Green Earth shampoo, but baking soda would be cheaper :-)

I LOVE Burt's Bees Grapefruit and Sugar Beet Shampoo. They have a Pomegranate conditioner that I love as well. It's all natural (98% I think) and the bottle is made of 95ish percent recycled plastic. Its usually around $7 a bottle and lasts for a couple months. It doesn't have sodium laureth sulfate (yech!) in it to make it foam so don't think you need to use more if it doesn't foam. Just a little will do.
I highly recommend it. My hairdresser even commented on how healthy my hair was!

Another vote for Dr. Bronner's - it's been around for ages. If you find the liquid castille soap leaves your hair feeling a little greasy, dilute it with water and mix in a little baking soda to emulsify. For those concerned about packaging, some of Dr. Bronner's products are available in bar form with recycled paper wrapping. There is also a baby-mild unscented version. I once went on a two-week trip with nothing but Dr. Bronner's peppermint soap for all my hygiene needs - after the third day, the smell of it wasn't so wonderful anymore; since then I only use unscented or almond.

How much greener than right off the plant? This is fun for kids to do as well just roll/squeeze the bright hot pink "cone" and slimy stuff comes out that "suds" a bit. smells soo good! My gf mom has these growing wild around her lake front, so i get as many as i can when the opportunity comes around!

The pinecone or shampoo ginger (Zingiber zerumbet (L.) Roscoe ex Smith) is believed native to India and the Malaysian Peninsula. It is one of those plants so long under cultivation in so many places throughout Southeast Asia, the Pacific, and Oceania that it is uncertain where the plant originated. Pinecone ginger is considered a canoe plant, that is, a plant introduced throughout the Pacific by the ancient Polynesian settlers. All parts of the pinecone ginger are spicy fragrant.

The leaves and inflorescences of the pinecone ginger arise from a thick knobby rhizome that grows just under the surface of the soil. The leaflets are arranged alternately along an arching pseudostem that grows one to two meters (3 to 7 feet) in length.

The inflorescence is borne on a separate pseudostem from the leaves. It is a spike; bracts subtend the position of each of the flowers giving the inflorescence its pinecone shape. The inflorescence is green until flowering. The pale yellow or white flowers emerge from the lowest bracts first, when the flower is spent, it dries and falls away. After flowering, the bracts change color. The color change continues upward until the entire inflorescence is bright crimson.

The bracts serve as natural reservoir for a clear soapy liquid exuded by the inflorescence. This 'shampoo' was used by Polynesians when bathing, both for the hair and skin. It is the ginger additive in several modern herbal shampoos. To use the liquid fresh from the plant, the 'shampoo' is obtained by gently rolling the inflorescence between the palms of the hands.

I make an 82% organic hemp oil soap & shampoo bar -- it's my best-seller. You can even get a hemp washcloth to go with it! I've been using my hemp soap "from the top of my head to the tips of my toes" for well over 2 years. I use no conditioner or anything else, just a bar of soap.

A testimonial from my website: "Jane, after trying three other natural shampoo bars we finally found one we love - YOURS! Our hair is clean, shiny, full of life, and for the first time in my life, I don't need a 'conditioner'. Your shampoo bar does it all. And, by the way, it beat out "Burt's Bee's" shampoo bar which we will now use to wash the dog! Thanks again. Jeff & Colleen Weber, Harwood"

Please visit www.smallbones.ca or http://bit.ly/1ltaK for the soap page.

For African-American hair: I just found this site by doing a google search for hair care recipes.
My previous "hit" may be of interest to you.
It was a site that was listed as Black Hair Media Hair Forum_okra_okro
It's a bit unusual, but the site listed okra as something very good for black hair, and provided recipes. It made sense. (something about the mucilage in the okra)
I'm not black, but my hair is naturally curly and sometimes frizzy, especially here in the South, and I've often found that hair products for African-American ladies do well for me.
Hope this helps....I plan on trying out some of the recipes.