 |
| Image source: Bing Public Domain Images |
Shampoo
The Problem
Before I began my adventure in cleaning up the beauty routine, I was using Suave Professionals Moisturizing Shampoo with Almond and Shea Butter. The main reason I chose this shampoo was because of the low cost. A 28 ounce bottle costs about $2.88, so it comes out to a little over 10 cents per ounce. It's hard to beat Suave when it comes to low-cost hair care products.
Aside from the price, I was also drawn to the lovely sage green color and natural imagery displayed on the packaging. The ingredients list even included a few natural ingredients (in addition to all the others that I couldn't pronounce). I knew deep down that this appeal to my nature-loving soul was all part of a marketing ploy and had very little to do with reality, but I wanted to believe it, so I caved.
I'm not here to throw anybody under the bus, but I will be honest. I have a couple of problems with this product. First of all, it doesn't work well for me. After using it for a while, I began to notice that my roots were developing an oily build up that could only be washed away with clarifying shampoo. At first I thought it could have been another styling product causing it, but even after going without other styling products for a while, the build up was still there.
The other problem with the Suave Professionals Natural Moisturizing Shampoo with Almond and Shea Butter is that it contains a number of potentially harmful ingredients. The overall product received a rating of 5 (Moderate Hazard) on the EWG's Skindeep Database. I'm really aiming for something with a Low Hazard rating of 0, 1, or 2, at the most. Here is a table summarizing the ingredients in the product that were rated most hazardous by Skin Deep:
References
The above table is a summary of the information on moderate hazard and high hazard ingredients in this product provided by the EWG SkinDeep Database (www.ewg.org/skindeep).
Not so natural after all. Yes, the product also does contain some almond oil and shea butter, but that's not the whole picture. What's a girl to do?
Aside from the price, I was also drawn to the lovely sage green color and natural imagery displayed on the packaging. The ingredients list even included a few natural ingredients (in addition to all the others that I couldn't pronounce). I knew deep down that this appeal to my nature-loving soul was all part of a marketing ploy and had very little to do with reality, but I wanted to believe it, so I caved.
I'm not here to throw anybody under the bus, but I will be honest. I have a couple of problems with this product. First of all, it doesn't work well for me. After using it for a while, I began to notice that my roots were developing an oily build up that could only be washed away with clarifying shampoo. At first I thought it could have been another styling product causing it, but even after going without other styling products for a while, the build up was still there.
The other problem with the Suave Professionals Natural Moisturizing Shampoo with Almond and Shea Butter is that it contains a number of potentially harmful ingredients. The overall product received a rating of 5 (Moderate Hazard) on the EWG's Skindeep Database. I'm really aiming for something with a Low Hazard rating of 0, 1, or 2, at the most. Here is a table summarizing the ingredients in the product that were rated most hazardous by Skin Deep:
| Ingredient | Concerns |
| Fragrance | Mixture of undisclosed chemicals, often including phthalates (which have been linked to hormone disruption), as well as allergens |
| DMDM Hydantoin | Formaldehyde releaser, skin irritant, allergen, cancer |
| Methylchloroisothiazolinone | Allergen |
| Methylisothiazolinone | Irritant, allergen, potential nuerotoxicant |
| Cocamidopropyl Betaine | Suspected environmental toxin, allergen |
| PEG-45M | Toxic to organ systems, potentially contaminated with ethylene oxide (known carcinogen) and 1.4-Dioxane (possible carcinogen), |
| Sodium Laureth Sulfate | Irritant, possibly contaminated with ethylene oxide (known carcinogen) and 1.4-Dioxane (possible carcinogen) |
References
The above table is a summary of the information on moderate hazard and high hazard ingredients in this product provided by the EWG SkinDeep Database (www.ewg.org/skindeep).
Not so natural after all. Yes, the product also does contain some almond oil and shea butter, but that's not the whole picture. What's a girl to do?
The Solution (for now)
At first I set out to find a recipe for low-cost homemade shampoo. In my research I came across a lot of interesting recipes which may work very well, but I shied away from many of them because they involved ingredients I was unwilling to try in my hair, like honey, raw eggs and mayonnaise. I needed something more practical. I did find one recipe that seemed very promising, involving liquid castile soap diluted with water and mixed with a small amount of olive oil, but unfortunately, when I tried it, it left my hair oily at the roots and dry at the ends. All was not lost, as I found that it did work well as a body wash.
However, I still needed a good daily use shampoo that was effective, affordable and safe. Using the SkinDeep database, I searched for shampoos with a low hazard score, and decided to try California Baby Super Sensitive Shampoo and Body Wash. Although it is price competitive with most of the other shampoos that achieved low hazard ratings on SkinDeep, it's not cheap. An 8.5 oz. bottle cost me $11.99 at Babies R Us, so that came out to $1.41 per ounce. I was able to find a better deal later by purchasing the "Calming" version in bulk from Diapers.com, which brought the price per ounce down to $0.95, but still, that's a lot more expensive than the Suave product.
However, I still needed a good daily use shampoo that was effective, affordable and safe. Using the SkinDeep database, I searched for shampoos with a low hazard score, and decided to try California Baby Super Sensitive Shampoo and Body Wash. Although it is price competitive with most of the other shampoos that achieved low hazard ratings on SkinDeep, it's not cheap. An 8.5 oz. bottle cost me $11.99 at Babies R Us, so that came out to $1.41 per ounce. I was able to find a better deal later by purchasing the "Calming" version in bulk from Diapers.com, which brought the price per ounce down to $0.95, but still, that's a lot more expensive than the Suave product.
It works, though. I've been using it for more than a month now on my toddler and myself, and it leaves both of us with clean and shiny hair. SkinDeep gave it a score of 1 (Low Hazard), which is pretty good (the best score is 0). All of the ingredients in the shampoo are rated 0-2 (Low Hazard), with the exception of one.
Sodium Benzoate. Sometimes you just can't win for losing.
Sodium Benzoate is a preservative that is commonly used in food, and apparently in cosmetics as well. I checked my fridge and within less than a minute found four products containing sodium benzoate (apricot fruit spread, Tapatio hot sauce, pickle relish and maraschino cherries). So, it might be more worthwhile to focus on eliminating it from my diet and worry less about using it in a shampoo that goes on my hair for a minute and then gets rinsed away.
That is also the position taken by California Baby. On the company's Ingredient FAQ page, in the response to the question, "Why does California Baby use preservatives?", they state that their motto is "skin care should be preserved, but not food."
I'm still not completely satisfied though. During my research, I came across a report abstract (Nair 2001) which summarized study results showing Sodium Benzoate in cosmetics can produce urticaria and nonimmunologic contact reactions. The abstract stated: "manufacturers should consider the nonimmunologic phenomena when using these ingredients in cosmetic formulations designed for infants and children".
I emailed California Baby about the issue to see if they would provide more information on their decision to use sodium benzoate in their products, but I have not received a response. For now, I am happy with the product, and as I mentioned, I have been using it on my son for more than a month now, and I have not noticed any skin reactions. So I'm not too worried. It's better than the product I was using previously for his bath. I'm focusing on the fact that I've eliminated 7 other hazardous chemicals from my shampoo routine, and I feel good about that.
One last thing to note. The woman washing her hair in the photograph above looks absolutely adorable, but she's doing it wrong. For one thing, it's not a good idea to pile your hair on top of your head like that when you shampoo, because it roughs up the cuticle and causes breakage.
Also, without the harsh surfactants that are usually present in conventional shampoos, you will never achieve such a foamy lather as shown in the photo. Since California Baby lacks harsh surfactants, it is hardly foamy at all. Personally, I am fine with that. I do understand that for other people, it may be a total deal breaker. If you have to get your foam on, I recommend that you do a little research on the SkinDeep database and find something that works for you.
Another idea that I got from my husband: reuse a "foaming" cleanser bottle. Apparently, the foam is generated from the pump mechanism included in the bottle, not just from the product itself, and we have found that pretty much any type of liquid soap or cleanser will foam up when you put it inside one of those "foaming" cleanser type bottles.
References
Nair, B. (2001). Final report on the safety assessment of Benzyl Alcohol, Benzoic Acid, and Sodium Benzoate. Int. J. Toxicol., 20 Suppl 3:23-50.
I'm still not completely satisfied though. During my research, I came across a report abstract (Nair 2001) which summarized study results showing Sodium Benzoate in cosmetics can produce urticaria and nonimmunologic contact reactions. The abstract stated: "manufacturers should consider the nonimmunologic phenomena when using these ingredients in cosmetic formulations designed for infants and children".
I emailed California Baby about the issue to see if they would provide more information on their decision to use sodium benzoate in their products, but I have not received a response. For now, I am happy with the product, and as I mentioned, I have been using it on my son for more than a month now, and I have not noticed any skin reactions. So I'm not too worried. It's better than the product I was using previously for his bath. I'm focusing on the fact that I've eliminated 7 other hazardous chemicals from my shampoo routine, and I feel good about that.
One last thing to note. The woman washing her hair in the photograph above looks absolutely adorable, but she's doing it wrong. For one thing, it's not a good idea to pile your hair on top of your head like that when you shampoo, because it roughs up the cuticle and causes breakage.
Also, without the harsh surfactants that are usually present in conventional shampoos, you will never achieve such a foamy lather as shown in the photo. Since California Baby lacks harsh surfactants, it is hardly foamy at all. Personally, I am fine with that. I do understand that for other people, it may be a total deal breaker. If you have to get your foam on, I recommend that you do a little research on the SkinDeep database and find something that works for you.
Another idea that I got from my husband: reuse a "foaming" cleanser bottle. Apparently, the foam is generated from the pump mechanism included in the bottle, not just from the product itself, and we have found that pretty much any type of liquid soap or cleanser will foam up when you put it inside one of those "foaming" cleanser type bottles.
References
Nair, B. (2001). Final report on the safety assessment of Benzyl Alcohol, Benzoic Acid, and Sodium Benzoate. Int. J. Toxicol., 20 Suppl 3:23-50.
Conditioner
The Problem
I didn't have too many concerns with the effectiveness of the product I was conditioner I was previously using (Suave Professionals Moisturizing Conditioner with Almond and Shea Butter), but it does contain many of the same questionable ingredients that are in the shampoo, and then some:| Ingredient | Concerns |
| Fragrance | Mixture of undisclosed chemicals, often including phthalates (which have been linked to hormone disruption), as well as allergens |
| DMDM Hydantoin | Formaldehyde releaser, skin irritant, allergen, cancer |
| Methylisothiazolinone | Irritant, allergen, potential nuerotoxicant |
| Methylchloroisothiazolinone | Allergen |
| Lactic Acid | May be derived from animals, can cause irritation |
| PEG-150 Distearate | Contamination concerns |
| Dimethicone | SkinDeep states that there are Environmental Toxicity concerns with dimethicone, but this report abstract (Stevens 1998) makes the case that it is environmentally acceptable |
| Behentrimonium Chloride | Allergen, suspected environmental toxin |
| Cetrimonium Chloride | Allergen, suspected environmental toxin |
References:
The above table is a summary of the information on moderate hazard and high hazard ingredients in this product provided by the EWG SkinDeep Database (www.ewg.org/skindeep), with the exception of the following abstract about the environmental effects of dimethicone.
Stevens, C. (1998). Environmental fate and effects of dimethicone and cyclotetrasiloxane from personal care applications. Int. J. Cosmetic Sci., 20(5), 296-304. doi: 10.1046/j.1467-2494.1998.181595.x.
The Solution
I also tried to find a good recipe for homemade conditioner, but again, most of them contained funky ingredients that I didn't want to mess with on a daily basis. I did try using coconut oil, but it did not wash out of my hair until the next day when I took a shower again. So it didn't really work on a daily basis, but as a deep leave in conditioner, it worked great.
So, I decided to go with the California Baby Calming Hair Conditioner. It costs way more than I would like to pay, about $1.18 an ounce. But overall, I'm happy with it so far. It smells great, and works pretty well. In addition to using it as a daily conditioner, I also use it to shave, and sometimes I use it as a leave in conditioner, too. Overall, it achieved a score of 1 from SkinDeep, and all of the ingredients are rated 0-1 by SkinDeep, so it's much safer than the product I was using before.
I'm still on the lookout for a lower cost product that is just as safe and effective, and will be sure to let you know if I find one. In the meantime, I'm skipping days between shampoos to save money on shampoo and conditioner. :)
For more information, check out these resources:
- The Environmental Working Group's Skindeep Database. I have been using this fantastic resource as a starting point for all my research, and I can't even begin to tell you how incredible it is. You can look up more than 73,000 products that have been rated by the EWG on a scale of 0-10, with 0 being the least hazardous and 10 being the most hazardous. There is even a free app that you can download onto your smart phone that allows you to scan any product barcode (say, while you are in the beauty aisle at the drugstore), and it will pull up the report for you, if they have that product in the database. If they don't have your product logged in the database, you can also enter information about the product into a form and generate your own report. They also have ratings for individual ingredients, with links to search results in the PubMed database of abstracts for scientific studies and reports.
- Cosing. This is the European Commission cosmetics database. You can perform a simple search or advanced search to learn more about ingredients that are restricted or banned for use in the EU. I've used this a couple of times when I wanted more information on why EWG rated ingredients the way they did.
- PubMed is a database of citations and abstracts for a vast amount of health-related scientific studies and reports. In some cases, links to full-text articles are provided as well. PubMed is managed by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), at the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM) located at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
