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Forum LockedOrganic ingredients and Professional hair care products

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Jennifer View Drop Down
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    Posted: January 22 2000 at 2:20pm
A few people here use shampoos and conditioners from organic sources. I'm very curious to know why, in your opinion, you feel they are better for the hair.

Do you feel they enhance the surfectant (cleanser) of the shampoo or help with the conditioning?

For those who believe in only using hair care products that are sold in salons, why do you feel they are better for your hair (other than the fact they are suggested by a professional?)

I like to learn more about hair care and am interested with any information anyone has to share.

Thanks!

Jennifer
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote PD Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 22 2000 at 5:20pm
Hi Jennifer,
I use only Aubrey Organic shampoos because I have a sensitive scalp. For me, unnatural shampoos cause dandruff, oiliness, and break-outs. This causes irritation and itchiness. Before I switched to natural products, I had problems with hairloss, split ends, and breakage. Now that I switched, my scalp's condition has balanced out. My hair and scalp are much healthier.
As for conditioners, I try to stick to Aubrey Organics as well. I use the GPB Conditioner, which makes my hair very soft and shiny. Recently, however, I began to use ARTec Moisture PAC and Kiwi Detangler. These are also great products. Although they are not COMPLETELY natural, most of the ingredients are natural, and the unnatural ingredients are not as bad as in other brands. Since the length of the hair is not as sensitive as my scalp, I think I can afford to drift off a bit from natural to semi-natural products.
Some people use natural products just because they're natural. I think this is wrong because there are many natural products that are not very effective. As a matter of fact, some are outright harmful. For example, I found Giovannis's 50/50 Remoisturizer (a natural conditioner) to be very drying and damaging to my hair. However, ARTec's Moiture PAC, an unnatural product, was very good for my hair. Therefore, I think that the quest should be not for the most NATURAL product, but for the HEALTHIEST product. It just so happens that I find Aubrey Organics, a natural brand, healthier than all other brands. So yes, I am generally an advocate of natural products, but only because most of them are healthier than most unnatural products, at least for me.
Hope this makes sense. It's a little hard to explain because everyone's body is different, and everyone reacts differently to different products. My body is naturally sensitive towards anything that affects its health, and it is easy for me to tell if a product is healthy for it or not. Usually, my body prefers organic products. Other people's bodies are not so picky, and they don't mind a few chemicals here and there:) So there is no right or wrong answer. An herbal shampoo that makes my scalp healthy may cause an allergy attack for someone else (thank God I don't have allergies!). The body makes the choice, not words like "natural" or "organic".
Enough of my rambling,
PD
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Jennifer View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Jennifer Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 25 2000 at 7:52am
Thanks, PD for your response!

However, I'm just wondering -- how did you arrive at your analysis that it's natural products that work best, since you've used nonorganic products that did work and organic products that didn't?

Let's say that you bought three hair care products from Target and three from Wal-mart (not store brands). If the three from Target didn't work for you and the three from Wal-mart did, would it then be fair to say that Target sells the best hair care products for you? The same argument could apply to salon vs. non-salon or organic vs. non-organic hair care products.

BTW, I absolutely agree that you should use what is best for your hair, but I'm just honestly wondering how you narrowed down the field to organic products!

PS -- You'll probably be surprised to learn that I do indeed purchase organic products for the inside of my body whenever possible! Cheese, milk, eggs, and fresh produce not only taste better but I know that pesticides and herbicides (depending on what they are specifically) can stay in the body and especially antibiotics that are used in cattle and poultry can be transferred to dairy products and cause resistance in human to other antibiotics that we may need when we're ill. So, internally, I'm totally convinced that organic is better! But I wonder if it isn't individual ingredients instead of the entire notion of "organic" that is good for the use in hair care products, especially since shampoo is obviously washed away.

Just some thoughts,

Jennifer

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote PD Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 25 2000 at 2:10pm
Hi again, Jennifer!

For me, most non-organic products (with the exception of the two ARTec products I mentioned) don't work. So I can definitely say that I don't like non-organic brands.

The products that work best for me are Aubrey Organics, which are natural. This is why I said that I prefer organic products.

To be more precise, I should say that I like AN organic brand (meaning Aubrey), not ALL organic products. I haven't tried enough organic brands to say that I prefer ALL of them over all non-organic brands, but I do prefer MOST of the ones I've tried (again, with the exception of the Giovanni conditioner I mentioned). So on average, most organic products I've tried are better than most non-organic products I've tried. I do believe that if you compare the best organic brand to the best non-organic brand, the organic one would be healthier. I can't prove this, but that's what my intuition tells me.

I am not at all surprised to hear that you prefer organic foods:) From your interest in the subject, you sound like someone who takes good care of her body, internally and externally.

You are right. Most of the shampoo is washed away. But the results may last quite a while. Harsh detergents, for example, may break some of the bonds in your hair, making it weaker and more prone to breakage. Plastics and silicones may coat the hair and not wash out, preventing the natural oils from reaching the hair and moisturizing it. Other chemicals may irritate the scalp, causing various scalp problems, so even if they are washed out, the results last. In small amounts, these ingredients may not be as bad, but for people with sensitive hair and skin, these results are very evident. At least they are for me. And trust me, I wish it weren't this way-- life would be much easier if I could use regular, non-expensive store brands!:)

What products do you use? Tell me more about your hair, what has worked for you, and what hasn't. Do you take vitamin supplements? And by the way, I am not trying to push organic products on you. I'm just saying what's worked for me.

Take care, Jennifer,
PD
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Jennifer Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 25 2000 at 4:45pm
PD, thanks for an excellent response! It does indeed sound like you are very informed about your choices and know what works best for you.

"What products do you use? Tell me more about your hair, what has worked for you, and what hasn't."

You'll.....laugh! First of all, my hair is completely unprocessed and I do not use (or very rarely at least) a hair dryer or curling iron. I am going for growth, and fortunately, my hair is very healthy right now. My hair tends to be oily and my scalp really isn't oily or dry. Generally, the products that contain sodium lauryl sulfate and some other potentially drying ingredients do leave my hair a bit more brittle. Right now I'm using....White Rain Classic Care Extra Body shampoo, and it works extremely well on my hair! It lathers nicely without drying it or weighing it down. It costs a whopping $.99 for 15 ounces! But sometimes simple works, too. It seems to contain the basic cleansing ingredients that work well for my hair, nothing more, nothing less. The conditioner I use for the ends is Neutrogena. It isn't a deep conditioner at all, but it fills my needs at the moment!

"Do you take vitamin supplements?"

Oh yes! I usually take Thompson's Mega 80 plus extra inositol and biotin in the morning and a B-vitamin supplement at night. I also drink Myoplex lite protein drink mix with several amino acids added.

"And by the way, I am not trying to push organic products on you. I'm just saying what's worked for me."

I never received that impression at all! I was just curious how you found out what works for you.

Thanks!

Jennifer
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