Sham-BOO: The scary truth about hair care

How many times have you worked your hair into a foamy lather when a stray stream of shampoo sneaks its way down your forehead and scalds your naked eyeball? Doesn't it seem a bit odd that products marketed to make our hair soft, supple and healthy also causes severe eye irritation?

Shampoos may come in bottles decorated with pictures of leaves, rose buds and water droplets, but what's inside those bottles is anything but natural. The majority of shampoos on the shelves today contain most of these toxic chemicals:

Coal tar - a cancer causing agent that has been banned in shampoos manufactured in Canada.

Methylisothiazolinone (MIT) - a biocide that is used to prevent bacteria from developing. Has been discovered to cause neurological damage in rats.

Formaldehyde - used as a preservative to increase shelf life. It's a neurotoxin and contains cancer-causing properties.

Baby shampoo is actually more dangerous because it contains higher levels of ethylene oxide to reduce eye irritation. Or to put it more cutely - it makes the shampoo "tear free."

Shampoos also typically contain menthol, propylene glycol, sodium laureth sulfate and tetrasodium EDTA, which are known penetration enhancers. In other words, when we soap up in the shower, our bodies are absorbing these chemicals 3x faster than water.

And the damage doesn't just stop after we rub those toxins all over our heads. They mix with water and run down the drain, where they make their way into our water systems.

So what's a girl to do?

There are quite a few natural shampoos that contain safe ingredients and natural scents. However, they often call for quite a few more $$$. But believe it or not, the answer to safely washing our noggins resides just behind the cupboard door.

Baking soda is truly the jack-of-all trades. It can make your teeth whiter, keep your foods fresher longer, make your cat's litter box smell better.. and now it can keep your hair cleaner, safer.

Shampoos are notorious for stripping your hair of its natural oils. So to compensate, your pores produce more oil. By substituting baking soda for your shampoo, you're giving your scalp a chance to balance out its pH levels (which takes anywhere from 2-6 weeks). You may experience varying levels of greasiness as your hair and scalp begin to level out (But you've been rubbing toxic sludge on your head for years - give it some time!)

When you're ready to wash your hair, sprinkle about a tablespoon of baking soda into the palm of your hand (kind of like how Rachel Ray measures her spices). Mix a little water at a time with your finger until a thick paste forms. Focus on rubbing this paste onto just your scalp. You won't get that satisfying lather with this mixture - but after a while, the grittiness of the paste simulates a mini head massage. Rinse your head well, and voila! You're clean.

When it comes to conditioner, some recommend mixing apple cider vinegar with water and spritzing it with a water bottle onto your ends. Personally, I would prefer for my head not to smell like an old foot. This is where I splurge on a $7 bottle of Burt's Bees Pomegranate conditioner. Which, when you think about it, isn't so bad considering my "shampoo" only costs 64 cents.

If you're looking to add a bit more moisture to your locks, consider rubbing the ends of your hair with coconut oil before you shampoo with baking soda. Just leave it on for a few minutes before jumping into the shower. Do this just once a week to keep your hair soft and smelling tropical!

So there you have it. Taking steps to becoming a conscious consumer can both improve your health and save you money. Contrary to what Kermit often said, it's really not that hard being green.



Sources:
http://lifencolor.blogspot.com/2011/11/good-bye-shampoo-hair-experiment.html
http://www.copperwiki.org/index.php?title=Shampoo
http://www.organicconsumers.org/bodycare/mit.cfm (info on MIT)