Face Natural » Hair

Healthy Hair With Organic Shampoo

Natural Skin Care — Sun, 22 May 2011 14:00:20 +0000

Organic products are all the rage these days and organic shampoo is no exception. You may be wondering why you would want to make the switch to a natural product when the shampoo you’ve always used works just fine.

Has your stylist ever suggested that you switch shampoos temporarily to eliminate residual build up in your hair? Is your scalp ever dry and irritated? Read on to find out about some of the many benefits of switching to an all natural shampoo.

Organic beauty products are made without harsh chemicals. Many of the chemicals found in synthetic shampoos actually strip hair of its essential oils, causing dryness and split ends. An organic shampoo is healthier for your hair because it doesn’t contain any of the potentially harmful ingredients that could cause hair damage.

Most shampoos leave a residual build up on the hair and scalp after long periods of use. This leftover residue makes hair appear dull and lifeless. A natural shampoo won’t leave this build up. In fact, organic shampoos are often recommended by hair stylists to remove build up left by other shampoos.

Even mild synthetic shampoos can be irritating and contain harsh chemicals that work against normal, healthy hair growth. Organic products are not only free of crude toxins, but they also contain ingredients that nourish the scalp and promote and stimulate hair growth. Natural products are actually recommended to many hair restoration patients because of their gentle, nourishing properties.

Because of the harsh elements found in most man-made shampoos, it’s common to have scalp irritation or dandruff as a result of their use. Your scalp is skin, just like all the other skin on your body. It requires proper care or it will get irritated, inflamed and itchy. Most organic shampoos contain nourishing ingredients such as Aloe Vera or Jojoba oil. Using a non-irritating product that contains these additives will help to calm itching and inflammation and promote a healthy scalp.

Even if you don’t suffer from any of the above-mentioned problems, knowing that organic shampoos are more environmentally friendly than synthetic ones may encourage you to try one. Manufacturers of organic goods certify that their products were made using a process that was free of animal testing and without causing harm to the environment. By using a natural product, you can feel good knowing that you’re helping to protect our environment and not supporting companies that use animals as a means of testing.

There are many choices natural products available on the market today. It won’t be difficult for you to find an organic shampoo that you absolutely love. By changing from a synthetic to organic product, you’ll be giving your hair a break from harsh chemicals and irritating additives, as well as helping our environment. A full, shiny head of hair will be in your future!

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Dangers of Chemical Hair Straighteners

Natural Skin Care — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 02:23:08 +0000

Chemical hair straighteners, or relaxers, are a goldmine for the beauty industry. Many women with curly or kinky hair use relaxers to straighten their hair. Every six weeks the process is applied to new growth–year after year. What would bind a person to a chemical process this way?

There are many psycho-social factors at play. The Western concept of beauty is very narrow. Also, the ability to find professionals who know how to manage kinky or nappy hair is an issue. Some people look at nappy hair as unattractive, some people embrace it. Still others look at nappy hair as a political statement.

Relaxers work, because they break the bonds that strengthen the hair. Regardless of how pretty relaxed hair may look, it is damaged hair. Many women that have no visible hairline have over processed their hair. Over processing is common and easy to do with relaxers.

What are some of the dangers involved in relaxing your hair with chemicals?

• Hair relaxers have harmful health effects.
• Chemical burns
• Irritation
• Red scalp
• Receding hairline

The bottom line should always be health. So what are the active ingredients in hair relaxers? Take a look at the Skin Deep database and you will see that most hair relaxers are rated very negatively–moderate to high hazard. That’s because the same ingredient that cleans out the clog in your sink is the same ingredient used in relaxers. Remember, chemicals don’t stay on the surface of your skin. They migrate throughout the body.

• Sodium hydroxide is used in lye relaxers.
• Calcium hydroxide is used in no lye relaxers.
• Hydrogen peroxide, which is a weak acid and used as a disinfectant because of its bleaching agent.
• Phosphoric acid and is considered to be a health hazard questionable of neurotoxicant, respiratory toxicant, and skin and sense organ toxicant.
• Ammonium hydroxide which maybe the cause of respiratory toxins.

More and more people with kinky hair are deciding to leave the chemicals alone and wear their hair naturally. Another issue that has caused the popularity of kinky hair is cross cultural adoption. As children of African descent are adopted cross culturally, their parents generally opt to leave the chemicals alone.

The Motown Girl Kit is a good option. It is an educational and valuable resource for learning how to style and manage natural hair at home. Motowngirl.com offers a detailed overview of nappy/kinky/curly hair, FAQs, Product Reviews, Articles, Glossary, Detailed Tips and a large selection of Recipes for creating low-cost wonderful rinses, conditioners and other hair treatments right in the convenience of your own kitchen.

If you are using a relaxer and decide to go natural be careful because for a time you will have two textures of hair. The straight hair–the weaker hair–will break off eventually leaving natural new growth. While you are in this in between stage, try only using conditioner–no shampoo. You can also experiment with braids or twists.

Recommended References:

Going-natural: How to Fall in Love With Nappy Hair
No Lye: The African American Woman’s Guide To Natural Hair Care
Hair Rules!: The Ultimate Hair-Care Guide for Women with Kinky, Curly, or Wavy Hair

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Natural Skin Care For Your Hair

Natural Skin Care — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 22:30:32 +0000

Why should you use a natural/organic shampoo? The same reasons you use other natural skin care products. I think it’s even more critical to choose a natural shampoo because the soap runs down your face and into your eyes.

Once while traveling, I had my bottles confiscated at the airport (too large). When I used the hotel shampoo, my eyes became puffy. I didn’t know what was going on at the time, but I make sure to travel with my own products — just in smaller bottles.

There are lots of natural shampoos on the market to choose from – or so it seems. At least there are many that use the term natural in their marketing campaigns and on their labels. But when you read the ingredients of most brand name natural shampoos, you will usually find a long list of chemicals that you can’t pronounce.

For example, researchers at the National Institutes of Health report finding a correlation between MIT (methylisothiazoline) and nervous system disorders. While it’s true that finding a correlation does not mean that MIT definitely causes neurological damage, why take that chance when the researchers are still in the process of doing their studies? Here are some ways to find safer ‘natural’ shampoos instead.

Organic shampoos This is where the difference between ‘natural and ‘organic’ makes a big difference. The FDA does not regulate ‘natural’ cosmetic ingredients unless it’s after the fact of someone starting a law suit. But ‘organic’ products are regulated and the labels have to mean what they say. So when you read an organic shampoo label with all plant-based ingredients like avocado oil, shea butter, organic aloe vera, jojoba oil and rosemary oil you can fee secure that the ingredients really are natural.

Natural shampoo bars
Shampoo bars are what the cleaning agents in shampoo look like when they’re not suspended in a bottle full of water. The reason shampoo bars are a better choice for natural shampoo is that when the cleansers are in a solid form, they don’t need as many preservatives to prevent bacteria and mold from forming as they do when water is added.

SLS-free shampoo
SLS, or sodium laurel sulfate is usually added to brand name shampoos to create all of that sudsy lather that makes you think that the shampoo is working hard. But the lather is not necessary for cleaning. And the SLS is really an industrial degreaser that’s used to wash cars and garage floors. So make sure your natural shampoo is SLS-free.

Do you have a favorite brand of shampoo?

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh