Cleanliness is Next to Godliness - Hair Care

You may have heard that a "green" beauty routine is no beauty routine at all. For extremists this is probably true, but I'm not an extremist: I like my skin to feel soft, I like my hair to shine, I like playing with makeup. If you are like me and want your eco-friendly lifestyle to continue into the bathroom (or wherever your beauty regimen takes place) then read on. If you aren't like me you can still read on, we don't discriminate here.

Here at Maggie's Mind Mumbles, I frequently discuss that what we're putting IN our bodies should be whole, unprocessed foods. For the products we put ON our bodies can affect us just as much, if not more. While it seems as if the products like lotion and makeup sit on the surface of the skin or products are washed away as with soap and shampoo, the chemicals are actually absorbed directly into the bloodstream without being detoxified in the liver.

With that said, we'll start at the top and work our way down. Today...

Hair

Your lovely locks are the accessory you wear everyday so it's understandable that you want your hair to look nice and you want to use products that promote beautiful hair.

Look at the ingredients list on most shampoo bottles. You may find these invading your bottle:

Not only are these, and the other chemicals I haven't listed here, damaging your body but they are also wrecking havoc on the environment. Additionally, these shampoos are often sold in PVC bottles (I really need to write a blog about why PVC is the worst because it keeps coming up and I keep having to just ask you to take my word for it).

So to help you remember not to buy products with these ingredients I have crafted a downloadable cheat sheet that will fit in your wallet. That way you won't have to try to remember these scary names.

Aided with your cheat sheet you can find plenty of shampoos that don't contain offending ingredients but will still leave you with hair that is smooth, strong and shiny. Oh, and smells good too, that's an important one. You can find healthy shampoos at health food stores, the organic section of most supermarkets and some are even finding their way into drugstores. They range in price from cheap to steep.

Source: http://www.collegefashion.net/

I currently use Alba Botanica body builder mango. I found it in the shampoo aisle at a Safeway (conventional grocery store). The bottle was paid from 100% recyclable materials and it is free of all the harmful ingredients listed above. It also smells like a Hawai'ian rainforest and costs less than $10. I condition with a rare treasure I happened across on a quick bathroom break on my way to work. I remembered I needed conditioner so I picked some up. Ology is a Walgreens brand free of bad guys and loaded with good guys. I grabbed the volumizing and softening grapefruit and eucalyptus (can you tell that my hair needs more volume?) It's pretty great and for $6 I can't complain.

Other great brands include:

• Hugo - try Vanilla & Sweet Orange Shampoo
• Aubrey Organics - Honeysuckle Rose Conditioner is fabulous
• Burt's Bees - Terrific shampoos and conditioners
• John Masters Organics - Have yet to try these friend recommended shampoos and conditioners
• Tween Beauty - I know I'm totes not the target demographic but I want all my BFFs to try Orange Sherbet Shampoo and Vanilla Bean Conditioner LOL

Just a few tips - check that the package is made from recycled materials (I will never stop saying this), be sure that the label says certified organic because organic is not a regulated term in the beauty world and make sure you like the scent (that probably goes with out saying but there are some ick smelling healthy shampoos out there).

Which shampoo and conditioner can you not live without?