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Fresh look - healthy hair, healthy body, healthy environment
October 9, 2007

Like many women, I am fairly picky about hair products. For me, shampoos and conditioners are a big deal since they are used almost daily. The very basic requirements are cleaning well and non-irritating to the scalp. My hair is quite heavy, so shampoos that weigh it down further get crossed off the list immediately. Of course post-drying (blow dry or otherwise), the shampoo-conditioner combination needs to give the hair a shining look and light feel. Then there is the scent. Personally I prefer mild, fresh and understated scents. Anything strongly fragrant will be relegated to my husband whose olfactory faculty is not as well developed. Oh yeah, one more thing. The shampoo is off my list if it makes my hair greasy within a day or two.

So with all these requirements, I tried half a dozen natural shampoos over the past year. Here is my assessment: All the shampoos clean pretty well and don’t irritate. But the similarities stop here.

Avalon has an overwhelming scent (lavender in this case), weighs my hair down and doesn’t do well if I don’t use it daily.

EO is fairly fragrant, burdens my hair and just does not feel like a well-formulated shampoo.

Shikai has a fairly mild scent (not pleasant or annoying), does okay but nothing special. It is still more or less a daily shampoo. More than a day from last wash, my hair gets greasy.

Natures Gate has a mild and pleasant scent, but seems to make my hair coarse to the touch. It is also a daily shampoo.

And the winner is: Giovanni Golden Wheat Shampoo! Love the gentle, fresh and slightly minty scent. A small amount is enough to get a rich and luxurious lather. Feels great on the scalp. It is also easy to wash off. The best part is after washing and conditioning, my hair feels clean, soft and well nourished. Trust me, it just feels different. Giovanni Shampoo also surprised me by keeping my hair clean and non greasy when I went camping for 4 days (yeah, no washing). What else can I ask for? Luckily you can buy Giovanni shampoos and conditioners in most health food stores, wellness pharmacies, and many online stores.

When it comes to health safety of ingredients, I check Skin Deep database offered by Environmental Working Group. On the site one can find health safety scores for most shampoo brands – 0 to 10, 0 being the safest and 10 being the most hazardous. Giovanni Golden Wheat Shampoo has a low hazard score of 2. All around a great buy.

You can also check what Organicpicks users have to say about natural shampoos and conditioners. Even a hair expert weighed in on the topic!

CindyW at Organicpicks

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