Re: Re: the truth about shampoo

August 14, 2009

Great! How long have you been doing that? Several women commented to

the writer " you must be a bald man, " saying they could never give up

their shampoos! There are so many things we're trained (by

commercials, store displays, magazine ads...) to think we need when

really there are often simple alternatives that are more benign on the

environment, on us, and on our budgets.

Jeanmarie

On Aug 13, 2009, at 6:01 PM, carolyn_graff wrote:

> I use baking soda to wash my hair. it works great. I then rinse with

> water/ACV.

>

> >

> > Here's a terrific article in Salon with a blow-by-blow accounting

> off

> > all the useless and toxic ingredients in shampoo, " natural " or not:

> > What's really in your shampoo

> > Sure, a couple ingredients clean your hair. But the rest are a

> > veritable toxic dump on your head

> >

>

> .

>

August 14, 2009

I have an Ayurvedic-trained friend (a teacher and writer on the subject)

and he recommends plain water instead of soap. He adds that it's OK to

use soap sparingly on grime. Water is one of the best solvents for

cleaning and will not kill the beneficial germs on our skin. -=mark=-

Hansuke wrote:

> What about soap? Is there also a better alternative?

>

August 14, 2009

An alternative to soap? Soap is an alternative to harsher detergents

or unnecessarily fancy cleansers... are you talking body care or hair

or laundry or what? There are lots of low-impact soaps and cleansers

out there, both commercially available and simple recipes you can make

at home with cheap, basic ingredients. I can send you some links but

I'm not clear which kind of soap you're talking about.

Jeanmarie

On Aug 14, 2009, at 1:40 AM, Hansuke wrote:

> What about soap? Is there also a better alternative?

>

> _

August 14, 2009

Yes, soap isn't always necessary. Just definitely avoid antibacterial

soap. The point of soap is to emulsify the dirt and excessive oil,

making it easier for water to wash it away. It's not necessary to kill

the bacteria that may be on your hands, unless you're performing

surgery (and probably just thorough scrubbing and rinsing would be

sufficient there), just to wash it away.

Jeanmarie

On Aug 14, 2009, at 6:17 AM, theta wrote:

> I have an Ayurvedic-trained friend (a teacher and writer on the

> subject)

> and he recommends plain water instead of soap. He adds that it's OK to

> use soap sparingly on grime. Water is one of the best solvents for

> cleaning and will not kill the beneficial germs on our skin. -=mark=-

>

> Hansuke wrote:

> > What about soap? Is there also a better alternative?

> >

> > _._,___

>

August 14, 2009

Well you certainly gave that a fair trial, ! I just tried one

product some of the commenters to the article suggested, the Shikakai

line from Dr. Bronners. It has very few, very pure ingredients. I had

bought a bottle months ago and hadn't tried it yet. I liked it. But

then, my hair is thick and short. I think the Shikakai liquid soaps

are probably less drying than some people find Dr. Bronners to be.

I don't think everyone needs to give up shampoo, and I hope I didn't

imply that by posting that article link. For me, it brought up

important issues to think about. It seems like if we don't overstrip

our hair of oil when we wash it, we wouldn't have to put so much stuff

on it afterwards. I'm just really cutting out commercial consumer

products right and left and being more and more careful about the

environmental impact of the products I use. Even with " green "

products, they're usually packaged in plastic, and all those empty

bottles weigh on my mind. I like how you can get refills of Dr.

Bronners at a lot of stores and not have to throw away perfectly good

bottles and then buy new ones each time. Trader Joe's has a peppermint

body wash that's much like Dr. Bronners but cheaper, I hear.

Jeanmarie

On Aug 14, 2009, at 7:53 AM, wrote:

> I tried going " no-poo " for almost 8 weeks (by using baking soda and

> then rinsing with ACV/water). I also tried using nothing at all, but

> lots of strokes with a washcloth, which I had also read an article

> about. I really wished it had worked out for me, but I couldn't

> stand it anymore and gave up. Maybe it works better for ladies with

> curly hair. I have very fine, straight hair and while after a few

> weeks my hair didn't look greasy, it always smelled like it needed a

> wash to me. That was annoying, when others testified that their hair

> and scalp smelled clean. But what I really couldn't stand was that

> my hair was both lank and heavy and super staticy at the same time.

> Sigh...

>

> B.

>

> -

>

August 14, 2009

Sounds awful. Interestingly, though, several people who commented on

the shampoo story on Salon.com specifically mentioned Aubrey as a good

alternative to conventional shampoo brands. Maybe they hadn't actually

tried it!

Jeanmarie

On Aug 14, 2009, at 1:30 PM, Stanley wrote:

>

> >

> > What about soap? Is there also a better alternative?

>

> The shampoos from Aubrey Organics are soap based. I tried one, back

> in the 1980s, and no matter how tightly I held by eyes closed, the

> shampoo would get in my eyes and painfully burn them, leaving them

> bloodshot like out of a horror movie. And, it made my hair feel like

> straw. It became immediately obvious to me why soap is generally not

> used in shampoos. That was the most violently irritating personal

> care product I've ever used, which is kind of funny, because

> Aubrey's marketing shtick was all about how the detergents in

> regular shampoos are such powerful irritants. Yeah, right.

>

August 14, 2009

Just my $0.02 worth, but I think most regular soaps are strongly

antibacterial since they are based on caustic soda (Lye) - also known as

Sodium Hydroxide or Potassium Hydroxide. Lye is a primary disinfectant

around the house. Part of the hand-made soap process is the creation of

this from wood ash. That is the primary reason I rarely use soap at

all. I do not want to eradicate skin bacteria, I want to preserve it

(and there are many good benefits from doing this). -=mark=-

Jeanmarie Todd wrote:

> Yes, soap isn't always necessary. Just definitely avoid antibacterial

> soap. The point of soap is to emulsify the dirt and excessive oil,

> making it easier for water to wash it away. It's not necessary to kill

> the bacteria that may be on your hands, unless you're performing

> surgery (and probably just thorough scrubbing and rinsing would be

> sufficient there), just to wash it away.

> Jeanmarie

>

> On Aug 14, 2009, at 6:17 AM, theta wrote:

>

>> I have an Ayurvedic-trained friend (a teacher and writer on the

>> subject)

>> and he recommends plain water instead of soap. He adds that it's OK to

>> use soap sparingly on grime. Water is one of the best solvents for

>> cleaning and will not kill the beneficial germs on our skin. -=mark=-

>>

>> Hansuke wrote:

>>> What about soap? Is there also a better alternative?

>>>

>>> _._,___

>

August 15, 2009

Lye itself is caustic but once it reacts with oil to become soap it's

no longer so. Soap is not antibacterial, per se, without added

ingredients such as trichlosan, which persist in the environment; the

bacteria that aren't killed become resistant, thus the development of

drug-resistant strains. Soap just acts to make water " wetter " (reduce

its surface tension) to act as an emulsifying agent to suspend oil and

dirt in water so they can be washed away. Sufficient washing removes

bacteria without killing them. How gentle or irritating a particular

soap is depends on the length of the carbon chain of the fatty acid.

In this case longer is better.

On Aug 14, 2009, at 2:29 PM, theta wrote:

> Just my $0.02 worth, but I think most regular soaps are strongly

> antibacterial since they are based on caustic soda (Lye) - also

> known as

> Sodium Hydroxide or Potassium Hydroxide. Lye is a primary disinfectant

> around the house. Part of the hand-made soap process is the creation

> of

> this from wood ash. That is the primary reason I rarely use soap at

> all. I do not want to eradicate skin bacteria, I want to preserve it

> (and there are many good benefits from doing this). -=mark=-

>

> Jeanmarie Todd wrote:

>

> > ------------------------------------

>

August 15, 2009

On Aug 14, 2009, at 3:22 PM, Hansuke wrote:

> I was thinking hands and body, however the other types (dishes &

> laundry) would of course also be interesting. I'm in Germany, so I

> would greatly appreciate if you sent me links to the recipes.

>

> ,_._,___

>

You could find any of this just by googling, but here's a list to get

you started.

I think Ecover brand is available in Europe; they make nontoxic

household cleansers and soaps. Seventh Generation, BioKleen, Dr.

Bronners come to mind; I have no idea whether they're in Germany. Here

are some product sites:

http://www.drbronner.com/

http://www.morroccomethod.com/

The Herbwife’s Kitchen » Shampoo? What shampoo? Simple herbal hair care.

http://crabappleherbs.com/blog/2008/02/01/simple-herbal-hair-care/

Official Website of Onesta Hair Care http://onestahaircare.com/

Cal Ben Liquid Dish Glow Creme Soap http://www.calbenpuresoap.com/shampoo.htm

Two books:

Natural Beauty at Home by Janice . (ISBN 0-8050-3313-0) This book

has easy (and cheap) recipes for making all of the items you listed

and many more

Herbs for Natural Beauty (Rosemary Gladstar's Herbal Remedies) by

Rosemary Gladstar

Here are some review sites that rate different products and explain

ingredients:

http://www.goodguide.com/

http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/

http://www.cosmeticscop.com/ingredient_dictionary.aspx?lid=532

To make your own household cleansers here are some recipes:

http://organizedhome.com/clean-house/pantry-recipes-homemade-cleaning-products

http://housekeeping.about.com/cs/environment/a/alternateclean.htm

http://www.eartheasy.com/live_nontoxic_solutions.htm

http://www.treehuggingfamily.com/25-safe-non-toxic-homemade-cleaning-supplies/

Here are homemade shampoo and soap recipes:

http://www.pioneerthinking.com/hair.html

http://chemistry.about.com/b/2009/01/10/homemade-shampoo-easy-recipe.htm

http://www.instructables.com/id/Homemade-Shampoo/

http://www.bathgifts.us/shampoo/

http://www.ehow.com/way_5199663_homemade-baby-shampoo-recipe.html

http://www.pureandnaturalsoaps.com/soap-recipes.html

http://www.make-stuff.com/formulas/soap.html

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Natural-Health/2007-08-01/Recipes-to-Make-Your-Ow\

n-Soap-Lotion-and-More.aspx

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2005/12/easy_homemade_s.php

http://www.stretcher.com/stories/981207b.cfm

Here are some tips from the stretcher.com site on simply using less:

Just Dilute

The main ingredient in most deodorants is alcohol! If you use plain

alcohol with a cotton ball each morning, it will last all day! For

your teeth, Baking soda and salt make a very effective toothpaste.

Also, salt water makes a good mouthwash. Dish detergent is just as

good as shampoo. If you think that this might be too harsh, just

dilute it with water. For those of you who say, " what, I would never

use detergent on my hair " Just look at the list of ingredients on the

back of your shampoo bottle. You might be surprised.

Many common toiletry items can be diluted or have the recommended

amount reduced.

Shampoo - There is no need to shampoo twice. Dilute shampoo by 50

percent. Ditto conditioner. Buy no-name or store brands. Buy in bulk.

Toothpaste - A paste of baking soda works well. Or reduce amount used

by half.

Mouthwash - Use only once per day. Dilute by 50 percent. Buy no name

or store brands.

Laundry soap - Use 1/2 cup of vinegar in place of bleach (this

sterilizes in case of fungal infections,and also softens in the rinse

cycle, eliminating the need for expensive softeners). Use 1/2 the

recommended amount (this also saves excessive wear on clothing). Wash

in cold water. Hang 1-2 loads a week (clothes last longer, saves on

electricity). Do less laundry (hang towels after use, wear items more

than once where possible ie. sweaters, dresses, pants).

Paper Towels - Cut roll in half. Use rags instead.

Facial Tissue - Use handkerchiefs (monogram if needed), soak in ice

cream bucket until laundry day.

Deodorant - Let dry uncovered for a couple of days, it will last

longer. Ditto bar soap, but leave it for at least 1 week.

Cheers,

Jeanmarie

August 15, 2009

Does anybody use www.cosmeticdatabase.com or do you just not trust it?

Kathy

From:

[mailto: ] On Behalf Of Jeanmarie Todd

Sent: Friday, August 14, 2009 4:04 PM

Subject: Re: Re: the truth about shampoo