Baubles, Rouge & Tulle: Our Chemical Romance, Part 3 – Clean Hair Care

by Nicolle

If you’ve been following along, you know that our cosmetics aren’t as safe as the big beauty companies want us to believe and there are a few common chemical ingredients we should try to avoid. But where do we start as we attempt to overhaul our daily beauty regimes? We start at the top: our hair.

While it might seem like your hair is just an accessory, it’s actually a living part of you. Its porous nature makes it highly absorbent, which makes it all the more necessary that what it’s absorbing is beneficial, not detrimental. Your scalp is also highly absorbent – and what it absorbs goes straight into your body.

I’ve sampled a few different clean hair care products since jumping on the clean cosmetics wagon and these are some of my in-store favorites:

Photos courtesy of Giovanni Cosmetics

1. Giovanni Tea Tree Triple Threat Invigorating Shampoo and Conditioner, $7.99

Tea tree oil is great for soothing dry, itchy scalps and helps fight dandruff (you can even add a few drops to your regular, clean shampoo to help kick flakes). This one-two punch from Giovanni combines organic rosemary and organic tea tree oil to provide a clean feeling without over-drying your hair. It loses a few points because it’s not completely clean, but it’s a definite step in the right direction. Plus, you can find it at drugstores, which means it doesn’t totally break the bank.

2. Aubrey Organics Rose Mosqueta Conditioning Shampoo, $10.50

Great for color-treated hair, this shampoo nourishes with natural oils and won’t leave hair feeling stripped. I haven’t tried the conditioner, but my experience with the Aubrey line as a whole has been great and I’d recommend it.

3. Alaffia Virgin Coconut and Shea Daily Hydrating Conditioner, $10.95

This super-nourishing conditioner is great for daily use because it doesn’t leave hair greasy. Bonus: The whole line is fair trade so you can feel good about keeping carcinogens out of your hair AND helping contribute to sustainability.

4. Intelligent Nutrients Perfect Hold Hair Spray, $29

Though it’s definitely on the pricey side, it’s one of the best clean hair sprays on the market – all of Intelligent Nutrients’ styling products are. And hair spray is one of the worst scary-ingredients culprits because it absorbs into your hair all day, you breathe it in when you spray it and you breathe it in when you brush it out. (It’s also one of the products I’ve had the hardest time giving up, partially because the clean options are so expensive and partially since I love my L’Oreal Elnett.) Intelligent Nutrients is Minneapolis-based, so you can also feel good about buying locally.

A note for those of you who love the (literally) squeaky clean feeling of your current shampoo: Clean shampoos, because they’re not full of the harsh chemicals that strip, dry and damage your hair, probably won’t leave your mane feeling as squeaky, but count that as a good thing. Instead, a clean shampoo will help your scalp and tresses naturally maintain its PH balance.

Also, be stringent about how much clean shampoo you use – shampoos without sulfates won’t be nearly as foamy as ones loaded with chemicals. So stick to a quarter-sized drop and don’t worry if you can’t create a faux-hawk with your shampoos suds. You’re still getting your hair clean. (Hair-washing tip: Only suds up your scalp – when you rinse out your shampoo, the ends of your hair will get clean enough.)

Now, I’m aware that clean products cost more than the Suave shampoo you can stock up on at Target, so here are a few DIY tricks to save some of your hard-earned cash:

1. Don’t like showering every day (I don’t – I only shower about three times a week) but find your hair needs a little lift come day two or three? I use cornstarch as a dry shampoo for oil absorption and extra volume. Sprinkle a little on your roots (under the top layer of your hair, especially for brunettes) and gently rub to help it absorb. Tip: Be careful not to use too much or you’ll look like you grew grey hair overnight.
2. Avocado and organic mayonnaise each make great deep conditioning treatments. The fatty acids in them help nourish and repair hair. Wet your hair, mash up an avocado, distribute it evenly on hair and give it 20 minutes to soak in before rinsing. Same goes for organic mayo – distribute evenly and let sit for 20 minutes before rinsing.
3. Part of what conditioners do is balance the PH of your hair after unclean shampoos have stripped out natural oils. A quick, cheap remedy to this is apple cider vinegar. The acid in it helps bring hair to its natural PH balance, leaving it smooth and silky. Mix one tablespoon apple cider vinegar with one cup of water and pour on hair. Let it sit for a minute or two before rinsing out. Yes, you might smell like salad dressing, but your hair will be so touchable!
4. Baking soda is a natural remedy for practically everything, so it makes sense that it could be used to remove product build-up. Mix one tablespoon with about a cup of warm water, pour over already-wet hair and comb through. Rinse thoroughly afterwards.

These are just a few of the products and at-home remedies I’ve tried – and there are so many more out there! But there’s no need to feel overwhelmed with switching to clean or natural products. Just do it one at a time, as you run out of whatever products you use now (and tell me when you discover clean products you love!).

Your turn: Do you have any clean recommendations or DIY tricks that you swear by? Leave us some love in the comments or send your recommendations to [email protected].