Shampoos – The story so far …

Since going natural, I’ve now tried about 3 different shampoos & conditioners. I thought I might provide some of my thoughts on each one in case it could help anybody in their journey to transitioning to natural shampoos. In return, I’m keen to hear suggestions and your thoughts of shampoos you’ve tried. Just to preface this post, I have long, straight, thin hair so what works for me might not work for you.

So the three that I’ve tried so far are:

• Uniquely Organic Coconut shampoo & conditioner
• Sukin Purifying shampoo & Nourishing conditioner
• Avalon Organics Rosmary Volumising shampoo & conditioner

Here’s my review of each one:

Uniquely Organic Shampoo and Conditioner

Ingredients:

Purified Water, Coco Betaine, Alpha Olefin, Sea Salt, Coco Glucoside, Glyceryl Oleate, Safflower Oil, Coconut Oil, Organic Aloe Vera, Organic Nettle, Organic Chamomile, Vitamin E, Citric Acid, Potassium Sorbate, Vanilla Extract, Almond Extract

Pros:

• Love the coconut smell
• Good Value (approx. $10 each for 500mls)

Cons:

• Left my hair a little bit dry (I think it’s better suited to those with oily hair)
• I had to use a fair amount of conditioner to get the right coverage
• Didn’t do a great job at detangling my long hair

Overall:

Even though I absolutely looooove all things coconut – as those who know me know, this shampoo was just not suitable for me. I would imagine those with oily or thick hair might find it great. Craig is enjoying using it 🙂

 

Sukin Purifying Shampoo and Nourishing Conditioner

Ingredients:

Shampoo: – Aqua, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Cocoamidopropyl Betaine, Decyl Glucoside, PEG-150 Pentaerythrityl Tetrastearate, Equisetum Arvense Extract (Horsetail), Arctium Lappa Extract (Burdock), Urtica Dioica Extract (Nettle), Phenoxyethanol, Benzyl Alcohol, Citrus Tangerina (Tangerine) Peel Oil, Citrus Nobilis (Mandarin Orange) Peel Oil, Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Oil, Vanilla Planifolia Extract, Citric Acid, Linalool,* Limonene.*

Conditioner:- Aqua, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Cetyl Alcohol, Cetrimonium chloride, Sesamum Indicum (Sesame) Seed Oil, Glycerin, Hydrolysed Wheat Protein, Triticum Vulgare (Wheat) Germ Oil, Persea Gratissima (Avocado) Oil, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Rosa Canina Fruit Oil (Rose Hip), Tocopherol (Vitamin E), Urtica Dioica Extract (Nettle), Arctium Lappa Extract (Burdock), Equisetum Arvense Extract (Horsetail), Phenoxyethanol, Benzyl Alcohol, Citrus Tangerina (Tangerine) Peel Oil, Citrus Nobilis (Mandarin Orange) Peel Oil Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Oil, Vanilla Planifolia Extract, Citrus Paradisi Extract (Grapefruit Seed), Linalool,* Limonene.*

* Natural component of essential oils.

Pros:

• Has a very organic and pleasant smell
• Also great value (approx. $10 each for 500mls) – better value for 1Ltr bottles
• Leaves my hair soft and silky and smelling great
• Shampoo best used with the compatible conditioner

Cons:

• The pump on shampoo is a little awkward and takes a while to pump due to thickness of shampoo
• Not very foamy (but this isn’t a biggy – just takes a little getting used to for those switching over from traditional shampoos)

Overall:

This one is a very good shampoo and conditioner. Good value for money and leaves hair silky, soft and shiny. A nice ‘every day shampoo’. I did find that for my very fine hair it seemed to somehow make it feel like there was extremely little there … thus my search for a volumising shampoo next …

Avalon Organics Rosmary Volumising shampoo & conditioner

The reason I went for another shampoo was for the specific purpose of putting more volume in my hair. While I enjoyed the Sukin shampoo and conditioner, it didn’t do anything for providing any volume when I wanted some, so I looked around and decided to try Avalon Organics. The brand has a number of different shampoos and scents. The Rosemary one is the volumising one.

Ingredients:

Too many to mention. Refer to the link to get more detail on ingredients and the range available.

Pros:

• Smells great
• Shampoo lathers better than any of the other two (which makes me slightly suspicious though)
• Only small quantity of each required for great coverage
• Provides a small amount of volume

Cons:

• Bottles are hard and slightly difficult to squeeze product out
• Conditioner needs to be stored upside down after first few uses due to hardness of bottle
• A little pricier than the other two shampoos

Overall:

Does an ok job of volumising but nothing to get really excited about. Smells great. Does a good job cleaning and leaving hair soft. Jury is still out on this one.

My conclusion so far is that while the Sukin and Avalon Organics have worked best so far, I haven’t really been super excited about either. I have read other people’s reviews on each of these and some have glowing reviews after first or second use and some know that they are absolutely sold. I however would have to say I am still unsure and open to try others. Not sure if that means I’m too fussy?? 🙂 or just that I haven’t found my perfect shampoo. The great thing about these natural shampoos though is just that, they are natural and don’t contain any of the harmful toxins so I guess there’s no harm in trying different ones until I absolutely fall in love with one. I have been thinking of making my own too and now that I’ve purchased a book called ‘1001 Natural Remedies‘ by Laurel Vukovic it might be my next adventure – delving into the world of making my own natural products – how exciting!!

If you’ve tried any shampoos that you love and want to rave about, feel free to comment below. Or if you have suggestions for me please do the same. I am keen to hear your thoughts. Thanks.

– Diana