7 Switching Hair Care Products

Greenwashing is so prevalent in the beauty products world. The word 'natural' and 'clear' are thrown around so often but are the products that make these claims being truthful?  Probably not. The hair care products that I used to use certainly were not. If I am buying something that claims to be 'natural' I don't want to see a high score when I plug their name into the EWG database. I also don't want to see a laundry list of chemicals on the back of the bottle. Things that I wouldn't want anywhere near my hair, skin, eyes.

I used to use TRESemme Naturals Vibrantly Smooth. I used it for many years actually. I knew it was bad for me but still thought it was better than the alternatives. Until I plugged it into the EWG and saw a big old 5. I switched to a real natural shampoo made by Miessence. The ingredients are not only things I can pronounce but things I would actually eat. I have not had to use any conditioner since I started using it but I do use a mix of 50% apple cider vinegar and 50% water 1 time a week to strip any build up away.

Performance

TRESemme always left my hair feeling soft and smooth but I always felt like I had brittle ends and flyaways. Since switching to Miessence I have realized what smooth hair is supposed to feel like. It is less of a waxy smooth and more just natural clean hair smooth. TRESemme lathers really well because of the sodium lauryl sulfate in it. SLS strips your hair of natural oils but don't worry, most shampoos put that oil back in with a chemical additive in their product. Miessence lathers well, certainly not what I am used to from an SLS product but enough to wash my hair effectively.

Cost Difference

You will not need to use as much Miessence as TRESemme which helps to make Miessence more affordable. I use about a dime sized portion compared to a loonie sized portion of TRESemme. I  have been using the same Miessence bottle of shampoo since the first week of September. I probably have 3-4 more weeks of product left in the bottle. I estimate that for the first 2 months I was using the product I was using too much (double the amount) until I got used to how natural shampoo's work. Based on this I calculcate that with normal use I will get 6 months out of 1 bottle. When I used TRESemme I was going through a bottle every 2 months. 

Miessence = $24 for 250ml ~ $0.096/ml ~ $48/year
TRESemme = $7 for 700ml ~ $0.01/ml ~ $42/year

For $6 extra dollars per year I am getting a true natural product that is non toxic. I am also using less product that required less resources to make it and has significantly less packaging.

Tips

There is an adjustment period with natural shampoo so you may feel like it is not working at first. You need to detox you hair to get the full benefit. Most natural shampoos will provide you with instructions on how to do this. I opted to lather up twice each time I washed my hair and found that within 2 weeks my hair was detoxed.

If you are going to use an apple cider vinegar mixture I would recommend putting it in a spray bottle. I had it in a regular bottle at first and wasted so much of it trying to pour it on my scalp. I now just spray it where I want it and then let it sit for a few minutes before rinsing. I am using less of it this way and not getting any in my eyes!

If you have hard water and forget to replace your salt (JOE) then you will notice that your natural shampoo will no longer lather and your hair will get that not so fresh look to it. If you keep your water softener topped up this will not happen.

What shampoo do you use? Have you tried switching to a natural shampoo?