Dry Hair....Check ingredients in your Shampoo!

Last year I watched a segment of "the View" on hair problems -- very enlightening. So, thought I'd pass this along. I have started using an all natural shampoo (which I buy at Trader Joe's here in Omaha) and am really pleased with the way my hair looks, shines and feels...no more split ends. My husband noticed that his dry scalp is a thing of the past.

Have you ever read the ingredients on your shampoo bottle? Bet it contains Sodium Lauryl Sulfate That's a high volume synthetic chemical used in consumer products and regulated as a pesticide. Sodium lauryl sulfate can be drying and harsh for the hair and cause eye irritation, allergic reactions, and hair loss. Its also in most hand and face soaps and bubble bath, so be careful there also.

These substances provide a FOAMING quality to the product, allowing for better distribution of the product while washing hair or skin and while brushing teeth. When rinsed off, the product will have cleaned the area but will have taken moisture from the top layers of skin.

Soooo, what would you rather have, a head full of foam OR hair and scalp that still has it's natural oils? There's enough chemicals in a shampoo bottle to embalm an elephant! I would find hair bunnies in the shower drain after washing my hair -- and would wonder how many shampoos it would take before I was BALD!

And Ken, in addition to inheriting the classic Thomas A. Edison "balding on top" hairstyle, was shampooing his hair to death! Although he hasn't achieved full head of hair that he had as a teenager, there is a little more there than he had before. Its very fine but it's hair! And slowly but surely getting thicker and stronger.

There are many "natural" shampoos and conditioners on the market.....just be sure to read the ingredients. Sometimes their idea of "natural" is a little vague. Look for Sodium Lauryl Sulfate and if you find it.....look for another product. They are out there!

Choose shampoos that have ingredients that that will enhance your hair color and texture, and that address any special needs you may have. Natural shampoos will contain many of these ingredients.

Dry: Comfrey root, avocado, elder flowers, orange blossoms
Normal: Dandelion, horsetail, clover
Oily: Watercress, strawberry leaf, white willow bark, lemon grass
Ethnic: Comfrey, nettle, cherry bark, olive oil
Shine: Egg, raspberry, nettle, vinegar, quassia
Manageability: Yogurt, cherry bark, beer
Softness: Cherry bark, burdock root, olive oil, marjoram
Dandruff: White willow bark, birch bark, comfrey, nettle, peppermint, vinegar
Growth: St. John's-wort, nettle, sage, basil, rosemary, onion juice

Be sure to have a whiff of the shampoo before buying....rosemary and onion juice may have you smelling like a roast turkey and beer or peppermint may raise a few eyebrows.