I'm gonna wash that chemical right outa my hair...

Soapy.

Sudsy.

Squeaky.

Shiny.

Ah, that's the glory of shampoo!

Yes, shampoo holds a special place in my heart. I love cracking a new bottle right before a hot shower. There's nothing like inhaling it's sweet scent.  It can be vanilla spice. Or almonds and honey. How about ginger mixed with green tea? Whatever the scent, it's pure pleasure when pouring. 

Next comes the shampoo application. What a delight. Once on your scalp, its all lather luxury. Bubbles of bliss get to work cleaning your hair. No - shampoo doesn't just clean -  it pampers. Be gone dirt and grease. See ya later styling products. Shampoo strips all the nasty gunk and leaves your locks fresh, bouncy and oh so good!

But you know what else shampoo just might do?  It very well could be putting our health at risk.

Author and environmental advocate, Gillian Deacon, says most store-bought and salon shampoos are bad for us. According to Deacon  shampoo may not be so loveable after all:

" Most shampoos are made by using sulfates, chemicals that are cheap to produce, readily available and very effective at dissolving dirt and oil. Sulfates generate the foaminess that we erroneously associate with thorough cleansing. Multiple animal studies show that the most commonly used sulfate, sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS),  causes brain and nervous system effects at moderate doses, endocrine system disruption and reproductive effects and increase cancer risks" (There's Lead in Your Lipstick)

Now, anyone who knows me, knows I refuse to judge based on one source. So I investigated the pros and cons of some pretty popular shampoos by reviewing different product rating websites. I even took my "all time favorite shampoo" and researched it's ingredients. I have to be honest, the results were devastating. 

According to Skindeep (a great product rating website created by the Environmental Working Group), my favorite shampoo can lead to this: endocrine disruption, organ system toxicity (non-reproductive) and irritation (skin, eyes or lungs).

Oh for the love of lather! Why oh why does shampoo have to have such an ugly side?

To make things worse, our head is supposed to be one of the most porous areas of the body. Hair follicles are said to be larger than regular pores. Guess what that means? Our scalp can readily absorb anything we put on it. Easy absorption means easy access to our bloodstream. Unwanted chemicals getting access to our internal workings? Yuck!

So, let's get right to it shall we. If you've been following my blog, you know what's coming next. The great product swap. See ya later, chemically laced shampoo. Hello, healthy green alternative. 

So what did I choose?

Product Review  #3

What: Shampoo

Brand: Druide

Price: $14.99

Surprisingly, there are quite a few shampoos out there being touted as "green". So many that, I really wasn't sure where to jump in on this one. Since I had no idea where to begin, I decided to pick a suggestion from Deacon's book. Just so happens, one of her suggestions was Druide.

Druide is a Quebec-based company that has been up and running since 1979.

From their website ( http://druide.ca)...

Since 1979, DRUIDE has followed a charter built on ecological values such as respect for the individual and the environment, with the ultimate goal of improving the quality of life on earth.In 2004, ECOCERT formalized this commitment by certifying our ecological and organic cosmetics.

DRUIDE prohibits :

•  Any substance derived from petrochemicals (silicone wax)

•     Perfume and dye syntheses

•     Glycols

•     Mineral oils, parabens, phenoxyethanol and formaldehyde.

(In case you are wondering, Ecocert is an independent environmental certification body. It has a good reputation and is credible.)

I have to say, I like that Druide is Canadian and manufactured in a nearby province. That was a definite selling feature for me. I also must admit that I recognized the brand name. In the past, I have purchased bubble bath made by this company. I enjoyed it, so I figured I would equally enjoy the shampoo.

The Druide product I selected is the "Frequent" shampoo. It's supposed to soften and protect hair. And it's suitable for all hair types. It's also said to invigorate and balance  "the matrix of hair and scalp". Invigorate? Balance? Bring it on!

As for the scent, I selected green tea. To me it smells more like lime blossoms that tea. But I won't fault them on that. The scent is clean and fresh.

So far, it's sounding pretty good isn't it?

But we haven't talked about how it actually works.

Now before I go any further, let me remind you that everyone's hair is different. Some folks are lucky and can easily use any product. I am not one of those people. With the wrong product, my hair goes limp and greasy.

Unfortunately, this shampoo doesn't work when it comes to my finicky tresses. Most of the time,  I felt like I could not rinse this product from my hair. It just felt stuck to my head no matter how long I stood under the shower.

Once out of the shower, that feeling of limp, lifeless hair continued. Even with a blow-dryer my locks just felt blah. No amount of drying would give me lift or body. When I ran my fingers through my hair, it felt like I had massive product build-up. It just felt sticky and stringy.

Now this is the first time, I have tried a truly natural shampoo product. I am not surprised that the switch was difficult. This shampoo has a totally different composition than anything I have used before. I don't want to trash it, as I really think the company is doing a great job bringing natural products to market. But I also can't say I recommend it.

To conclude, I am going to take a pass on this product. I made it half way through the bottle and stopped. I know one of my rules is to not purchase another product till the one I am using is gone. But this time, I am going to break my own rule. Hey, it's mine I will do with it as I please!

This shampoo just did no make my hair feel good. Perhaps, Druide's other shampoos would do the trick?
I am open to that. But for now, I think I will look for other options.

Before wrapping this review, I want to give Druide a huge kiss for being a strong, Canadian company dedicated to producing products that are organic and harvested in a sustainable manner. That alone is enough to prompt me to explore other Druide products.

 

BUT as for rating this product's effectiveness, I am going to give it only 2 kisses out of 5. Why even two kisses? I recognize that this may not have been the right Druide product for my hair-type. So I will give them points for the clean scent and minimalistic packaging. So my hunt for a healthy and chemical free shampoo continues.

Friendly "green" shampoo product reminder:


"Keep in mind that with any truly natural, plant-based shampoo, you will notice a significant reduction in foaming power. It takes petrochemical surfactants to whip up sudsy lather, but extra suds have nothing to do with cleaning power." -Gillian Deacon, There's Lead in Your Lipstick

Getting back in the saddle...

When I was a kid, summertime always meant a trip to my Grandma's ranch. My mom would pack my grubbiest clothes into a tiny suitcase. No sense taking my good "city"clothes, when all I would be doing is running through hay stacks, stomping in mud puddles and riding in the back of old pick-up trucks. So with my worn out t-shirts, shorts and sneakers, I would ship-off to the farm.

Now my stories from the farm could probably fill a couple blogs. They were indeed crazy summers. But for this post I want to just focus on a horse. Yep, just one horse.

The horse I want to tell you about was named Blackie. Can you guess why? Indeed, he was a black horse. But not just any black horse. He was a grumpy, stubborn, bossy black horse. Some say Blackie was simply strong willed. A horse with a mind of his own. Sure, I will give him that. But I also have to tell you he was a bit of a jerk. If he didn't like something he had no problem demonstrating his distaste. How did you know if he didn't like something? He would haul-off and bite you. Have you ever been nipped by a horse? Think big teeth. Think stong jaw. Think massive arm bruise! Ouch!

 So given Blackie's temperament, you would think most folks would stay away from him. Nope, not us kids. You see, there were not alot of horses on the farm. Really there were only two we could ride. One was a giant quarter-horse named Prince. The other was Blackie.

Did I mention that Blackie wasn't all that big? Compared to Prince, he was tiny. Maybe that's why he was such a grump? Anyhow, his size made it easier for us to get a saddle on him and go for a ride. As it turns out, riding Blackie was an eye-opener. That horse really didn't want to hang-out with us. He sure as hell didn't want us riding him either. As a result, I had my full share of falls thanks to Blackie. If he could run you up against a fence, he would do so. If he could drive you into a tree, he would take great pleasure in it. He really liked doing anything - anything at all -  that would get us off him.

So riding Blackie went like this:

       "Get on. Get going. Then get dropped. Hit ground with painful thud. Get up. Get back on. Get going. Get dropped again. Hit ground with another painful thud. Get up. Get back on. Get going."

That pattern repeated itself over and over again. Sure, it was frustrating. But to be honest, I don't recall it really bothering us. We were never seriously injured. Just a couple scrapes and scratches. Par for the course when spending time on a farm.

We were young. We were having fun. We really didn't have a care in the world. Blackie and his attitude wasn't about to change  that.

Looking back, Blackie taught me an important lesson at an early age. He taught me that when your kicked about and dropped flat on your arse, you have no choice but to get back in the saddle. If you don't get up and dust off the dirt, your letting yourself be beat. Life can be full of frustrations. It can be downright nasty at times. But it can also get better. If you get back in the saddle, you just might get the ride of a lifetime. You might find yourself galloping along with your hair blowing in the wind. You might be able to feel the sun warm your skin as you race down a new path. You might just breath in the sweet summer air and feel as if you are on top of the world. Sure, there were plenty of falls with Blackie but there were also glorious, spirit-soaring rides. Not a bad lesson learned from a stubborn black horse.

So it is with Blackie in mind that I get back to blogging. I have been on a bit of a hiatus when it comes to writing. Life has been throwing me a ton of curb balls lately. Professionally and personally, I have been bucked from the saddle and thrown to the ground. But I am slowly shaking off life's troubles. I am getting back on my feet.  I am getting back in the saddle.