Q: I recently decided to get away from using sodium lauryl sulfate-containing shampoo and conditioner. I have very fine, oily hair, so going the hardcore "no 'poo'" route is not going to work for me. I bought the JASON brand organic, fragrance-free stuff. Within a few days, my scalp starting itching like crazy, flaking, and (most distressingly) developing painful little sores. To add insult to injury, my hair looks and feels dull and unhealthy since using this brand...
I would have thought that this shampoo and conditioner would be ~less~ irritating to my sensitive scalp than the regular stuff, especially since it's fragrance-free. I'm giving it the good old college try and want to at least use up the bottle, but it's getting to a point where I dread lathering up in the mornings.
What is going on?! Has anyone else had a problem with this brand? Is there something in it that I may be having an allergic reaction to? Can anyone recommend another SLS-free brand that is super-gentle (and ideally, won't cost me $10 a bottle)?
Sent by Laura
Editor: Laura, so sorry to hear about all the trouble you've been having! Unfortunately, most of the SLS-free shampoos that we have either tried or heard good recommendations about, like John Masters Organics, are more than $10. But there are a few other brands we know of that are more affordable and might be worth checking out: Burt's Bees, Alba Botanica, Dr. Bronner's Liquid Peppermint Castile soap, and LUSH solid shampoos. (The SLS-free ones are Karma, Komba, Seanik, Soak & Float, Squeaky Green, and Ultimate Shine.)
You can also check out some of our past posts on this topic:
• Make the Switch to Eco Shampoos
• Greening the Shower: Bath Products at Trader Joe's
We want to hear from our readers! What SLS-free shampoo recommendations do you have for Laura?
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I use the Giovanni Organics brand, and they have several formulas for different hair types. My hair is also very fine and oily like yours, but I've actually found that I can shampoo/condition as usual on Day 1, then do a conditioner wash/condition if I (gently) massage the roots on Day 2. Now that I'm using half the shampoo, my hair is actually LESS oily and has more volume without having to use styling products. Also: starting this Day1/Day2 cycle might be easier if you begin on the weekend, so that you don't have to worry about being stuck at work with oily hair. :)
Search on Etsy for a good shampoo bar. You can even post in alchemy to have people make/ recommend one just for your hair's needs. Homemade shampoo bars avoid the chemicals you don't want PLUS don't have the plastic bottle to deal with (most come wrapped in a small amount of plastic wrap, but its much less waste.)
And they can give you a lovely chemical free frangrance if you choose!
i've been using burt's bees super shiny for years now and am quite happy with it.
I have the same type of hair and I use Avalon Organics Rosemary Shampoo. It's been great for my hair, it's actually a lot better than normal SLS shampoo. It's so good that I even use it as a body wash as well. and at my local store it's under $10.
One of the best and cheapest no SLS/no cones shampoos is Suave Natural Coconut. It's highly recommended by the Long Hair Community. You may want to try an apple cider rinse (3:1 water:ACV) to get rid of your previous shampoo's buildup before switching to a non-SLS/non-cones shampoo.
Lots more great advice at the longhaircommunity.com ...
Check out DevaCurl low-poo. It's made for sensitive curly hair, it doesn't suds up, and not quite no-poo. It's pricey, but so so worth it.
I've also heard that Lush shampoo bars are fabulous, but can't vouch for them.
I'm allergic to SLS (causes terrible dermatitis on my hands) and I just switched to the JASON brand of shampoo... I've been using it about a week so far, with no ill effects at all. I'd take an itchy scalp over cracked, bleeding and itchy hands, but so far so good!
I've been using Lush's Ultimate Shine bar for a while now with no problems, but I just double-checked the website and SLS is the first ingredient listed for it :-(
I used that Lush shampoo bar for awhile. At first I loved it, but towards the end of the bar's life my hair was getting really yucky. I think a lot of the appeal for me was no packaging and no struggling to get that last little bit of shampoo out of the bottle. I'm almost done with a bottle of completely conventional shampoo, and I think I might try making my own shampoo next time. At least it will be cheap.
Thanks for all the suggestions. I couldn't take it anymore and got some Head and Shoulders (the sensitive scalp kind), and my head feels tons better already. Maybe I'll try some of the suggested brands after my scalp settles back down.
I use baking soda. My scalp was flaking, itchy, and I tried not shampooing, and surprisingly my scalp cleared up completely. I just scrub my scalp with baking soda, and rinse it out. I rinse with apple cider vinegar and rinse again. My hair is less greasy, and my scalp feels way better. I won't go back to using shampoo.
Like imake1tgirl, I don't use shampoo. I tried baking soda and apple cider vinegar but have found that salt water and white vinegar seem to work best for me.
I also have fine, thin, straight, greasy hair (the kind that looks wet and matted after 24 hours), but I decided to take the plunge and skip the shampoo. I was afraid of the complete "no 'poo" route, so I tried Dr. Bronner's soap first. I didn't like it--it felt great when sudsing, but then rinsed sticky and left my hair clumpy (think stringy but thicker "strings") and weird.
Then 10 days ago, I went for the baking soda method. I dropped 1 Tbsp baking soda into an 8oz. bottle and filled it up, and squirted about a third onto my wet hair while massaging my scalp. After rinsing, I sprayed a water/vinegar mixture (only like a tsp. vinegar to 1 cup water, since I'm not too big on vinegar) on my hair and rinsed again.
I do miss the "slickness" that conditioner gave my hair when wet--now my wet hair feels closer to when you get out of a pool--but as it dries, my hair feels wonderfully soft. It looks smoother and slightly fuller, and not the least bit greasy.
I'm currently using the baking soda solution daily, and may or may not continue with the vinegar rinse. (Tried with and without; not sure it's making a difference.) By the end of 24 hours, I usually feel like I want a wash, but it seems a little more tolerable than before. I may try waiting longer between washes in the future.
Just wanted to say that it may still work for hair like yours--try it on a Saturday and see how it goes. You may decide to stick with it!
Oops, to clarify: when I said I "dropped 1 Tbsp baking soda into an 8oz. bottle and filled it up," I mean I filled it with water.