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All-Purpose Cleansers for Hair and Body
Save Space in the Bathroom and Simplify your Shower

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We first came across an all-purpose shampoo when traveling several years ago. In the bed and breakfast's shower we were surprised to find a single pump containing an all-purpose cleanser for hair and body. The product was a natural almond and coco cleanser that also moisturized. It also simplified our mornings and streamlined the shower's aesthetics...

 
 

These are a few all-purpose cleansers, pictured from left to right up top. Have you used one or would you? Would it be for the sake of your shower's looks, to simplify your cleansing regimine, or to save money?

Not pictured:

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personal health, bathroom, all-purpose shampoo

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Comments (26)

I use Dr. Bronner's castile soaps for hair and body. A little goes a long way with that stuff.

posted by PRU on April 13th 2009 at 9:26am
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Dr. Bronner's castile soaps..

the best. plus the bottle is a very interesting read.

posted by antimatt on April 13th 2009 at 9:33am
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I like simple beauty and household regimens but I don't really mix the two. I'll use Dr Bronners for cleaning and as hand soap, but I've found that something that cleans my kitchen floor is just way too drying for my hair and body. I'm interested in the Aveda soap though--I like scents for men a lot and don't think using them interferes with my ability to be a fierce, sexy lady! Aveda is great.. a good friend of mine works in an Aveda salon and has let me use many of the products.

That being said, I HATE clutter so for most cleaning I have Dr Bronners, vinegar, baking soda. My hardwoods are the originals from 1890, so I use orange oil to keep those hydrated and I have little dropper bottles of lavender and peppermint to make my homemade cleaners smell good.

posted by rvalexa on April 13th 2009 at 9:38am
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Lush makes great "solid" shampoo bars that are for body too.

posted by coachmilloy on April 13th 2009 at 9:38am
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i just use plain old johnson and johnson's baby shampoo. it's cheap and awesome.

posted by joyfulgirl on April 13th 2009 at 10:02am
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I looked up the Jardin des Iles... hating to judge a shampoo/body wash by the price but ??? Anything that is $1.50 can it possibly have any quality ingredients in it good enough for your hair? I love Aveeda and Davine's for my hair (smell so good and works great) and Dr. Bronner's, Hugo's and Lush... great soaps. I'd rather just close my shower curtain instead of combining.

posted by sfteri on April 13th 2009 at 10:02am
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do we know if any of these have sodium lauryl sulfate??? if so, you might as well wash yourself with tide. and call it a day.
as some of you might know, sodium lauryl sulfate, is a horrible irritant and those with curly hair should stay farrrrr away from it, as it makes your hair and skin extremely dry and fragile.

posted by bellaknollie on April 13th 2009 at 10:24am
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Having worked for Yves Rocher and tested most of their products, I must say Jardin des Iles is a good hair and body wash. I used it on vacations in Florida and god knows how my hair gets dry and frizzy, I still needed conditioner anyway, but it did a good job at removing all traces of salt and protective oil. Other plus, it smells like vacations !

posted by stepanka on April 13th 2009 at 10:35am
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I've gotten into J.R. Liggett's solid bar shampoo lately. It also works great as a two-in-one (shampoo and soap, even for the face). I don't even need to use conditioner with this as I have pretty healthy hair and it contains vegetable oils.

It rinses cleanly, is non-drying, not strongly-scented (for those who are sensitive to fragrance) and comes wrapped in biodegradable paper. As you can imagine, it's ideal for travel as well as being a space-saver in the shower and cutting down on packaging waste.

posted by slowdown on April 13th 2009 at 10:36am
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My hair is thick and the extra conditioning step is a necessity for me.
The "damaging" effects of SLS have been long debated and there really isn't any real R&D proof that has determined that it's "sooooo" harmful. I've done my research on this topic. Most products contain SLS, I continue to use them and my hair is healthy. What's more harmful to my hair is a so called natural product that has no stability and strips the natural oils out of my hair!

posted by dnice on April 13th 2009 at 10:37am
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I also use Dr. Bronner's for shampoo and body soap. Everyone's hair is different, though - my problem is that it leaves my hair too oily, not too dry, so I keep a bottle of normal shampoo to use once in a while.

posted by Liana on April 13th 2009 at 10:49am
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I used to use Dr. Bronners for everything body-cleaning related (including mouthwash! Refreshing!), but my hairdresser smacked me over the head with her comb when she found out I was using in my hair. It strips essential oils, not to mention the uber-expensive colours I have her apply. I use Lush's Happy Hippy for everything now, and no more comb-smacking from the stylist!

posted by darcidoodle on April 13th 2009 at 10:51am
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I have been using a product called Wen by Chaz Dean for years: http://www.chazdeanstore.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=1

It's definitely not cheap, but it's an all-in-one product and completely SLS-free. I highly recommend it.

posted by Kathryn on April 13th 2009 at 10:52am
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what is more healthy is not washing your hair all the time.
once or twice a week at most.

and i agree the lush shampoo bars are awesome.

SLS over time does cause havoc on your curly hair. *keyword, curly*you might not see it now, but you will eventually

posted by bellaknollie on April 13th 2009 at 11:01am
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SLS--is a surfactant. Look for products with less of it. Small amounts don't damage your hair. Hair washing should not be a mechanic thing, ie. "I will wash my hair 3x a week" it really is dependent on oil production of the scalp, thickness of hair and whether you color treat or heat style. So based on that information, you should determine for YOURSELF how many times you might NEED to wash your hair.
Personally, I believe the green movement right now is a bit more about PR for most brands than actually creating high quality natural products. Same with the controversy regarding SLS.

posted by dnice on April 13th 2009 at 11:17am
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I use Dr. Bronner for cleaning - I mix a two teaspoons, with two tablespoons of borax and water put into spray bottle I use this for almost everything.
I always take a small bottle of Dr. Bronners camping with me for dishes and body washing, I used hair once and that was the last time.

I have never found an all in one bath and hair soap.

posted by LoriSF on April 13th 2009 at 11:44am
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I'm lucky because I have very healthy, fine but thick hair and I wash it at least once a day with (gasp) Pantene. Every time I go into a salon I get compliments all over the place about how healthy my hair is - and only a few times has anyone ever been foolish enough to try to talk me into a salon brand because of the evil, evil silicon. If it was so bad, then why were you ooohing and ahhhing over it when I sat down?

I tried to switch to Dr. B's instead of my typical body washes with SLS, and it was awful. Then I tried Method's body wash, and once again, awful. Both dried out my skin terribly (and it's naturally oily) and made it impossible to shave. So it's back to the SLS-filled soaps that haven't killed me yet.

Now I only use the Dr. B's to clean my toilets. The peppermint scent is a great room deodorizer. I'd still use it for camping though.

posted by asinner on April 13th 2009 at 11:51am
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@ Kathryn
I also use Wen and absolutely love it! It's pricey but it's like nothing else out there. Also works well as a leave-in conditioner.

posted by jolo on April 13th 2009 at 12:06pm
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I use an all-in-one soap and shampoo when I am in Haiti that was sold with an Aquis microfiber towel. The brand is supposedly Aquis Adventure, but it's hard to find (the only two times I've found it is when it's packaged to sell with a towel.) This stuff is a miracle. It smells wonderful and lathers well with minimal water, and washes away with no residue, leaving my skin feeling great. I wish I could get more of it, and I would use it all the time.

posted by cal on April 13th 2009 at 1:40pm
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@dnice

lose the tude a bit, no need to get all agro about soap. chill out.

posted by bellaknollie on April 13th 2009 at 1:50pm
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I know some people swear by shampoo bars, most of them are shampoo body. I need a conditioner though, usually something light and runny without silicones. Otherwise my shampoo consists of a scalp wash, with tailbone length hair I wouldn't dream of putting shampoo on it every day. Sometimes I'll do a conditioner rinse between "washings" to freshen things up, especially in the summer.

posted by Minyuette on April 13th 2009 at 1:57pm
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Errr shampoo *and* body, the little symbol didn't show up.

posted by Minyuette on April 13th 2009 at 1:58pm
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I saw no attitude with dnice. Let's ALL be nice.

posted by ftpansy on April 13th 2009 at 3:02pm
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I would love to find an all in one for both the simplicity and less clutter in the shower. Alas I have oily limp hair and can't get far without some volumizing shampoo. Every day no less!

posted by ammanda on April 13th 2009 at 3:49pm
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aveda will customize a body gel/shampoo with any of their natural fragrances. i got one recently for free (cashing in my aveda points!) and it's so nice!!!! actually better for my scalp than their dry scalp shampoo and it smells great (i picked out some kind of lavender oil add in)

it's a smell-free base but you have to ask for it. it's tucked away in the stores. it lathers up really well so you feel clean but it's sls free and you can pick what, if any, fragrance you want and there's a lot to choose from. all of them are nice and not sneezy.

posted by Joan in SB on April 14th 2009 at 1:10am
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Maybe I'm just a hick, but is there any real difference between shampoo and shower gel? I grew up using shampoo on both my head and body, and still today I don't really see the point of buying two separate products when one will do. Yes, okay, maybe you want extra moisturizer or less oily or dandruff-control or what have you, but in terms of cleaning ability is there a difference?

posted by Emika on April 14th 2009 at 6:29am
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