MY 3 FAVORITE NATURAL SHAMPOO BRANDS

One of the most recurring complaints I hear from my clients is "I have a dry, itchy, flaky scalp". Many even suffer from eczema, psoriasis, hair loss, or redness on the forehead and face. The guilty part? Most commercial shampoos! But why...?!

1. Harsh synthetic ingredients

Most commercial shampoo brands try to reduce their costs and increase profit margins by packing their shampoos with distilled water and cheap synthetic ingredients. The most damageable ones are all the synthetic foaming agents such as sodium laureth sulfate, liquid silicones & mineral oils derived from petroleum (which act as texture improvers and give the illusion of a silky feel in your hair), and harsh synthetic preservatives. These ingredients have a long list of negative side effects: irritant, drying, itching, endocrine disruptors, and even (for some of them) neuro-toxics and carcinogenic. Oh, and guess what: they have absolutely 0 hydration properties. Are you getting angry?? Good!! Keep on reading!

2. Deceptive marketing

Ironically, these brands advertise themselves as "dry hair specialists", and spend LOTS of money on seductive advertisement campaigns (instead of noble, nourishing ingredients). Hello, models with photoshopped hair extensions. Hello, deceptive "before/after" pictures with a minuscule asterisk at the bottom and an unreadable disclaimer clause in font 2.

My best advice? Skip ALL the brands you see on TV and in supermarkets. Yep ALL of it!!!!

1. Green bashing (and customers' blind trust)

Natural cosmetics is a real revolution, worldwide. People are fed up to pay for synthetic, ineffective stuff, and supporting big industrial brands that only have high-profit margins in mind. Although positive; the frenzy for "natural" is a fantastic new playground full of opportunities for these bad apples.

Green bashing: put less than 1% of natural ingredients in a formulation. Brag abundantly about it on the front label as if it was the main ingredient. Deceive millions of customers.

Unfortunately, we, the customers, are also guilty. We are feeding this vicious circle with our blind faith in commercials. If the TV or front label says so, it can't be bad, right?

Wishful thinking!!

Soooo! What are we gonna do about it?

• First, always remember my #1 rule for reading cosmetic labels: in most countries, ingredients must (by law) be listed by decreasing order of importance in the formulation. Be especially mindful of the first 3-5 ingredients, as they can make up to 80% of your product. If Sodium laureth sulfate appears (as often) in the 2d position, don't buy! No matter what claim is shown on the front label!!

• I cannot stress this enough: READ LABELS!!!! Anything you buy, read! Even if you don't understand it all. It will come with time and practice.

• If there is a specific green claim on the front label, such as "with nourishing argan oil": see where exactly argan oil appears in the ingredient list. If it's not in the first half of the list, then the argan oil ratio is less than 1% and not worth your money!!

• Avoid buying brands sold in supermarkets or advertised on TV. They are usually the ones to spend more on deceptive advertisements than on real hair-pampering ingredients.

• Guess what? The same logic applies to all other cosmetic products...and even to foods!

Luckily there are more and more awesome brands that work with integrity. I've cherry-picked 3 of them for their fabulous ingredient lists: real nourishing natural ingredients, real hair-effect, and real active botanical ingredients. I've personally spiked their entire ingredient lists meticulously and tried them on my own hair, so they are fully "Slow Living approved"!

By the way: although this article is about shampoos, the below brands also do conditioners. So if you were looking for quality natural conditioners, they are safe choices too.

ACURE

Acure's motto is "100% vegan, 0% pretentious". Their hair products are paraben-free, sulfate-free, Mineral oil-free, petrolatum-free, formaldehyde free, and cruelty-free. That's a lot of nasties out of sight. They have a wide selection of shampoos and conditioners. My personal favorite is the "Juice cleanse super greens & adaptogens shampoo" for stressed hair, with ashwagandha, spirulina, kale, and spinach.

Have a look at their ingredient list:

I know ingredient lists can be overwhelming. But if we break it down simply, we have:

- Aloe vera as #2 ingredient (remember that ingredients must be listed by decreasing order of importance in the formulation), which is deeply moisturizing. I like that already.

- Gentle foam agents derived from coconut (SODIUM LAUROYL METHYL ISETHIONATE, COCAMIDOPROPYL BETAINE, SODIUM COCOYL GLUTAMATE, SODIUM METHYL COCOYL TAURATE)

- A long list of noble, nourishing botanical ingredients (with common names in brackets, so you know what they are)

- Gentle nature-derived preservatives allowed by COSMOS organic certification (LEVULINIC ACID, SODIUM LEVULINATE, POTASSIUM SORBATE, CITRIC ACID)

Their other shampoos have a similar core formulation, with slight variations of active botanical ingredients for different hair needs.

Lovely herbal-vanilla scent, not overpowering.

Price point: 10-12 USD

RAHUA RAINFOREST GROWN BEAUTY

If you've won the lottery or have a limitless budget when it comes to your beauty routine, I highly, wholeheartedly recommend Rahua for all hair products. So far, it is THE noblest, most high-performance, natural ingredient list I was given to see in a shampoo. It's the Rolls Royce of natural shampoos. My favorite is their "classic shampoo" with the matching conditioner, although I just saw their newest release "enchanted island" product line which looks heavenly.

"Formulated with rare, sustainably sourced ingredients, this rich, restorative shampoo leaves hair soft, silky, and luminous, and scalp soothed. Made with omega-9-rich Rahua oil and naturally scented with the fresh, woodsy aroma of Palo Santo oil, this cult-favorite formula is concentrated and will keep the scalp in balance—not too oily, and not too dry. "

A quick look at the ingredient list shows a formulation made with lovely botanical ingredients (some of which are endemic and sustainably sourced from Amazonia) that have real moisture benefits, gentle natural foaming agents derived from coconut, high-performance natural ingredients such as panthenol and nature-derived preservative allowed by COSMOS organic certification.

Aqua, Herbal Infusion Of Organic, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Organic Camellia Sinensis (Green Tea) Leaf Extract, Organic Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract, Organic Rubus Idaeus (Raspberry) Leaf Extract, Sodium Alpha Olefin Sulfonate*, Coco Betaine*, Sodium Chloride (Sea Salt), Vegetable Glycerin, Organic Saccharum Officinarum (Molasses) Extract, Glycine*, Oenocarpus Bataua (Rahua Ungurahua) Oil, Bursera Graveolens (Palo Santo) Oil, Hydrolyzed Quinoa, Panthenol, Potassium Sorbate, Caprylic Acid, Citric Acid*

The scent, although subtle, is luxurious.

Price point: 40 USD

DR KONOPKA'S LITTLE HERBAL COMPANY

A lesser-known brand is Dr Konopka's little herbal company from Estonia.

I discovered this brand in a health store in...Mauritius!!

They do have an official website here, but only in Estonian language sadly. You can find their products on platforms such as Ecco Verde .

I tried their strengthening shampoo based on the lovely ingredient list:

Aqua (Water)Sodium Coco-Sulfate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Lauryl Glucoside, Glycerin, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Oil [1]Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Hybrid Oil [1]Olea Europaea Fruit Oil [1]Macadamia Ternifolia Seed Oil [1]Argania Spinosa (Argan) Kernel Oil [1]Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Sweet Orange) Peel [1]Citrus Limonum (Lemon) Peel Oil [1]Cymbopogon Citratus Leaf Oil [1]Borago Officinalis (Borage) Seed Oil [1]Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil [1]Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Oil [1]Oenothera Biennis (Evening Primrose) Oil [1]Betula Alba Bark/leaf Extract [1]Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil [1]Panax Ginseng Root Extract [1]Pinus Sibirica Seed Oil [1]Tocopherol, Sodium Chloride Guar Hydroxypropyl, Chloride, Citric Acid, Benzyl Alcohol, Sodium Benzoate, Potassium Sorbate, Parfum (Fragrance) Limonene, Linalool

[1] Organic certified ingredients

Coconut-derived foam agents, COSMOS organics-approved preservatives, and truly nourishing natural oils such as macadamia, argan, borage, and evening primrose oils, which have the extra benefits of being anti-aging oils packed with powerful antioxidants.

Lovely texture, a very pleasant and subtle herbal scent (a bit similar to Acure's super greens shampoo), generous foam (from natural surfactants!!), and a budget-friendly price point of 6-7 USD.

This is what I'm personally using at the moment, and I will definitely be buying again!

So that's it! You now have 3 awesome, Slow Living-approved brand recommendations for all budgets. You can toss out the TV-advertised, eczema-inducing, dandruff-making industrial brands...your scalp will thank you!

Did you enjoy this content and want to learn more?

• Download our FREE E-book "The 7 biggest lies behind cosmetic labels" directly from our website's homepage, and become an empowered consumer!

• Watch my video "The #1 rule for reading cosmetic labels"

• Need an unbiased analysis of a cosmetic product? Try our new service offer "online product analysis", and get a comprehensive PDF report with alternate brand suggestions.