Organics for Us

Go to your bathroom and pick up the shampoo you wash your hair with and have a look at the ingredients. You’ll probably find a long list of words you don’t understand even if you use organic shampoo. You might think everything should be a fruit, vegetable or plant extract, and so it may seem strange to discover ingredients like sodium lauryl sulfate even in your “all natural” organic shampoo that smells of apples, roses, aloe or some herbal blend. So what is your organic shampoo made from? And what is sulfate free shampoo?

The term sulfate free shampoo has been used recently by those who promote organic shampoo and natural beauty products. Although “sulfate” is suppose to be “bad” and may be toxic or irritating to the skin, there are so many variations that we’re left wondering about what it’s doing in an organic product. Maybe it’s not what we think it is. Is it harmful to the skin? To the environment? Or is it harmful due to it being a product of something else that has a harmful effect on forests or animals? What’s ended up happening is that those of us without chemistry degrees just try to avoid everything that contains ingredients that closely resemble anything like sulfate because we suspect it has to do with the particles (such as those in aerosol spray cans) which we know cause an elevation in atmospheric acidity –therefore contribute to acid rain, and can’t possibly be good for our skin. But buying sulfate free shampoo or choosing only organic shampoo may only partly solve the problem, because sulfates may be derived from natural sources such as palm oil – primarily as sodium lauryl sulfate, an ingredient that helps shampoo to lather and attract oils and therefore is a cleanser. And yes, it’s often found in organic shampoo.

It’s become a science to decipher which organic shampoo products are sodium lauryl sulfate or other palm oil derivative free, and buying sulfate free shampoo may not even be the answer. Buying shampoo that’s free of sulfates and free of all palm oil products is only possible if you shop from companies that clearly state what the chemical or botanical codes or abbreviations they use mean. Try Trilogy, Weleda or the Australian Organic Selections or buy local handmade products.