DIY - Shampoo and Conditioner Alternative

I, like most other people, have been washing my hair with store bought shampoo all my life. I have never really thought about what's in it; naively trusting that the company who made it and the governing bodies that approved it all have my best interests at heart. Over the years I have been told about all the harmful chemicals that are in shampoo and other body care products but I didn't really pay much attention. 

So there I am, happily washing my hair with my TRESemme Luxurious Moisture Shampoo and I think to myself... "what's in this stuff anyway?".

I decided to take a gander at the ingredients list.

Water, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Cacamidopropyl Betane, Glycol Distearate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Panthenol, Niacinamide, Biotin, Asorbic Acid, Cocamide Mea, Sodium Chloride, Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Polyquaternium-47, Polysorbate 20, Disodium Edta, DMDM Hydantoin, Fragrance.

From this list I have what I would call, a good working knowledge of two of the ingredients. (Guess which two!) So I decided to look it all up! (scroll down to see the list of ingredients with notes as to what I found)

To make a long story short; of the 17 ingredients listed on my bottle of shampoo, 8 of them are known irritants; and some of them may be, or may contain, known human carcinogens. And I'm putting this ON MY HEAD!!!

Well no more!

Luckily there are numerous "make your own shampoo" recipes out there so I have decided to try some.
The one I tried today was the simplest recipe I found (credit to diynatural.com)

Mix 1 tbsp of baking soda into 1 cup of water. Squirt some on your head and massage into scalp for a minute or two before rinsing.

I followed this with their conditioner (1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar mixed with 1 cup of water, massage into scalp and rinse).

Surprisingly enough this worked like a charm. My hair looked and felt clean and once it was dry there was no vinegar smell at all. (I had three separate people smell my hair numerous times just to be sure!).

I do have to say I missed the suds, even though they do absolutely nothing. Also, I have short hair and I don't think I would have liked this if my hair was still long. It felt like tossing some water on my head and rubbing it in. Therefore I will be trying another recipe tomorrow.

I will do my best to update the blog at that time... but you know me; I wouldn't hold my breath!

For what it's worth I would rate the shampoo recipe form diynatural a 2.5 out of 5.

TLDR; Store bought shampoo, and other body care products, are toxic; learn to make your own at diynatural.com, instructables.com, or wellnessmama.com. Or just google it ;)

Below is the info I found on each of the ingredients in my shampoo.

Water - I think it's safe to assume we all know this one, so lets move on.

Glycol Distearate, Panthenol, Niacinamide, Biotin, Asorbic Acid, Sodium Chloride, Polyquaternium-47 - are all considered safe and I could find no information to the contrary.

Sodium Laureth Sulfate - besides being known as a potential irritant to skin and eyes, Sodium Laureth Sulfate may be contaminated with measurable amounts of ethylene oxide and 1,4-dioxane depending on the manufacturing process. Ethylene oxide is a known human carcinogen and 1,4-dioxane is a possible human carcinogen according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer. (learn more at davidsuzuki.org)

Cacamidopropyl Betane - also known to cause irritation and allergic contact dermatitis either as a result of the ingedient itself or as a result of possible impurities within the ingredient such as 3-dimethylaminopropylamine which, according to the MSDS has the following potential health effects:

Eye: Causes eye burns.
Skin: Causes skin burns. May cause skin sensitization, an allergic reaction, which becomes evident upon re-exposure to this material. May be harmful if absorbed through the skin.
Ingestion: Harmful if swallowed. Causes gastrointestinal tract burns.
Inhalation: Causes chemical burns to the respiratory tract. May be harmful if inhaled. Inhalation of high concentrations may cause pulmonary edema.
Chronic: Repeated or prolonged exposure may cause allergic reactions in sensitive individuals.

Tocopheryl Acetate - this is vitamin E with Acetic Acid added to it. It is generally considered safe although the Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) did report at least one animal study that showed tumor formation at high doses and strong evidence of human skin toxicant or allergen.

Cocamide Mea - is generally considered safe although there is a chance this ingredient may contain traces of Cocamide DEA, which according to the FDA may lead to the formation of carcinogenic nitrosamines.

Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride - I thought for sure this would be the one that came up as "the killer"; Hydroxypropyltrimonium? Doesn't that just scream DANGER!?! But nope, it's safe; at least so far as I could find.

Polysorbate 20 - this ingredient starts out as harmless sorbitol (sugar alcohol), but then it's treated with 20 parts ethylene oxide, a known human carcinogen. There is also the risk that it could be contaminated with 1,4 dioxane a possible human and known animal carcinogen.

Disodium Edta - levels of disodium EDTA are too low in body care products to cause direct harm when products are used as directed. According to my research though, you should be aware of disodium EDTA content in processed foods and beverages, where disodium EDTA in reaction with active and unstable ingredients like Vitamin C and sodium Bicarbonate (baking soda), forms benzenes, a potent carcinogen. Also, EDTA is becoming an environmental pollutant due to large quantities used in industrial applications, medical applications and manufacturing.

DMDM Hydantoin - DMDM Hydantoin works as a preservative by releasing formaldehyde and is a strong skin, eye, and lung irritant. It has also been known to trigger an immune response that can include burning, itching, blistering, or scaling of skin.

Fragrance - Turns out my working knowledge of this ingredient is a lot more limited than I originally thought. "Fragrance" can, and often does, represent a complex mixture of dozens of chemicals. Some 3,000 chemicals are used as fragrances and most have not been tested for toxicity, either alone or in combination. Many of these unlisted ingredients are irritants and can trigger allergies, migraines, and asthma symptoms.

Check out http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ for more info on what is in that lotion you just slathered all over your body! Good ole David Suzuki has you covered too at davidsuzuki.org.