Melissa’s emanation: I know that this will probably sound strange, but I have an aversion to most fragrances in hair care products. Suave is one of my favorites, it works very well on my hair. The fragrance however does not, it usually comes in fifth
on the ingredients list. Fragrance has kept me from using many good shampoos and conditioners. Pantene is great but I despise the smell it gives me a headache! Is there anything that I can do to tone the fragrance down without interfering with the formula or preservatives? I knew if anyone would know, it would be you!
The Left Brain investigates:
I love this question Melissa. It gives us an opportunity to help people become more interested in chemistry by conducting their own experiments. Fabulous! Of course before continuing you should read the following disclaimer.
Disclaimer: None of the following suggestions will work for every product. Also, mixing products together could result in unknown consequences and ruin your product. Try these suggestions at your own risk.
Shampoo solutions
On their most basic level, all shampoos (except for these weird shampoo varieties) are solutions of surfactants, fragrance and water. There are many other shampoo ingredients but these are the most relevant to your question.
1. Match and Mix. Sometimes shampoo brands will have a version of their product that is “fragrance free”. If you want to have some odor but not as much, just mix the fragrance free version with the regular version. This is the best option because usually the fragrance free version has the same ingredients except fragrance. You’ll have to experiment with the actual amounts but a 50/50 mixture is a good place to start.
Example: If you like Jason shampoo
2 . Find Fragrance Free. Pantene is one of the most liked, best performing shampoos, but they don’t have a fragrance free version. Neither does Suave. In fact, most main-stream hair brands do not have fragrance free versions. But there are some as evidenced by this list of fragrance free shampoos
Example: Try Body Time Moisturizing fragrance free shampoo
3. Buy Bulk & Mix. It turns out there are manufacturing companies who will sell you gallons of unscented shampoo (or conditioner, etc). Just buy in bulk and dilute your favorite shampoo. Ideally, you’ll want to get a shampoo base that matches your shampoos main detergent base.
Example: Birch Hill Happenings sells an unscented base that shares many ingredients as the regular Pantene shampoo.
Remember, some shampoo formulas will not be perfectly compatible. If they separate or go cloudy they probably won’t work as well. Mix a few together in different ratios until you find something that works. Have fun.
Have you come up with your own strategy for reducing fragrances in your beauty care products? Leave a comment and let the rest of the Beauty Brains community know.
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
wow. i didn’t know that i could get a base shampoo. it sounds great.
You don’t necessarily have to buy unscented shampoo in bulk — places like Cassie’s Scents in St. Louis blend and create their own fragrances and then add them to unscented lotions, shampoos, shower gels, etc. They will happily sell the products without fragrance — my mom has many allergies and prefers *everything* unscented, and she loves their lotion and shampoo. She gets the larger bottles for herself and gives small 2oz bottles as gifts. Definitely worth checking out!
http://www.cassiesscents.com
I’m another person who has problems with fragrance. Most health stores carry fragrance-free shampoos. Also, Clinique (available in department stores like Macy”s) has an entire line of fragance-free cosmetics & hair & skin products.
I’m very sensitive to most fragrances, and strong scents in hair products seem to make me get very itchy (odd) or contribute to severe headaches.
Though I don’t use them exclusively (I’m a hair-product whore…) I highly recommend Paula’s Choice All-Over Hair and Body Shampoo and Smooth Finish Conditioner. While I don’t always agree with her opinions, most of her products are very well-formulated, and all are fragrance-free. I always go back to these two when my skin is feeling particularly finicky, or when I need a reliably good hair day!