Since the time I first saw them for sale in my college bookstore, I’ve admired Burt’s Bees products. Not because the products are better than others (they’re not), but because they have a “homey” feel that just makes me smile when I see them.
Burt’s buzz
Burt’s Bees follows in the footsteps of numerous companies by telling us a “natural, eco-friendly” story. As they say on their website
“Our ingredients and packaging choices reflect our careful consideration of the impact our activities will have on our environment and the overall health and well-being of all living things on Earth.”
But unlike a lot of these natural companies, Burt’s Bees does a pretty good job of “walking the walk”. A quick review of their formulas show that these things really are different. They don’t just tell you that they are natural then sprinkle in a few natural sounding ingredients in their regular formulas. No, they really try to give the consumer something different. Look at this Herbal shampoo for example.
The ingredients are
Vegetable Glycerin, Lemon Fruit Water, Sucrose Cocoate (Sugar and Coconut Cleanser), Decyl Polyglucose (Sugar and Corn Cleanser), Willowbark Extract, Organic Peppermint Leaf Extract, Willow Leaf Extract, Organic Burdock Root Extract, Organic Nettles Leaf Extract, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Cedar Leaf Oil, Tea Tree Oil, Lemon Oil, Rosemary Oil, Juniper Oil, Peppermint Oil, Xanthan Gum, Glucose & Glucose Oxidase & Lactoperoxidase (Sugar and Natural Enzyymes)
We’ll excuse them for not strictly following the labeling conventions in this country (vegetable glycerin, lemon fruit water and the word “organic” are not supposed to be used).
Natural formula
This formula is really unique. No sulfate detergents or other standard substitutes. Sucrose Cocate and Decyl Polyglucose are detergents but they aren’t very good. No conventional preservatives or fragrances. The oils listed will have an odor and some of them have a natural preservative effect. And having glycerin as the first ingredient means there must be a lot of it in there.
Interestingly, they claim it is only 90.1% natural. I wonder what the other 9.9% is because all of those ingredients look natural. Probably the detergents and maybe even the glycerin.
Not having tried the product comments on the performance are dubious however, based on the ingredients, this formula will certainly not perform like standard shampoos. It will not give lots of foam or clean as well (that’s why they tell you to use it twice) and it may spoil overtime. Formulas with no good preservatives are a bit scary. For safety reasons, you should throw away any of these products if they are more than 6 months old.
While this formula is different than standard ones, that doesn’t mean it is worse. Standard shampoo formulas probably clean too well anyway and foaming is overrated. Manufacturers make shampoos that give lots of foam but it is only done because consumers think more foam = better. This isn’t true since you can make a terrible shampoo that foams great.
The Beauty Brains bottom line
All the other Burt’s Bees formulas have a similar theme. They definitely make formulas that are unconventional using non-standard ingredients. In most cases, they are not going to perform as well as the more “high tech” products you can buy in your local drugstore, but they might just be good enough. And if the idea of “natural” products is more appealing to you than “the best functioning” products, then try them for yourself and you decide.
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
I have been using unconventional shampoo for a while now, in an attempt to use less parabens, and sulfates. I found that while it doesn’t foam much at all (especially on dirty hair) it does clean just fine as long as you actually scrub it through. While I don’t use Burt’s Bees shampoos I am fully happy with my choice to try to be more environmentaly friendly and with how the product works.
What about the rest of these products??? many have irritant ingredients.
To be honest, I find the debate about Burt’s Bees pretty boring. But the weird picture has got me FREAKED OUT! What do you call that thing, anyway? Is it a Cat-Bee? A Bumble-Kitty? A Honey-Cat?
The photo is so interesting, it really captured my senses. I just hope that product is as interesting as the photo it portrays.
I use Dr Organics – which is 100% organic, it is made out of Aloe Vera juice and is just as good as any chemical shampoo. There are so many brands in the UK that pretend to be ‘organic’ etc but when you take a look at the small print, they aren’t. Very annoying.
I give Burt’s Bees all the credit for turning me onto natural healthcare products. I went to a Burt’s Bees seminar run by a charming 40-ish woman named Sunny (think Sharon Stone but in an all-natural kinda way) who really knew her stuff. Of course, the incentive for going was the free travel-bag of samples you get at the end, but I swear I almost did exactly what she suggested: run home, dump all the crap you’ve ever bought that’s polluting your body as well as your environment and replace it with all-natural Burt’s Bees products! I’ve since discovered many of them simply don’t work as well as Big Pharma products do, so I’ve learned to balance the “bad” stuff I can’t live without (hair/face) with the “good” stuff that doesn’t perform as well (body). This applies to just about every “all natural” product I’ve ever tried, including Burt’s Bees.
Question for you Left…. You say, “We’ll excuse them for not strictly following the labeling conventions in this country (vegetable glycerin, lemon fruit water and the word “organic” are not supposed to be used.”
I’m curious why you would so easily excuse Burts Bees for not using INCI ingredient names, but find major fault with Miessence Certified Organics for doing the same exact thing. Puzzling to me….
I love Burt’s Bees shampoo! As a new mom, I don’t get the luxury of washing my hair everyday, but when I do, I use the Burt’s Bees, either their Color Keeper (I don’t have dyed hair, I just like the way it smells) or their Baby Bee Shampoo & Wash, depending on which one is closer. The shampoo doesn’t feel very viscous, which was very different from every other shampoo that I have used.
As far as effectiveness, I love the shampoos. I tend to shampoo twice, whether it be Burt’s Bees or not, because I tend to go a few days between washing my hair. When I am on a regular schedule of daily shampooings, I don’t need to use it twice.
Thank you for your post on Burt’s Bees! I have been wondering a lot about their shampoo formula, ever since I have started reading this blog. Thank you, Beauty Brains!
Eh, I find Burt’s too darn expensive for too small a product and not at all effective. I’d rather just stick with things I know that work like Panteen that you can buy in bulk for cheap.
I use Dr Organics – which is 100% organic, it is made out of Aloe Vera juice and is just as good as any chemical shampoo.
Uhm, Aloe Vera is a made of chemicals. Honestly, I hope this scientific illiteracy isn’t catching, it seems like every thread about organic or natural products has people saying stuff like this and it’s truly irksome.
If it’s a material made of a specific chemical composition than it’s a chemical. Water itself is a chemical.
Just be sure to watch out for that dihydrogen monoxide, I heard it can drown you and it’s in everything. It’s in all of our bodies! When will Big Pharma learn?
The man named Burt Shavits whom the company is named after makes no profit from this company anymore. Not even his ex partner has any ties to it any longer. The homey feel that Burt’s Bee’s represents is no longer legitimate. Burt’s Bee’s was bought by Clorox in 2007.
I love Burt’s Bees. Not only are they very honest and scrupulous about listing their ingredients, and using cool packaging like paper made of stone powder, but their products smell darn good. Using them always makes me happy. Plus, I’m a sucker for bee motifs.
Bartleby: The original Burt no doubt sold the company for millions of dollars, ensuring his ability to retire a millionaire who no longer has to deal with the stress of running a big company, while still having the benefit of his name being on the famous products. I wouldn’t feel too sorry for him.
“I use Dr Organics – which is 100% organic, it is made out of Aloe Vera juice and is just as good as any chemical shampoo.”
Looking at Dr. Organic’s soap…I do not see any organic seal or even an ingredients list on the website. It is physically impossible to have a 100% organic castile soap because of the alkali used to saponify the soap. While Dr. Organic’s may be classified as “made with organic oils” (although I don’t see any proof of certification) it is not 100% organic.
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