Ximena asks…I’ve also decided to go the most natural with my shampoos. With my fine hair I’ve never had a problem removing dirt and grease, never needed anything strong to make it stay clean and I wash it every other day although it can go for two days with no wash if I use a dry shampoo. I’ve started to make my own castille soap making sure everything is very measured so it’s the mildest possible but I find that, for my hair, it leaves a bit of a waxy feeling in the roots. After that I tried Dr. Organic Aloe Vera shampoo. I don’t use it pure though as I think it lacks silicones and the hair ends up quite rough when wet: I mix equal parts of shampoo and filtered water and a few drops of olive oil. It leaves my hair perfect and no conditioner needed (even in my damaged hair!). I want to try and do the same mixture using Dr. Bronner’s pure liquid castile soap since it has less ingedients (hence I asume milder?). Please, can you let me know, based on the the ingredients, which one seems to be better for hair?
The Right Brain responds:
As regular readers of the Beauty Brains already know, “natural” doesn’t necessarily mean the product is better for your hair or skin. Your question is a good example of why that’s the case. To explain, let’s look at the the ingredients for the products in question.
Shampoo ingredients
Dr. Organic Aloe Vera Shampoo
Aloe barbadensis leaf extract, Aqua (water), Sodium lauroyl sarcosinate, Sodium cocoamphoacetate, Cocamidopropyl betaine, Shea butteramidopropyltrimonium chloride, Coco glucoside, Glyceryl oleate, Parfum, Sorbitan sesquicaprylate, Olea europaea leaf extract, Citrus medica, limonum peel extract, Vitis vinifera leaf extract, Thymus vulgaris leaf extract, Foeniculum vulgare seed extract, Potassium sorbate, Ribes nigrum, Ascorbic acid, Sodium hydroxymethylglycinate, Citric acid, Amyl cinnamal, Benzyl salicylate, Geraniol, Hydroxycitronellal, Linalool.
Dr. Bronner’s liquid castile soap
Water, Organic Coconut Oil, Potassium Hydroxide, Organic Olive Oil, Organic Hemp Oil, Organic Jojoba Oil, Citric Acid, Tocopherol.
The Dr. Organic product uses a surfactant blend that’s milder than the typical sodium laureth sulfate based formulas commonly used in shampoos. There’s not a lot of conditioning agents in this formula so we’re not surprised that you’re tempted to add to touch of olive oil. If you don’t need a lot of deep cleansing, this product should be perfectly fine for your hair.
The Dr. Bronner product is based on soap instead of synthetic surfactants. That means it’s made by reacting fatty acids (from plants or animals) with an alkali material. So in that sense it is more “natural.” However “natural” soap isn’t necessarily better for your hair.
What does soap do to your hair?
If you’ve ever used regular bar soap on your hair you’ll notice that it leaves hair feeling kind of raspy. This could be the “waxy” feeling that you describe. That’s because soap can strip the natural oils from your hair and, if you have hard water, can actually deposit an insoluble film on your hair that feels harsh and looks dull. Synthetic surfactants were created to over come those issues so they make your hair feel better.
The Beauty Brains bottom line
If you want to buy products that are as natural as possible, go with Dr. Bronner. But if you want your hair to feel better, we’d recommend Dr. Organic.
Have you ever used bar soap on your hair? Leave a comment and share your experience with the rest of the Beauty Brains community.
Image credit: Fetosoap.com
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{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
I really like Dr. Bonners body wash. I did not know that he made shampoo too. I recently switched over to shea moisture but I may have to try Dr. Bonners line. Thank you for the post.
I love natural products!
Ximena: Natural soap isn’t worth it as a shampoo!
I know people all over the world still do it, and it’s been done for thousands of years before chemical surfactants came into the picture, but it takes far too much work to turn liquid lye soap into a decent shampoo, and I have yet to find a way to do it with completely natural ingredients.
Ironically enough, I was experimenting with Dr. Bronner’s mostly while I was on the quest for the perfect sulfate free shampoo. For your hair to not get gummy, you have to add so many conditioners & additives to it that it barely lathers or cleans. And there’s no possible way to get the ph down low enough that it’s good for your hair. You pretty much have to use a slightly acidic conditioner afterwards, but that still never gets rid of the sticky/gummy sensation completely. I actually never knew what the phrase “build up” meant until I tried this.
Trust me: It’s not worth the trouble! Assuming you use a good moisturizer afterwards, soap is only good for cleaning skin. Not hair.
Thank you so much Brains and Littlebird. It makes sense what you say aboyt hard water since I live in London and we have one of the hardes waters :S That waxy/gummy feeling is so weird! I agree with Littlebird that you don’t know what buildup is until you see that! Haha. I even rinse my hair with water and lemmon juice afterwards but it doesn’t help much.
And BTW, is it a good idea to do that? Water and lemon juice as a final rinse? I’ve read that it helps to close the cuticules of your hair so it’s shinnier and less prone to breakage. Any truth there or just another old wives tale?
My hair is medium texture, slight wave, brown with some gray.
I have used bar soap on my hair for two years now. I’ve used Dr. Bronner’s, GoatBoy goat milk soap, Heart of Iowa soap, J R Liggett, and even a Bay Rum Clay shaving bar [yeah, I was desperate that day].
After washing I follow with an ACV rinse, two tablespoons ACV to one cup of water. If i need a little conditioner I’ll use a very light application of coconut oil. My hair is soft, manageable and in great condition.
A vinegar, or lemon juice rinse for blondes, usually helps reduce the funky hair syndrome that a lot of people experience. My hair has less tangles now than when I used shampoo and conditioner. I tried co-washing but that was gummy.
I have less hair in my hairbrush. And I do not have to wash my hair as often.
With a little research on line, a person can find a method that works for them.
I feel fortunate that I can use soap and a vinegar rinse which works well for me. I have suffered no build up. Soap can work to wash hair.
Oh wow. I never tried the vinegar/lemon juice/ect. rinse afterwards because my grandma always complained that it made the top of her head and neck sunburn more easily.
If it’s getting the soap scum out of your hair, then more power to you! It sounds like your regimen is much cheaper than relying on commercial products. And it’s more biodegradable, too.
The only thing I would be worried about is a chance of increased sun sensitivity, (anecdotal, lol) but if you’re wearing a hat outdoors you should be fine. I’ve never been able to find the perfect combination of natural ingredients that works for my own hair, but I’m sure that advise will help others.
I was prompted to come to this website from the chemistry blog Point of Interest. I tried a bunch of ‘Shampoo Bars’ before I started making soap professionally. I came to realize that most of the people hawking them had short hair! Soap is very alkaline and you hair is very acid, more acid if it has been chemically treated. In simplistic terms, soap and hair just don’t go well together, and those people with longer hair will always need an acidic rinse (like lemon juice or vinegar) to get that gummy feel of soap out of their hair and lower the pH. There are lots of very gentle shampoos on the market with lots of nutrients, which you just won’t find even in the best soap, so start reading labels and go for a shampoo with a gentle surfactant, and NOT Sodium Laurel/Laureth Sulfate/Acetate. I talk a little about why soap is not your hair’s friend on my website.
I have been using shampoo bars from Chagrin Valley Soap & Salve. I do like some of them, but others leave my hair feeling waxy and stringy. Are ALL shampoo bars no good? I’m wondering if I should just switch back to liquid shampoo…