Showing posts with label shampoo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label shampoo. Show all posts

Saturday, July 19, 2014

African Black Soap Update

Hey, beautiful people!  In a previous post, I talked about how I wanted to try African Black Soap as a cleanser to see how it worked for my hair.  Well, I've been using it almost exclusively for a couple months now and I LOVE IT!  It leaves my hair soft and clean, and I also use it as body wash.  Plus, it is cheaper than any of my other cleansers.  I can get a 32 oz bottle of the Dr. Woods Black Soap for $13 on Amazon.  I have learned that if I use too much of this black soap undiluted, then it can be a little stripping.  So, lately, I've been mixing it with water for my hair, which makes it last even longer.  I tried a 1 part black soap with 7 part water mix; but, this is too thin to make it manageable for me in the shower, though it was still cleansing.  I think, I may do a 3:5 ratio for a little thicker mixture.

Also, I've been watching Youtube videos lately to see if I want to try making my own black soap shampoo, which would be even cheaper.   You can get a pound of solid black soap for about $5-$8 to mix with water and oil.  A little of the solid goes a long way.  Here are some Youtube videos that I have found for inspiration:


With this discovery and my no-buy, I'm giving up shampoo altogether for now, with the exception of my chelator shampoo.


Do you use black soap to wash your hair?  What do you think?

Saturday, June 14, 2014

Product Review: Alikay Naturals CoWash Me Cleansing Conditioner



Price:  $13 for 8 oz. / $22 for 16 oz.

Ingredients:  Coconut Oil Extracts, Apricot Kernel Oil, Wheat Protein, Behentrimonium Methosulfate, Silk Amino Protein, Herbal and Botanical Blend

Promise:  Formulated to be gentle enough for daily use on curly, kinky or straight hair.  Leaves hair soft, moisturized, clean and easy to detangle.  Hair will feel and smell great!  This Product is 100% Natural and 90% Organic.  Cleans hair without the stripping it of natural oils caused by sulfates.

Scent:  Like strawberry lemon starburst or skittles

Consistency:  It was very runny.  It almost ran off my hand mid picture.


Results:  My hair definitely did not feel stripped.  However, I’m not sure this cleansed my hair at all because my hair didn't feel any cleaner after using it and I can't really tell which ingredient is the cleansing agent.  It was a great conditioner, though.  This had lots of slip and was great for detangling.  Unfortunately, I run through conditioner way too fast to ever use this as just a good conditioner.  I used up the 8 oz. bottle in about 2 washes.  After the second wash, I only had enough for 1/4 of my hair.  If I had a smaller head of hair, I would add this to the regular rotation.  Maybe, if I have a daughter, I will use it on her, if I can figure out what is in the “herbal and botanical blend”.


Love it, Like it or Leave It:  Like it. 

Saturday, April 19, 2014

Clarifying vs. Chelating

Hey, beautiful people!  In my search for cleansers, I forgot about something pretty important and I wasn’t reminded of it until recently by a fellow forum member -- clarifying and chelating.

Clarifying is a deep clean where you are removing buildup from the surface of the hair, including dirt, oil, gel and silicones.  Think of it as a very intense shampooing.  You should do this if it feels like your staple products have stopped working.  You may also want to clarify if you are trying out new products, so you can see how it works without the benefit of residue from your prior products.  Some people clarify on a schedule, like once a month, but I personally just clarify when my hair needs it (i.e., my products aren’t working, my hair feels gross or I know I used a lot of gel or other product in my last style).  Good clarifiers include:
  • Sulfate shampoo (not an option for me)
  • “Clarifying” shampoo (these use ingredients that are just as strong as sulfates)
  • African Black Soap (my preferred clarifier)
  • Apple Cider Vinegar (my alternate)
  • Baking soda
  • Aritha ayurvedic powder
  • Bentonite clay
Chelating is not the same.  Chelating goes one step further than clarifying to remove metals and minerals from the hair.  You should do this periodically if you have hard water to remove the mineral deposits, like magnesium and calcium, or if you are a swimmer to remove the chlorine.  Don’t chelate if you don’t have to because it is guaranteed to strip your hair.  You can find out more about hard water on the U.S. Geological Survey website and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency website.  A good way to determine if you have hard water is to check here where some counties post their annual drinking water quality reports online.  You can also buy test trips at your local home improvement store.  Good chelators include:
  • "Chelating" or “Swimmer’s" shampoo
  • Citric Acid a/k/a sour salt
  • Phytic Acid
  • Shampoo containing EDTA

I checked my county’s quality report, which said that my area has moderately hard water.  I then bought some teststrips online, and I actually have very hard water.  Thankfully, I already deviated from my no-buy to purchase Aubrey Organics Swimmer’s Shampoo because it was on clearance (they are discontinuing the old label) and I know my son and I will be swimming this summer, so I will probably use that this weekend.

It probably goes without saying, but I will say it anyway.  After clarifying or chelating, be sure to condition your hair so that it is not left in the stripped state.

Do you clarify or chelate?  How often?

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

The African Black Soap Experiment

Hey, beautiful people!  As you probably know if you have been reading my blog, I’m currently on a no-buy.  This means that I have been trying to avoid purchasing any new products until I hit my goals.  I am currently out of shampoo, though I still have four co-washes with cleansing agents.  Normally, the co-washes are enough to cleanse my hair.  However, the other day, I experimented with a setting lotion that left flakes in my hair and I wanted to make sure I thoroughly cleansed my hair to get it all out.  I didn’t want to buy a shampoo, so I had to get creative with what I had around the house.  That is when I decided to try my african black soap body wash on my hair.  I will do a formal review after I try this a few more times, but I just had to mention that it worked!  My hair felt clean, yet soft.  If this consistently works for my hair, I may stop buying shampoos and just use this and my beloved As I Am Coconut Co-wash (I know I need to do a review on this as well).  I’m excited!


Have you ever tried black soap as shampoo?  What did you think?

Saturday, March 1, 2014

Product Review: She Scent It Blueberry Co-wash Conditioner

Price:  $12 for 9 oz.

Ingredients:  Purified Water, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Marshmallow Root Extract, Rice Bran Oil, Avocado Oil, Behentrimonium Methosulfate and Cetearyl Alcohol, Stearalkonium Chloride, Yucca Root Extract, Cetrimonium Chloride, Vegetable Glycerin, Blueberry Seed Oil, Panthenol Vitamin B5, Fragrance, Germall Plus, Lactic Acid.

Promise:  From the bottle - “Blueberry Co-Wash Conditioner is a rich nourishing conditioner that moisturizes while gently cleansing by using the extracts of Yucca Root.  It is a wonderful blend of conditioners, oils and botanical extracts meant to give your hair a true spa-like experience.  Hair is left soft, detangled and frizz free.”

 Scent:  Blueberry candy (light scent)


 Consistency:  Light, thin, almost serum-like.  If I told you the first analogy that popped into my head, you would think I was being inappropriate.

Results:  This is one of my two favorites from the She Scent It line.  I was skeptical at first about whether the yucca root would be able to clean my hair, but it really does!  I have been using this product as my cleanser almost exclusively for about a month and a half, and I have not experienced any buildup.  Also, a little goes a long way.  I still have about a third of the bottle left.  It also helps me detangle before I even put in my rinse out.  Can you tell I'm a fan?

Love it, Like it or Leave It:  Love it.

Saturday, February 15, 2014

Cleansing Agents Part 2

Hey, HHJs!  In my last post, I talked about the three types of surfactants usually used in cleansers:  anionic surfactants (negative charge), zwitterionic / amphoteric surfactants (hybrid charge), and nonionic surfactants (no charge).

This post is about some of the cleansing agents in these three categories to look for.  Based on what I’ve read, here is a list of some cleansing agents to look for in a cleansing conditioner or a shampoo:

Anionic surfactant-based products include:

 Zwitterionic / Amphoteric surfactant-based products include:
  • Cocamidopropyl betaine aka cocobetaine or cocabetaine (used in Burts Bees Baby Shampoo and Jessicurl Hair Cleansing Cream)
  • Sodium lauroamphoacetate (used in Ouidad Curl Co-wash)

 Nonionic surfactant-based products:

 Some cleansing products may also contain citrus fruits, such as lemon or orange extract, or contain apple cider vinegar, which break up oil.  Also, some cleansing products may contain plant-based ingredients that are high in saponins.  For example, SheScentIt’s Blueberry Co-wash Conditioner contains yucca root.  Wikipedia has a long list of plant-based soap substitutes, which can be found here.  I know that yucca root is a surfactant, but I’m not sure what kind.  I’ve seen some articles refer to it as anionic and some refer to it as non-ionic. 

Finally, some cleansing conditioners may contain clays that have cleansing properties, such as kaolin, bentonite, rhassoul (also called ghassoul), or green clay.  While it is not marketed as a cleansing conditioner, I’ve found that Shea Moisture’s Purification Mask feels like it cleanses my hair.  It contains both African black soap and kaolin clay.

Based on personal experience, I can’t use shampoos containing sodium laurel sulfate, olefin sulfate or sodium lauroamphoacetate.  These cleansers are too harsh for my hair, so I avoid them.  Thus far, my hair seems to like sodium cocoyl isethionate; cocamidopropyl betaine; decyl glucoside; and PEG-40 castor oil, which are all mild cleansers.

If you can’t figure out the cleansers in your product, look for the INCI name, which may give you a clue.  SwiftCraftMonkey also has a wonderful chart of surfactants and a 17-page document walking through some of the key ones.

What are some of your favorite surfactants for cleansing your hair?

HAPPY CLEANSING!!!

Saturday, February 8, 2014

Cleansing Agents In Shampoos And Cleansing Conditioners

Hey fellow HHJs!  I recently finished up all of the shampoo that I have in my stash, but I still have a number of cleansing conditioners.  Since I’m on a no buy challenge, my dilemma has been whether to borrow some of my hubby’s stripping shampoo or just stick to these cleansing conditioners.  My concern with cleansing conditioner has always been whether it would be cleansing enough.  I have always loved the As I Am Coconut Co-wash, which feels like it cleanses.  I also tried the Ouidad Curl Co-wash, which was a little too stripping for my hair.  However, I've heard rumors that some of the other co-washes are basically the same as regular conditioner.  So, I decided to do a little research to figure out what makes a cleansing conditioner different from a regular, rinse out conditioner.  To avoid making the post on my research too long, I’m going to break it out into two parts.  This part will talk foundation for what makes a great cleanser.  The second part will talk about specific cleansing ingredients to look for.

First off, let’s start with two basic concepts.  The purpose of a shampoo is to cleanse, which includes binding to dirt and oil to remove it.  The purpose of a rinse out conditioner is to balance ph levels and coat the hair cuticles to make it easier to detangle the hair.  In other words, while shampoo binds to oil, conditioner binds to hair.  I assume that the goal of an effective co-wash / cleansing conditioner is be a hybrid of the two.  With that in mind, I’m not as concerned with the conditioning portion of a cleansing conditioner, as I am about the cleansing portion.

In terms of cleansers, the active ingredient for removing dirt and oil from the hair is a surfactant.  Surfactants are great for two reasons.  First, they are great because they have two parts, one part that is water loving (hydrophilic) and one part that loves fat (lipophilic) and fears water (hydrophobic).  The fat-loving part is what binds to oil to remove it.  If you really want to know more about the structure of surfactants, the Natural Haven has two really great articles on this (here and here), so I’m not going to get more complex than that.  The important thing to know, for purposes of finding a proper cleanser, is that surfactants bind to oil and carry it away.

The second reason that surfactants are great is that many of them have a negative charge, which means that hair strands repel them, rather than holding on to them, because hair also has a slightly negative charge.  Remember that old saying that opposites attract?  It applies to hair too. 

Thus, there are three types of surfactants usually used in cleansers:  anionic surfactants (negative charge), zwitterionic / amphoteric surfactants (hybrid charge), and nonionic surfactants (no charge).  The stronger the negative charge, the better for cleansing hair.  Thus, anionic surfactants are the strongest cleansers, followed by zwitterionic, and then nonionic.  Positively charged (cationic) surfactants are almost never used as cleansers because they bind to the hair, rather than being repelled.  Have you guessed yet what kind of surfactant the conditioning agent BTMS contains?

In my next post, I will run through some common anionic, zwitterionic, and nonionic surfactants to look for in cleansers.

HAPPY CLEANSING!!
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