It’s time for Fun Find Friday yet again. Hope everyone has had a wonderful week!
Non Toxic Hair Care
As you know from my first FFF post, I am constantly on the hunt for non-toxic cosmetic products. What you may not already know is that I worked in the cosmetic industry for 11 years, before I started studying nutrition. Because of that background, I have a very conflicted relationship with beauty and hair products now. I want them to be clean clean clean, I am truly disgusted by what is considered normal in the beauty industry and the ingredients of some of the products out there, even the ones that market themselves as ‘plant based’ and high end. But, I also want them to be high performance. I don’t just want to use any old thing as long as it’s non-toxic and hope for the best with the way my hair looks or my skin feels.
Consequently, I have lots of compromises, lots of high hopes and lots of disappointments, as I explore this area.
Hair Woes
Hair care is particularly difficult for me because I have ‘difficult’ hair. Neither curly nor straight, and very fine with also with plenty of frizz. I have had many chemical straightening and a few brazilian-blow-dries over the years, which I loved, until I knew what was in them. None of the natural hair care brands I’ve used over the last few years have been very good for me and I have swung between using them and more chemical ones as I tried to weigh up performance over health-conscience. Because I have had chronic fatigue and multiple chemical sensitivity in the past, plus the autoimmunity, I do feel very strongly about using non-toxic products and having a non-toxic home, but when it comes to my hair, I found it much harder to use something just because it was non-toxic if I hated the results (and folks, I really gave some things a good run for the money. Maybe I’ll write about my experience with the no-poo method sometime, just to make you all laugh).
Pleasantly Surprised!
Well, I recently thought I’d give yet another new brand a try, and so far I have to say I’ve been pleasantly surprised!
The dispensary where I buy my professional supplements, stocks John Masters Organics and I decided to give them a whirl and see if they were better than what I was currently using, and they definitely are.
I bought the Honey and Hibiscus shampoo, Lavender and Avocado conditioner and sea-salt-spray, and they are all lovely!
My hair feels clean, not stripped and is well moisturised and not frizzy (in as much as my hair can be) and not limp.
The products have a slightly stronger fragrance (from essential oils) than I usually love, but it’s only while I’m using them and it doesn’t actually bother me. I can’t smell them in my hair afterwards, which has been a problem before for the MCS. They actually also do a completely fragrance-free set, which is a good option for those that need it.
Downside?
The only thing I don’t really love about these products so far, is that they contain wheat-germ-oil. Wheat germ oil is refined, so any protein is supposedly removed in that process, and it is usually labelled as gluten-free, meaning that any residual or cross-contaminated levels found are below the 20ppm threshold. I usually prefer my products to be 100% wheat and gluten free, and I might actually do a test in a few weeks and see if my immune system is reacting to this product, for interest sake. My skin is fine with it so far.
So there you have it. I feel like I finally found something that works for my hair and doesn’t contain a ton of nasty ingredients in order to do that. If the wheat-germ-oil doesn’t work out I’ll be pretty glum.
As usual, I paid for these products myself and the company doesn’t know I am writing this review. If they do find out though and want to send me some free products, I’m open to it! haha (but seriously, yes please).
Please do hit me up with your best hair-care recommendations! And if you have used any of the no-poo methods out there, let me know about your experiences!!
Have a great weekend everybody.
Robyn Puglia
Robyn is a Clinical Nutritionist with a specialised interest in the Functional Medicine approach to health. Robyn is very involved with the field of Coeliac Disease, Gluten-Reactive Disorders and Autoimmune Disease. Her passion for the healing power of food, has led her to work with complex cases, involving multiple diagnoses, and chronic health issues such as ME, auto-immune diseases and fibromyalgia. She also has a passion for working with the growing tide of chronic, lifestyle mediated illness; diabetes, cardiovascular disease and obesity, and runs a lifestyle intervention clinic for these issues. Robyn works with patients to nutritionally support their bodies, so that they can heal. She has successfully helped many people around the world improve their health and increase their quality of life. Robyn sees clients in London, Tokyo and New York, and has a virtual practice that allows her to work with people all over the world.
