Day 17

Someone once told me that the definition of insanity was doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Well, no more. I can't keep using the products that I am using and expecting to have my hair and skin look better. So I just spent the better part of the day in search of hair care products. Let me just say it easier to find a set of black albino identical twins married to identical Korean twins in Bangkok, China than it is to find natural black hair care products. SERIOUSLY!!!!!!!! I am not making this up.


The ingredients that I was trying to avoid in my shampoo were Sodium Lauryl Sulfate & TEA Lauryl Sulfate.

These ingredients are very harsh on the hair and scalp and are not needed to truly clean the hair. These items strip oils from the hair. Sodium lauryl sulfate is an ingredient in household cleaners (why would I put the same stuff on my hair/scalp that I use to clean my toilet???). Also, diethanolamine or more commonly called DEA, is a suspected carcinogen and one of its derivatives, triethanolamine (TEA) has also been shown to be carcinogenic.

Additionally, I would like to avoid mineral oil and petroleum products. Both of these things clog pores, suffocates skin, causes skin/scalp/hair to become dry once the application wears off because it acts as an impenetrable layer that also causes the skin to produce even less moisture than it should (which is why the petroleum product is usually being put on it in the first place, what a vicious cycle!?!) and it is possibly carcinogenic (do to the way it's manufactured), is a non-renewable source, and is a by-product of the petroleum/oil industry. Also, mineral oil is a petroleum by product that coats the skin similar to plastic wrap, clogging the pores. This stuff interferes with the skin's ability to eliminate toxins, promoting acne and other disorders. Slows down skin function and cell development, resulting in premature aging. Honestly, this stuff belongs in your ENGINE, not on your hair or skin.

I was also trying to aviod any products that contain isopropyl alcohol for the obvious reason that it is very drying. This is a solvent and denaturant (poisonous substance that changes another substances natural qualities). This petroleum-derived substance is also used in antifreeze and as a solvent in shellac. Natural hair reacts very badly to isoalcohol and this ingredient should be avoided at ALL costs. It will dry your hair out and break it off.

So this may just be the scientist/chemist in me but I know FO DAMN SURE that I would not eat anything that has this crap on the ingredients list so again, why I am feeding this junk to my skin/hair???

The thing is most of these items were the second or third listed on the ingredients list and in some cases it was the FIRST (petroleum when I was looking for moisturizers).

Now, with all of that being said guess how many hair care products I looked at which contained one of the ingredients listed above as the first or second thing. JUST ABOUT ALL OF THEM!!!!! Just because something says natural or organic please don't be an idiot. Read the label. Most of the moisturizers and conditioners out there (mostly leave ins) have mineral oil or petroleum as its first or second ingredient. BAD BAD BAD!!!! I picked up every shampoo bottle in the beauty supply store and could not find one that met my needs. Similarly I went through tons and tons of hair/scalp moisturizers and leave in conditioners (cream based) before I found one that I was happy with. Eventually, I ended up going to Target and I found a shampoo that I could live with. I know that I could have gone to Whole Foods but I am on a teacher budget and can't quite afford that stuff just yet.

Below are the products that I ended up buying.


My shampoo which is sulfate free (it smells delicious. just like cake!) and the deep conditioner. My mom use to use this on my when I was a kid.  It really works well for me.  The conditioner does have mineral oil but it is WAAAAAAAAAAAY down on the list.  Plus, I have used this before with excellent results.

The twist n' loc was for my bantu knot twist that I am going to do and the shea butter leave in conditioner which I am also pretty darn pleased with. DO NOT GET THE SHAMPOO...it has just about all of the bad ingredients that I mentioned above.

Moisturizers.

I mixed the oils together in a spray bottle.  The tea tree oil and shea butter I already had.  The shea butter I put on my hair at night or every other night.  Depends.  I also put the shea butter (scented with lavendar petals) all over my skin after I shower at night.  My skin feels so soft and silky in the morning.

Peace, Love & Organix

~GNH~