Green Shampoo

Who doesn’t love a good shampoo? There’s something about massaging soapy, foamy bubbles into your hair and scalp that just feels great! But what you might not know is what is in those foamy bubbles you’re rubbing into your hair, that are dripping down your body and eventually ending up back in the environment. It's ultimately up to you to decide what "green shampoo" means to you. Green Shampoo can come in a recyclable bottle, is sulfate-free, is DEA free, is free of synthetic dyes, is 100% Vegan, 100% Biodegradable, 100% Alcohol free and organic. Your ideal green shampoo may be one of the above mentioned, a combination of a few, or all of the previously mentioned green traits.

Let’s talk about those foamy bubbles first. A super lathering shampoo is not necessary to cleanse the hair and scalp. All that excess lather is just to make you think your shampoo is working properly. The lather is actually created by having sulfates in the shampoo. If you’re switching to a green shampoo for the first time, it will probably be sulfate-free, and therefore lather-free. Don’t worry! It’s still working! You’re hair and scalp are still getting cleaned and refreshed and that’s one less icky chemical going into your skin and down the drain.

Now, if you’ve got a shampoo that is sulfate-free, that’s great! But watch out! Sometimes, when a company removes sulfates from their formula, they’ll add in salt (sodium chloride). Salt can be worse for your hair than the sulfates! So read the label! Salt is abrasive, if you wash your hair with a salt-containing-formula, you’re actually creating friction on your hair (think of an exfoliating scrub on your hair…yikes!). Not to mention that it is moisture-depleting.

Products, like shampoo, cannot exist without having some kind of preservative in the formula to keep the product from separating and going bad. There are “globally approved preservatives” and other natural preservatives that are okay for your hair and the environment. The bad preservatives are called parabens and DMDM hydantoin.

Ultimately, you need to decide what green means to you, what your hair needs, and what you are or aren’t willing to compromise on. We’ve listed several different products below, from different product lines, by what their level of green is. Whether you’re looking for something that is paraben-free, sulfate-free and DEA free, or just something that comes in a recyclable bottle, there’s something for everyone. Every little bit helps, and we support everyone who goes green in their own way. To read about the specific green hair product lines we carry, check out our Green Hair Products page.

Green Shampoo

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Level 1 Green Shampoos Recyclable - Water Soluble

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