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Step 1
The products you put on your body go straight to the bloodstream without being detoxified by the liver. Have you ever noticed how your skin drinks up the moisturizer you put on it? The same goes for how your hair soaks up shampoo.
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Step 2
Check out labels and see what ingredients are in the shampoo. Formaldehyde, Bronopol, parabens, phthalates or sodium laurel sulfate are a few ingredients you should avoid. Choose shampoos with essential oils and extracts, such as sweet orange essential oil and vanilla extract. Anything you can't pronounce or are unfamiliar with is probably a chemical.
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Step 3
Most Whole Foods, Trader Joe's or health food stores carry organic shampoos with no pesticides. If they say "paraben-free" or are "cruelty-free" these are great options. Also, make sure the shampoo doesn't come in PVC (polyvinyl chloride--an unhealthy chemical for the skin and body) bottles. PVC is used in the chemical industry to make plastic products, such as water bottles and shampoo bottles! Avoid at all costs!
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Step 4
Now that you've done the hard research and have your list of chemicals to avoid and ingredients to seek, you're ready for the smell test. The scent should be something that keeps you using the shampoo! You won't want to buy and then toss after two applications, so choose olfactory-pleasing scents, such as lemon, orange, lavender or vanilla.
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Step 5
As with regular shampoo, follow the directions to wet hair, lather and rinse thoroughly with warm water. You will only need a quarter-size application, as organic or "pure" shampoos aren't watered down with chemicals.
