I'm natural. Do I need to detox?

Q: Hi! I've been natural for 6 years, do I need to detox? I use a natural co-wash conditioner that I got from a health food store, so I should be ok, right?

A: 

It doesn't matter if you've been “natural” for 6 days, 6 months, 6 years, or 60 years – the term “natural” is unregulated and therefore means nothing. It is easy for any company or corporation to put the word "natural" on a product, because there is no qualification of that term legally. This is why we are a USDA certified organic company. Our hair wash falls into the "made with organic ingredients" category because there is a good bit of clay in the hair wash, and since clay is an inorganic substance (a mineral), it cannot be called "organic." That being said, all ingredients of every USDA certified organic product must comply with the National Organic Program's list of Allowed and Prohibited Substances. So no random, toxic chemicals can be put into an otherwise "organic" product. Also, the clay we use is not irradiated (treated with radiation) or chemically treated in any way. Remember, with USDA organic products the actual ingredients of the products and also the method by which the product is made must comply with the national standards.

If you want to learn about the different labeling categories of USDA organic certification, check out this post on our Organic News Blog.

If you want to see the National Organic Program's list of Allowed and Prohibited Substances, thisis the link to it.

If you want to see a comprehensive list of USDA certified organic companies, see thiswebpage from the USDA National Organic Program website.

Something else you may find helpful is our own Healthy Person's Guide to Personal Care Ingredients. This web page helps identify commonly found chemical ingredients in lots of conventional shampoos, conditioners, styling products, etc. These are the things you want to avoid!

Last, but not least, you should pick up the bottle of the conditioner you are using and look at the ingredients label. Check to see if any of the nasty chemical compounds from the webpages above can be found on it. Also, see if the actual conditioner itself is certified by an organic certification company (a company can label ingredients as organic without the end product being considered organic). Also, not every product from a company may be certified organic, so you have to inspect each product individually and carefully to ensure its safety for your health and the health of those around you. If the conditioner is not certified organic, then it is not organic and therefore not "natural." Remember, if you need help conditioning or styling your hair while using our hair wash, our Pure Earth Hair Wash is compatible with only USDA certified organic oils and butters. So if that conditioner you are using is not a USDA certified organic product (remember, the USDA is a government agency), then yes, you have to go through detox.

Also, it's important to note that health food stores do not carry exclusively organic, or even truly natural, foods and products – especially in the body care section. So I still highly recommend that you get out your "natural" conditioner (remembering that the word "natural" has no real meaning since it is not regulated) and read the label to see what is in the conditioner. As we say here: "If it doesn't have the [USDA organic] seal, it ain't the real deal!" Our hair wash is compatible with only USDA certified organic styling products, so you can't use other products with it unless they have the official USDA organic seal on the label.

I am including here two more links. One is to our online Hair Wash instructions that are more in depth than the ones sent with your package. The other is to our Hair Help Blog which has lots of great information about detox, hair styling, and conditioning. When using our hair wash, you do not want to use any chemical dyes, conditioning, or styling products. It doesn't matter if you're going through detox or if you finished detox. No matter what, no chemicals should be used on your hair because then you will have to detox again. Remember, the steps outlined in our hair wash instructions (outlined as day 1 wash your hair this many times, day 2 wash it this many, etc.) is just the beginning of detox. Detox, depending on your personal hair history and how often you wash your hair, can last from two weeks to longer. At no point should you revert back to a chemical conditioner because then you'd have to start detox over again.

My child's hair became damaged by swimming in a chemically treated pool. What should I do?

Q: I am writing about my 10 year old daughter's hair.

It's been such a pain to brush her hair, it's all tangled up, and my mother keeps using junk on her hair, so I'm really trying to fix her hair problem.

This summer, we spent some time at a public pool (I know, GASP haha). Well, her hair was really damaged from the chemicals in the pool, and her hair never has seemed to recover (and our last visit was in September and it's now March).

She was getting her hair cut recently, and we found out that she has damaged, fine, hair. Her hair felt filmy, like built up residue was just never getting rinsed off. They suggested using a "clarifier" (a couple times a week) on her hair, maybe something with a little tea tree oil in it (though I haven't really researched this avenue, yet, I figured I'd come to you, first). I tried using Shea butter as a detangler, but it left her hair kind of stringy and oily looking (maybe I used too much?)

I went back to your website, and saw the blog on hair. I did the fragrance- free wash gentle gel wash with a vinegar rinse (as detailed in Step 5 of the Hair Wash Instructions). The results were immediate and AMAZING! So much easier to brush, and it seemed to leave her hair a little shiny. Well, my question is this: how often should I use the fragrance-free gel wash and vinegar rinse? Should I use it every day? Or a couple of times a week? Should I use any mud on her hair? If so, which "flavor?"

Also, when I use the gentle gel bath wash on her hair, do I want that to "lather" up? or just kind of massage it through?

Thank you for any advice or information you can give me.

A:

Thank you for your kind words!

Regarding your questions, many people have used our Gentle Gel and the vinegar rinse as their daily hair cleansing routine for years. You can certainly feel free to use it as frequently as needed. You can also try our Cool Mint Body Wash in place of the Gentle Gel in the hair washing process as, unlike the Gentle Gel which is super-fatted with organic jojoba oil, the Cool Mint has no added super-fatted oil. Some folks with fine and/or straight hair prefer having no added extra oil in their Hair Wash. You could even alternate between the Gentle Gel and the Cool Mint washes. FYI, the Gentle Gel doesn't really have much in the way of foaming capability as it contains no coconut oil – it is a traditional

true castile. Coconut and/or palm oils are the oils that can give a castile soap a sudsing effect, though it is important to note that this sudsing effect has no relation to how a real soap product cleanses. Our

Gentle Gel castile is primarily made from organic extra virgin olive oil and olive oils do not support much foaming. However, even without high lather the olive oil castile is very gentle and effective, and is an excellent cleansing choice for those with infantile, or sensitive, or dry or mature skin.

You can also certainly play with the Hair Wash! For fine, straight or thinner hair, our Fragrance-free or our Cool Mint Hair Wash formulas are the best options.

Unfortunately, pool chemicals and conventional shampoo chemicals can, as you've seen, permanently damage the hair cuticle making the hair very susceptible to splitting, breakage and tangling. Folks with fine hair don't often do well when conditioning with oils and butters unless just the tiniest amount is used. So, literally, use perhaps just one drop or two of an organic oil or butter rubbed between the palms of the hands and massaged or combed through the hair to help smooth splitting, damaged hair.

Truly though, the best remedy for people with finer, straighter and/or thinner hair (and everyone else, really!) to maintain healthy-looking hair is to stay away from chemical hair products (yes, there ain't

nothing natural about "all-natural" shampoos) including shampoos, hair bleaches and dyes, perms, etc.

Oh, and try to avoid swimming in pools treated with chemicals. (There are some pools out there that use salt and/or UV light to keep the water from being overrun with bacteria instead of using the conventional toxic pool chemicals.) To protect one's body and hair from toxic chemicals attacking the hair and skin and to help to prevent some chemicals from penetrating the body, we have often suggested the following:

1. Wear a bathing cap when swimming – there are some natural rubber ones out there.

2. Apply some of our Moisture Cream or, for even more protection, try a touch of our Cocoa Butter Body Creme (which contains organic beeswax and no added fragrance!) to the hair before swimming to help repel the water laced with chemicals. After swimming, to remove any chemical residues and excess Moisture Cream or Body Creme, cleanse the hair (and body) using one of our yummy Body Washes and vinegar rinse method, then repeat the process and/or use the Pure Earth Hair Wash as the second or third cleansing step.

3. Apply our Cocoa Butter Body Creme with organic beeswax to the face and body – all over as a gentle preventative/protective barrier – before swimming to help repel the water laced with chemicals. This has the added benefit of being moisturizing for the skin.

Can I use homemade conditioning oils in my hair while using the Hair Wash?

Q: I like to make my own conditioning oil out of organic cold-pressed, raw coconut oil. Is that ok to use with the Hair Wash?

A:

Organic coconut oil to moisturize one's hair? Sure! Sounds Yummy!

We also highly recommend taking a look at our delicious 100% Certified Organic Super Emollient Moisturizers which are delightful blends of aromatic virgin coconut oil that has been infused with nourishing organic herbs and then blended with heavenly mixes of organic essential oils and organic cocoa butter and sunflower oil! Our divine Super Emollient Moisturizers* are perfect for hair and scalp conditioning and smoothing rough hair. Check them out here .

Our Super Emollient Moisturizers are also wonderful for a warm oil treatment for your scalp and hair. Not only do you get the benefits of moisturizing your hair and scalp, but also you get the chance to wrap a warm, soothing towel around your head for as long as you like. Nothing feels better than that! You can read about the warm oil treatment in Step 6 of our Hair Wash Instructions .  

Also, you should try our 100% USDA Certified Organic Fragrance-free Moisture Cream (which can be found by scrolling down a little bit on this page here ). It is great for styling and conditioning the hair.  

Remember the fact of utmost importance: Only USDA certified organic products are compatible with our Hair Wash! So, hair spray, hair gel, silk protein, and other styling products that aren't USDA certified organic are not ok to use with our Hair Wash!

* Also, please note that our Certified Organic Super Emollient Moisturizers are also great all over your body for super deep moisturizing!

Curly Hair?? There are Ways to Use Our Hair Wash AND Control Your Hair!!

Information about controlling curly hair when using our Hair Wash

Q: I have curly hair that goes crazy if I don't put gel or mousse in it. Will you be coming out with a product that can be used in place of gel or mousse or is there any other product that you would recommend?

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A: Many of our naturally curly-haired customers used a touch of one of our 100% Organic Body Cremes (in the push-up container, and also available as our Four Flavor Body Creme Sampler -- a trial kit of all four flavors) to tame and/or smooth or condition their curly locks.

You can view them on the Body Care section of our web site (scroll down after the Anointing Body Oils...which can also be used to smooth or condition curly hair!).

What's Good for My Hair??

Information about using our Hair Wash along with natural oils

Q: I have just started using your Hair Wash. If I use a little pure almond oil on my hair, would it slow down the detox process?

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A: Completely natural, and unaltered cold-pressed single base oils such as organic almond, organic cocoa butter, organic sunflower, organic coconut or organic jojoba (for example) make excellent hair and scalp conditioners and hair smoothing agents, and are perfectly compatible with our Hair Wash during the detox and after. We recommend trying out our Anointing Body Oils on your hair. They have a certified organic cocoa butter base and smell heavenly!

Life Without Synthetic Conditioners: It's Not Impossible!!

Information about coarse or thick hair and the detox process

Q: I've been using your shampoo for about a week now (and I followed the detox directions when I got started). I have very thick, wavy, coarse hair. The idea of not using any conditioner seemed ridiculous, but I tried it. But it looks like it's not an option for my hair. There is absolutely no way to get a comb through my hair if I don't condition it. I have been using your Cocoa Butter Body Oil, since that's what you recommend for hair, and it only helps a little. I'm really concerned, because I have to comb it out when it's wet, and I'm starting to see some breakage on the ends (I just had a haircut, and normally this takes weeks or months to develop). Do you have any suggestions for my (currently unmanageable) hair?

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A: Please go back to our detox instructions, the complete long version on our web site, and read number five again -- speeding the detox. This step is a very important step, especially for folks with long, thick or damaged hair. Using the Body Wash for a few days and the dilute vinegar and water conditioning/detox rinse can really help such hair types in the early stages of the detox, and with your thick/coarse hair, your detox will likely take a few weeks.

You can also use the vinegar and water rinse as we describe in number five, as needed, along with and after using the Pure Earth Hair Wash as frequently as you'd like, and continue to use a bit of the Anointing Oil for smoothing, if desired. This should help you get through the detox more quickly.