Wednesday 15 July 2015

Hair Update

WARNING: Although discussing brands of shampoo this is NOT a sponsored post. I DON'T DO THEM! I have not been given the products, nor been paid for using them. These are my own honest thoughts! I simply put SLS free shampoo into my search engine and trawled through the results before buying.

I have been using my new SLS and Parabens free shampoo for 3 weeks or 4 washes, DB has used it twice so far. We both have different types of hair. Mind is slightly coarse, thick but rapidly thinning:(  his is fine and flyaway. I can just about get away with washing every 5 or 6 days, DB usually 2 or 3.

The first one I chose was a shampoo by this company here. It has lavender and chamomile in it and smells gorgeous. It does foam but nowhere near as much as a normal shampoo. I gather foam is lacking in most of these shampoo's, time will tell. I use about a 10p size portion of shampoo and wash once.

I had been warned by others on-line that it takes time for your hair to adjust to these types of shampoo. From a feel point of view when dry, this 4th wash has felt the best. My hair is softer than of late and a little more shiny, seems to make no difference whether I use a vinegar wash as a conditioner or not.

However, its one and only drawback is when your hair is wet, it just feels odd. Neither of us can find the word to describe it, but claggy, tacky or heavy are the three closest. Careful brushing is required to make the brush actually go through easily. It doesn't tangle, it just feels as though there is something still on your hair, preventing  the normally slick  passage of a brush of wide toothed comb. DB says the same.

He dries his hair every time whereas I mainly air dry. As mentioned before, once dry it is fine but it wasn't the first two times of being used. It was soft on those first two but still odd. However, DB's hair looks good, not as flyaway as normal which is a good thing. Our scalps look good as well, no minute flakes of skin to be seen on either of us.

My scalp for the most part, has just about stopped itching. I went SLS free because I constantly itch and it drives me mad. Someone had suggested it could be SLS. I have tried all manner of things from the doctor and chemist. Conditioner seemed to be the main culprit hence the vinegar rinse as a replacement. Eventually though, the itchiness would return.

With this shampoo, I am almost itch free for about 3 days then have intermittent itching afterwards.

SLS and other compound free shampoo's are not cheap, this one being just under £8 plus P. & P. We have decided to try another make, to see how it compares from this company. Does it have a similar feeling when wet, how it is when dry and will my scalp remain itch free?

Watch this space. 

10 comments:

  1. I don't know how they compare price-wise but I use Liz Earle shampoo which is SLS free and has settled down my itchy, scaly scalp beautifully. I use her shower gel too - so kind on the skin. All natural stuff and made on the Isle of Wight I think.

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    1. Thanks for that though her products are £10 for 200ml whereas the latest one I am trying by Handmade Naturals is £7.25 for 250 ml of shampoo and £8.95 for the conditioner. I will report on my new stuff in a while.

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  2. Thank goodness we don't have any problems using off the shelf shampoo.

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    1. I have had problems for years so I hope this solves it completely.

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  3. Boots Earth Friendly Baby Shampoo is paraben free and is only £4.25, it is great for my very fine hair xxx

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    1. Thanks for that Fran, I will also check it out.

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  4. I'll be following your experiments with interest, I often get an itchy scalp. Rather weirdly it's best after I've just dyed it. Perhaps the bleach in the dye strips my scalp of the SLS and parabens build up, well that's all I can think of.

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    1. Like you I have dyed hair but have to put up with the products my hairdresser uses. I am hoping to correct that eventually. I gather for some people that it can be the silicones in the conditioner.

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  5. I have tried many different hair products to combat a sore and itchy scalp; even red spots have appeared at times! Then I tried the following and, much to my surprise, it worked. I have tried the conditioner,too and have had no problems with it. Both leave my hair shiny and scalp is itch-free!
    http://www.hollandandbarrett.com/shop/product/dr-organic-manuka-honey-shampoo-60083593

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    1. Thanks for that, well done on finding something to sort out your scalp. Wonderful isn't it to find something!

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