Lavender Jojoba Hair Serum now available in Plastic free refill bottles and new scent.

Aquarian Bath's leave in hair serum is now available in a refill bottle with a metal lid. I also just added a new scent which is currently only available in the refill bottles: Patchouli Mint with Patchouli, Spearmint, and Peppermint essential oils. I have a similar blend that I was using for my hair that is constantly getting comment while I'm in the locker room or as I'm leaving the YMCA. I tried to recreate it as best I could!

Can Shampoo Bars Really Make Your Hair Grow Thicker and Faster?

I have naturally thick hair that I keep long so I can properly test shampoo bars. One of my daughters has my thick hair, but my other daughter has her dad's thin and fine hair.

Sometimes new customers want to know if Aquarian Bath shampoo bars can help hair grow thicker, stronger and faster.  We want to know too, but we are biased. We tend to think that if your hair starts growing better after switching to our shampoo bars, it has more to do with what isn't in our shampoo bars (no SLS, no surfactants, no parabens, no chemical preservatives, no synthetic fragrance) than what is in them. Our way of thinking is that soaps and shampoo aren't really meant to be curative, since they are wash-off products. However if you have been using shampoos with ingredients that have been irritating your scalp and clogging your pores, then you may have been experiencing reduced hair growth. So if you stop using them and switch to shampoo bars, it is possible you may experience improved normal hair growth.

This blog post was inspired by a remarkable story from a customer who wrote the following last week: 

I switched to Organic last year and ordered a set of your soap, deodorant, lip gloss and shampoo. The shampoo from you has caused me to have more hair growth all over my head! My boyfriend kept saying I was cutting my hair, because I had all these short pieces everywhere. No, it's new growth at 40 yrs old! its all over my head! I have been using it twice a week since April last year (Sesame Aloe Lavender shampoo) and I will never use anything else ~ S.J. of Indiana 1/23/16

I checked the ingredients of the $73 specialty dandruff shampoo that S.J. was using previously. There were about 50 ingredients, including a few surfactants, so it is hard to say if one or the other ingredients may have been irritating. I also have to wonder if switching your diet to a 100% Organic can improve hair growth also; it was not clear if that was the case also.

Etsy product feedback Photo credit: Alica Monroe

If you experienced improved hair growth after using our shampoo bars, we would love to know what you were using before, either the product or the ingredients. Please feel welcome to post a comment or send us an email through our contact form on Aquarian Bath. Thank you in advance. We love getting feedback. It helps us make better formulas and make more informed recommendations to customers.

Also, if you are interested in improving hair growth, you might also like our product review for this high frequency device.

Ingredient Spotlight: Henna

Henna is the common name for the shrub Lawsonia inermsis. The plant is best known for its green leaves, which when dried, powdered, and mixed into a paste, are used for skin and hair dying. Other common names for the plant are the Mignonette tree, Egyptian privet and Mehndi. This plant grows as a native shrub in Egypt, India, Iran, Israel, Palestine and  Syria. There plants may reach 8 to 10 feet high or more. The henna plant can also be grown in the United States in USDA growing zones 9b, 10a, 10b, and 11. The plant likes full sun and needs to be taken inside when the weather gets cold. I grew this plant in Daytona Beach for a while. It was growing really well for a while, but if I recall right I did not give it enough water. The plant can also be grown indoors. Cultivation is possible from cuttings or seeds.

Henna is used decoratively and medicinally in India. As a skin dye henna is popular as a wedding body decoration particularly for brides. The bride's hands and soles of her feet are painted in elaborate fertility and floral designs. This plant is also used in traditional Indian Ayurvedic medicine for treatment of skin irritations such as heat rash. Henna leaves and flowers may be applied in external preparations to inflamed skin conditions including burns, boils and sores.

The henna powder was used in ancient times is a hair dye in countries where it grew natively. In the late 1800's it also became popular as a hair colorant in Europe. By mixing the henna with other herbs different shades of color can be achieved, for example Indigo powder can be added to darken the color. You can check out our latest blog post to learn how to dye hair red naturally with henna.