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| Vanilla Lavender Shampoo Bar Soap by Aquarian Bath |
Aquarian Bath's hard-water friendly shampoo bar soaps are formulated with saponified oils of Organic coconut, Organic olive oil, shea butter, and castor oil. Usually people with natural hair have very good results with our shampoo bar soaps, so a while back when a customer said their hair was feeling gummy, dull, and lifeless, we suspected that another product was interfering. Usually our natural shampoo bars give hair lots of bounce, volume, and shine. I asked about other other products, and our customer told me that the only other product she used with her hair was a Dead Sea Salt Spray. Ah ha! I knew immediately what the problem was. Dead Sea Salt is mineral rich. Some of these minerals are what is filtered out by using expensive specialty shower filters. These filters prevent soap scum build up in the tub, or ring around the tub, which is a product of natural soaps mixing with hard water. Technically that means Calcium or Magnesium ions mixing with Fatty Acids. The majority of our shampoo bars are formulated carefully to work well with hard water, but adding salt spray to hair freshly washed with natural shampoo bars will gum up the works, so to speak. Soap scum is the last thing you want in your hair! We suggested to the customer who was having problems to try instead to use a diluted vinegar rinse after washing with one of our shampoo bars, or to use a standard surfactant shampoo to clear the salt-soap build up, and to then avoid using salt spray with our shampoo bars for future washes. These were her results: Yay! I mixed up an Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV)/lavender rinse and sprayed it on my hair after using the neem bar and my hair is finally happy! The bar cured my lifetime scalp itch and the ACV keeps my curls shiny and soft! I will never use synthetic products again! Great idea!
Some shampoo bars from other companies are not shampoo bar soaps, because they contain a very high concentration (as much as 90%) of surfactants such as Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) instead of saponified oils. Those shampoo bars will work with salt hair sprays because their chemistry is more like a regular shampoo. However, there are two other concerning drawbacks about SLS. First, SLS is often a product of Palm Kernel Oil. This Palm oil is produced in countries where corporations are recklessly destroying rainforest at the expense of endangered species and the climate. The rate of forest destruction is alarming, and it needs to stop. Second, research has shown that people with skin sensitivities may have their skin problems exacerbated from using SLS products. One customer told us that their scalp changed from oily to dry and irritated after using a SLS-based shampoo bars. Another customer with normal scalp said that their scalp itched from the SLS shampoo bar after only one use.
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| NASA satellite image, Malayasia |
