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Is Your Hair Shampoo Organic? Maybe, Maybe Not...

By Dressy Tresses

Last year, consumers spent over $4 billion dollars on cosmetics and beauty products that were labeled as "natural" or "organic." The problem is that these labels are often confusing or even misleading to consumers - and there was no government verification that a hair care product claiming to be natural or organic was indeed living up to this claim.

Until now, that is. In June 2005, the Agriculture Department decided that it would finally begin to apply its strict organic food standards to beauty, cosmetic and personal hair care products. Companies whose products meet the National Organic Program standards would be eligible to display the Ag Department's U.S.D.A Organic seal on their packaging.

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In a perfect world, this would be good news for consumers who often pay more for natural hair care and beauty products compared to similar, non-organic hair care products. And controversy surrounding the potential harmful effects of ingredients like sodium lauryl sulfate, phthalates in hair care shampoos and hair conditioners or inconclusive studies about carcinogenic hair color ingredients seem to be driving many consumers toward natural hair care products.

"At Dressy Tresses, we get questions all the time about natural hair care recipes," says Karlie Eldred, owner of Dressy Tresses. "So the issue of natural hair care is obviously on people's minds more and more."

The problem is, while expanding the Ag Department's organic seal program to hair care and beauty products is a step in the right direction, the regulations covering the use of "natural" or "organic" labels will still be confusing, particularly for hair care products.

For example: in order to qualify for the U.S.D.A Organic seal, hair shampoo, hair conditioners, or other hair care and beauty products must contain 95% or higher natural ingredients. Most hair care products will not get the seal because they mix synthetic and natural ingredients together in the final product. So far, there are only three companies that have qualified some of their products for the organic seal, with one more in the certification stage. The companies are:

• Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps
• Sensibility Soaps
• Aubrey Organics
• Terressentials (in certification stage)

Admittedly, making a hair care or skin care product that is 95% organic is very difficult to do, because synthetic ingredients often do a better or easier job of cleaning, foaming or emulsifying than do natural ingredients. That's why the new regulations allow hair care companies whose products are at least 70% natural to bear labels with the lower, "made with natural ingredients" designation.

And this is where the murkiness of the natural hair care issue really gets interesting. When evaluating a hair care product labeled with the lower "made with natural ingredients" claim, the consumer will have to read the back label carefully. Look for the word "hydrosols" high on the ingredient list as a flag for a hair care product whose "natural" designation has been pushed to get to the 70% level.

This is because water is not considered an "organic" ingredient for determining its percentage of natural ingredients - but hydrosols are. And a hydrosol is merely water that has been steeped in herbs or flowers. So a hair care manufacturer could bulk up on hydrosols in order to get to the 70% level and claim the lower "made with natural ingredients" designation.

Likewise, aloe vera is often used in large amounts to boost organic content to 70% in hair care products. Is this necessarily bad? "Not in our opinion," says Karlie Eldred. "But it does show how the issue can be confused in order to increase a hair care product's appeal to consumers."

To further add to the confusion, hair care manufacturers can use the words "organic" and "natural" in their company names and hair care product brands without any products that are actually certified as organic, according to the Ag Department's standards. The government's new regulation even says that using the word "organic" in a name "does not inherently imply an organic production or handling claim and, thus, does not inherently constitute a false or misleading statement."

So you can see how confusing this issue is likely to remain.

And you should always keep in mind that just because an ingredient is organic, this does not mean necessarily that it is gentle, safe, or effective as part of your hair care routine - even though many consumers believe this to be the case. Some organic ingredients can be allergens, or increase your body's sensitivity to the environment, or clog your pores in ways that a synthetic hair care ingredient may not.

Good examples of how natural ingredients can be bad for you can be found everywhere: "Stinging nettles grow naturally in my back yard," says Karlie Eldred. "But I'd never tell my children to go rub stinging nettle on their skin!"

As with everything, a healthy dose of skepticism goes a long way in evaluating product marketing claims in today's new world of "organic" hair care products.

Thanks for visiting!

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Please note: This article and its accompanying photos and illustrations are the exclusive property of Dressy Tresses and may not be copied, distributed, or used without express written permission.

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