Thursday, February 26, 2009

EcoStore USA Rosemary Orange Shampoo Review

photo by Laurence Tucker


If you follow me on Twitter, you know I've been agonizing over a good quality, non-toxic shampoo that won't drain my bank account. First off, be warned that I am a low maintenance kind of girl. I have never, I mean never, purchased shampoo from a salon. I am used to buying the Target version of whatever strikes my fancy at the time. So, no, I am admittedly not brand loyal...to anything! So to say that the prices of natural shampoo shocked me would be an understatement. But I do know it is an important step in my journey to be a darker shade of green, so I say farewell to shampoo that cost me $3.49 a bottle!

The first company I decided to try out, EcoStore USA, has left me pleasantly suprised! I have very thick hair, just long enough to pull into a pony tail, and it gets oily within a day of washing. So despite the Rosemary Orange Shampoo description for thin/oily hair, I decided to solve my main problem, which is oil. I ordered the Shampoo, as well as 2 bars of soap. They came packaged in an appropriate box, without too much packaging. Eco-friendly check #1!
The fact that using my new shampoo excited me is a little sad, I know, but you know that you've done it too! After reading lots of reviews on natural shampoos, I knew to expect the shampoo being a little "watery" and so I used care when squeezing this out. When I just used a little at a time, I was able to adequetely spread it around my thick hair. This can be tricky until you get the hang of it, because this shampoo does not have Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, which is what gives traditional products their lather, but carries with it concerns of cancer. I rinsed, towl dried, and styled, and my hair looked and felt just as good as it does with my traditional products. At $11/6.8oz , it's not cheap, but less expensive than some of the brands you'd buy at a salon, or other natural products. Per their website, here are the ingredients:

Water
Lauryl-glucoside (from glucose)
Derivatives from coconut and palm oil - olefin sulphonate
Laureth-2
Polyol Coconut Fatty Acid Ester
Sodium Hydroxymethyl Glycinate (from natural amino acid)
Citric Acid
Certified Organic Cider Vinegar
Essential oils of Rosemary Cineol, Orange Sweet Organic, Pine Scotch, Sage and Cypress.


I would recommend this product, but will be trying other ones to find my perfect match as well. Any suggestions for my next try? Happy Greening!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I buy shampoo bars from a company called Good Earth. (http://www.goodearthsoap.com/scripts/prodList.asp?idCategory=30) Click the link and scroll past the doggie shampoo =) I have a pixie cut that usually frizzes to high heaven! This shampoo bar is awesome for me...I like it a lot. I cut them in half and keep them in a case to cut down on 'erosion'. A bar usually lasts me 3-4 months and costs around $5. I can usually find them locally, so I don't pay shipping. I appreciate your review of the EcoStore shampoo...I didn't do much research when I started this and now I'm reading more from others...it's nice to know that I'm now weird/alone for quitting conventional shampoo!

Anonymous said...

I actually passed a display at Whole Foods the other day that had natural shampoos priced around 6 bucks..I was in too much of a hurry to really check it out but I feel like there has to be a mistake or a catch!

Anonymous said...

My partner and I use BWC (Beauty Without Cruelty) shanpoo and conditioner that we get at earthfare for $9.99 (although we're often able to get them on sale for $7.99. Each bottle is 16 oz. and a little goes a long way! We really like the dark blue bottles, BWC Daily Benefits shampoo and conditioner (it smells slightly citrusy). Definitely give it a try!