My husband and I together with a friend intentionally visited a Health and Wellness Clinic located in Jackson, Tennessee that sells Herbal products and supplements. Our main plan was to only get Gamma Aminobutyric Acid (GABA) and dopamine for Joshua as a natural and alternative supplement that will eventually replace his allophatic Prescription Drugs.
But as they said "expect the unexpected." When we got to the Clinic we found out that they are also catering natural and herbal products not just for consumption but for personal care, specifically hair shampoos.
The day before going to that place, I mentioned to Joshua that the herbal 2-in-1 shampoo and conditioner we commonly used at the house that was purchased from the grocery store is not really an effective one in terms of cleaning hair, and the fact was it caused hair flakes or in most common term dandruff. We decided to get a herbal shampoo once we found an authentic organic ingredients not knowing that we had opened a "Pandora's box" towards product ingredients.
Year 2011, before Joshua and I got married I had suffered from Alopecia areata, an autoimmune disease in which a person's own immune system attacks their body, and in my case my hair follicles. This condition caused the strands of my hair to fall and I lost some that eventually left two bald spots in my head that were visibly obvious. As a result I always needed to fix my hair overlapping the bald spots for it was embarrassing to see mostly when I was doing a client visitation. It took eight long months for me to grew back my hair in the bald spots. That experience shifted me to become more health conscious and patronize natural and organic products as also influenced by Joshua (now my husband). Natural and organic products boosted my immune system instead of ingesting toxins rich products most specially for my hair use.
But when I migrated here in the United States from Philippines, it was hard for me to locate where to buy hair care that I was using before. So it was really a "eureka moment" for me finding a shampoo with authentic and certified organic Ingredients.
About the product
The shampoo product we bought was a product manufactured and exclusively distributed by Now Solutions. It is called herbal revival shampoo and its functions are for damage control, repairing and strengthening damaged hair, and it is Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) and Paraben free.
According to Livestrong.com, SLS is a cleansing agent that is used in many shampoos because it helps water mix with oil and dirt so it can be rinsed away. But studies showed that it causes fading the color of hair.
What is SLS?
SLS chemically known as surfactants is used as foaming agents, and it is mostly added to personal care products such as shampoos, soaps, toothpaste, bubble-baths, and even children soaps/shampoos. Aside of the fact that it washes-away the natural oil produced by our scalps, according to natural-health-information-centre.com, another alarming thing to consider in buying shampoos with SLS once it is absorbed into the body from the scalp or skin application, it mimics the activity of the hormone oestrogen which might result to many health implications and may lead to a variety of health problems such as stronger Premenstrual Syndrome and Menopausal symptoms to dropping male fertility and increasing female cancers such as breast cancer, where oestrogen levels are known to be involved.
What is Paraben?
According to fda.gov, paraben is the most commonly used preservatives in cosmetics products including hair care products. Preservative are being added in the cosmetics to stop the growth of fungus, bacteria and microbes protecting the consumer and at the same time maintaining product integrity. Though paraben have been studied as inducers of breast cancer, but carcinogenic effects have not been proven (Source: International Journal Of Cosmetic Science).
Still, it is consumers' rights to have thorough awareness about the ingredients present in the products they are patronizing and using daily. It is a mandate that all products being sold in retail print on labels information informing the complete list of all ingredients. Though, it is one's responsibility to be educated and to understand what makes the ingredients harmful or not.
Photo credit: www.nowfoods.com
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