A few months ago, I became obsessed with the idea that I had to use organic shampoo and conditioner. I wanted to be healthier! Organic shampoo was healthier! If I kept using regular shampoo, my scalp would start to rot!
I went to Wholefoods and bought two different organic shampoo/conditioner sets. My organic shampoos were paraben free! and sulfate free! with no phthalates or petrochemicals! I have no idea what a paraben is! Or a phthalate! But they sound scary!
I assumed it would take my hair a few months to adjust to this healthier regime, but in the end, my hair would thrive. This was a stupid assumption. My hair despised the organic products. The longer I used organic shampoo, the more my hair resembled a bale of hay. If I had kept this experiment up until October, I could easily have dressed up as a scarecrow for Halloween - everyone would have assumed I was wearing a straw wig, but it would have just been my hippie-dippy paraben-deprived hair.
So I cracked. Maybe parabens and phthalates are seeping into my scalp, but I doubt it. The shampoo sits on my head for a minute, tops, and I apply the conditioner to my hair ends. Am I really supposed to believe that this routine is going to give me cancer? I think this is just a scare tactic used as a marketing strategy by organic companies.
When I returned to regular shampoo, loaded with good old fashioned sulfates and parabens, my hair rejoiced. I went on a bender at a beauty supply shop with my sister and bought several new shampoos. After the hippie ordeal I subjected it to, my hair deserves some pampering.
p.s. Spellcheck does not recognize the words "paraben" or "phthalate." Interesting, very interesting.
