I’m continuing my search for the best natural shampoos. I’ve been using Eco Nature Care Natural Hair and Body Wash this week. 

Eco Nature Care natural shampoo appeals to the masses and is priced accordingly—$10.99 for 10 ounces. Photo Courtesy Eco Nature Care.

Eco Nature Care’s packaging is neat. This natural shampoo is housed in a thick aluminum, cap-topped container that adds an industrial look to your shower. The labeling is thorough, though the type is tiny. I appreciate Eco Nature Care’s willingness to list all ingredients on the label. 

While I admire the sleek design of the container, I do find the material choice inconvenient because this thick aluminum container is not squeezable—how will I get the natural shampoo out of the bottle when it’s running low? This also isn’t a container that is conducive to storing upside-down to let the natural shampoo slide to the opening for easy dispersal. The twist-off cap is a nuisance to me—it may seem hypercritical or lazy, but a pump would be more convenient than a twist-off cap. But, as Eco Nature Care points out on its website, pump tops are difficult to recycle, and making a product in easy-to-recycle material from top-to-bottom is more beneficial to the earth.

Eco Nature Care’s natural shampoo formula is pure. Eco Nature Care pledges that its products contain no parabens, phthalates, SLS or petroleum-based ingredients (what we like to call “the bad stuff").

“Natural aroma” is low on the ingredients list. This “natural aroma” consists of benzyl alcohol, limonene, citronellol, geraniol, linalool and citral. Benzyl alcohol is linked to allergy concerns and is a common ingredient in hair color, mascara and shampoo. It has a “high hazard” score of 7 from the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database. (The EWG also scores products as a whole, but Eco Nature Care has not yet been submitted for review.)

Though this is shocking, Eco Nature Care makes no attempt to mask this—the ingredients that are potential allergens are marked with an asterisk. The other ingredients in the “natural aroma” are perfuming agents that may irritate sensitive skin. Use caution when considering products that contain perfumes and fragrances, but remember, even natural and organic essential oils can be irritating—and the ingredients in this “natural aroma” may occur naturally in essential oils.

Eco Nature Care has a convenient ingredients list and descriptions online that details possibly irritants. Eco Nature Care points out that benzyl alcohol is on the UK Soil Association’s list of preservatives approved for use in organic cosmetics. (Check out the Soil Association’s list of non-organic health and beauty ingredients to get an idea of what ingredients to avoid.)

Overall, I think Eco Nature Care Natural Hair and Body Wash is a good, green product for a new company (founded in 2008). This company’s puts the health of the planet and the consumers first.

How do you choose your natural beauty products? What ingredients are you allergic to? Tell me your standards for evaluating personal-care products.

After a week of using Caudalie Gentle Conditioning Shampoo, I’ve moved on to testing a new natural shampoo: Yes To Tomatoes Tempting Tomato Volumizing Shampoo. 

This natural shampoo has a faint scent and a soft lather. Photo Courtesy Drugstore.com 

Yes To Tomatoes Tempting Tomato Volumizing Shampoo has a big challenge with my medium-length, baby fine, oily hair. Shampoos (natural shampoo and conventional shampoo) loaded with heavy conditioning oils and thick proteins weigh my hair down, but without some kind of moisture, my hair gets unruly. 

Yes To Tomatoes Tempting Tomato Volumizing Shampoo strikes the perfect balance. Laced with ginkgo biloba for light moisture and Dead Sea mud and mineral natural cleansers, this natural shampoo provides an equal amount of moisture and natural cleansing ingredients to produce a smooth lather and baby-soft locks. Yes To Tomatoes Tempting Tomato Volumizing Shampoo is also packed with vitamins from tomatoes (obviously), rooibos tea and watermelons—namely lycopene, vitamin C, vitamin E and carotene. These rich vitamins and antioxidants provide protection from harmful free radicals and pump up your hair’s strength. Yes To Tomatoes Tempting Tomato Volumizing Shampoo is a great choice for oily hair that needs volume and strength. 

Besides all the good stuff in Yes To Tomatoes Tempting Tomato Volumizing Shampoo, let’s talk about what’s not in this natural shampoo: parabens, SLS, animal byproducts, or phthalates. This natural shampoo line contains only the best natural and organic ingredients and boasts a 99.6 percent natural seal. 

One of the most exciting things about the entire Yes To line (Yes To Carrots, Yes To Tomatoes, Yes To Cucumbers) is that it’s easily accessible to everyone. Buy Yes To Tomatoes Tempting Tomato Volumizing Shampoo for about $9 at Walgreens, Target, Longs Drugs, Ulta, Duane Reade, Safeway, Rite Aid and other national stores. Too often, natural shampoo and other natural beauty products cost upwards of $20 a pop (believe me, I read your comments and price complaints every time I review a pricey new natural beauty product) and isolate conscientious consumers who want to bring healthy personal-care items into their homes, but also need to be conscientious about their budgets. I think this is a win for us all—natural beauty products are becoming more and more affordable without compromising quality.   

Have you tried anything from the Yes To line? What did you think about it? Where did you buy it? Share your natural beauty reviews with me in the comments below! 

Next week: Billy Lowe natural shampoo

I switch up my shampoos every few months. For summer, I’m experimenting with three new natural shampoos. 

This week, I’ve been using Caudalie Gentle Conditioning Shampoo. It’s the latest addition to the luxurious Caudalie line. This natural shampoo is 100 percent plant-based (no SLS or SLES in this stuff!) and is suitable for natural or color-treated hair and fine or thick hair. 

A bottle of Caudalie Gentle Conditioning Shampoo is 6.7 ounces and costs $18. Photo Courtesy Caudalie.

Evident by the name, Caudalie Gentle Conditioning Shampoo is a more sophisticated version of the “2 in 1” shampoo and conditioners that you see on the market today. Caudalie Gentle Conditioning Shampoo cleanses with palm oil and protects and moisturizers your hair with sunflower oil. The fatty acids in sunflower oil amp up your hair’s strength and shine.

Also packed into this natural shampoo are wheat proteins (for strength) and grape seed oil for additional moisture and nourishment. Caudalie Gentle Conditioning Shampoo even has a bonus ingredient—white vinegar, which we always sing praises for—to add shine to your hair. This natural shampoo has a soft, gentle lather and leaves your hair feeling clean but not moisture-stripped.

The natural shampoo’s light scent is perfect for humid Kansas summer—not too intense, but just fresh enough. I’ll be stashing this bottle of natural shampoo in my beach, pool and overnight bags this summer, because it’s just better for me (and the planet) than those conventional “2 in 1” shampoos. Grab your bottle of Caudalie Gentle Conditioning Shampoo when it hits shelves and the web in August.

What natural shampoo is in your shower? Leave a comment and let me know what to try next!

Next week: Yes to Tomatoes natural shampoo.

Standing true to its motto, “Free yourself of harmful chemicals,” Onesta Hair Care is a promising new natural shampoo and hair care line. 

Onesta, Italian for “honesty,” is the most transparent company I’ve seen in a while. Onesta fully discloses all ingredients, workforce practices and company ethics.

First, the ingredients: Honey. Sage. White willow bark. Nettle. Thyme. Aloe. Soy protein. Calendula. Dandelion. Sea kelp. Green tea. 

Next, Onesta's commitments: Wind power. Recycled materials. American manufacturing. Sustainable farming. Organic extracts. Biodegradable. Donations to cancer research. 

What you won’t find: SLES. SLS. Parabens. DEA. TEA. Colors. Dyes. Propylene glycol. 

And this doesn’t even begin to cover the actual natural shampoos and hair care products themselves. 

Most people are shy to try natural and organic products, especially on a dominant feature such as hair. With my color-treated locks, a weird combination exists—dry ends, dry scalp, fine and oily strands—and it’s always a challenge to find a perfect natural shampoo. 

The hydrating shampoo was near perfect for me. Though I usually steer clear of moisturizing formulas, it offered the right, natural balance of moisture (honey), antioxidants for my sensitive scalp (sage) and volume for my lifeless, baby-fine tresses (white willow bark). 

Onesta natural shampoos and natural conditioners cost $19.50 for 16 ounces and are a smart investment for your hair and your health. 

Do companies that go the extra mile—purchase renewable energy, donate to cancer research, use organic ingredients, employ American workers—appeal to you? 

Are you more likely to buy from socially responsible companies that have a higher price than conventional, $2.99 shampoo manufacturers? 

Leave me a comment and let me know what you’re thinking.