9.24.2008

tried it: bee-hair-now hair repair conditioner...

here's a new product that i am absolutely loving... by a company called BeeCuticals Organics. in my recent search for a good hair conditioner, i wanted 5 things:
~no parabens
~no synthetic fragrances (but naturally-occurring good scent = major bonus)
~no crazy-sounding chemicals that i can't pronounce, without at least an explanation of what they're derived from & why they're in the mix
~relatively affordable (i'm willing to fork over some $$ for a good product, but i do believe that nice hair shouldn't break the bank)
~recyclable bottle

i found all of those things (and then some) in bee-hair-now. i went with the organic holistic honey blend. as you can (partially) see, the bottle has a lot of info--here's the lowdown:

~no parabens
~no sls
~no synthetic fragrances
~87% certified organic ingredients
~fair trade certified
~#1 pete recyclable plastic bottle
~not tested on animals
~biodegradable
~portion of profits donated to save the bees
~ingredients like green tea, white grapefruit essential oil, bee pollen, molasses, royal jelly extract, chamomile & calendula extracts. plus parsley, sage, rosemary & thyme (serious)!

a few questionable-sounding ingredients are explained on the bottle--such as cetearyl alcohol (coconut oil emulsifier) and glyceryl stearate (vegetable derived).

this left phenoxyethanol and stearalkonium chloride as the only eyebrow-raising additives. i used the skin deep cosmetic safety database to check out both of these ingredients/chemicals. skin deeps rates on a scale of 0-10, with 0-2 being "low hazard," 3-6 being "moderate hazard," and 7-10 being "high hazard." phenoxyethanol (used as a preservative in place of parabens, and often found in vaccines) scored a 4, while stearalkonium chloride (used as a detangler) scored a 1. sounds good to me.

the best part? this conditioner works. it gets the tangles out of my very thick hair and leaves it soft, shiny & subtly fragrant. i'm sticking with this one for sure... and hope to try the shampoo when i run out of the stuff i'm currently using.

my 12 o.z. bottle was (i think) $8 or $9 at elephant pharmacy. it can also be purchased online.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I should have told you sooner... I recently purchased Whole Foods 365 Shampoo & Conditioner. I LOVE IT! I got the Citrus scent. The best thing, it was $2.89! I am pretty sure that it meets all of your expectations. The only thing is I cant remember if there is a Whole Foods near you...hmmm. Bottom line, you know my hair is supper thick and I am very finicky about what I use on it; this is the BEST kept secret out there. The scent lasts 2 days (serious about that one since I also only wash my hair every 3) and rivals the expensive salon brands I have purchased in the past. Here is a blurb from their website:
1. Shampoo: 365 Everyday Value Shampoo from Whole Foods Market. Worth a trip to Whole Foods, this shampoo (which comes in three scents, as well as fragrance-free) cleanses without stripping the scalp. It’s free of Para bans, artificial fragrances, and genetically engineered ingredients.
It’s a MUST try in my opinion :)

erin said...

heather--i will totally have to try that. the price is right!

Unknown said...

i just bought the citrus scent conditioner from whole foods. it does smell lovely, but detangling aspect is not the best. i have very curly hair, and lots of it, so it would be a challenge for any conditioner to detangle my hair! however, this conditioner is way better than the trader joes version that i also just tried!