Dilemma=20

Should I stop washing my hair?

With all the chemicals = and palm oil=20 in shampoo, it's no wonder some people are going without, says = Lucy=20 Siegle

Sunday=20 July 2, 2006
The = Observer=20

Almost everyone I know has been let = down by a=20 hair product. We spend =A360bn on personal care each year, much = directed at=20 products purporting to banish frizziness, magic away flakes or = bring=20 paranormal shine. Occasionally the vast cosmetic manufacturers are = hauled=20 up in front of the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) for = unproven,=20 hair-raising claims. Most recently it was Head and Shoulders, from = the=20 Procter & Gamble stable. The product's claim to remove '100 = per cent=20 visible flakes with regular use' was disputed by just one advert = viewer -=20 presumably who still had visible flakes.

Article=20 continues

But over-exuberant = advertising does not=20 automatically make an ethical baddie, the main problem for a hair = washer=20 looking to leave a little indentation on the planet rather than a = huge=20 blow hole is that you can't slip a hair's breadth between the=20 multinational big brands (who control 90 per cent of the market) = and the=20 chemical industry. This means mainstream products typically = include=20 silicone for shine, sodium lauryl sulphate (a harsh detergent = connected to=20 myriad health issues) and 'preservative technologies' such as = parabens, a=20 group of hormone-mimicking chemicals (a University of Reading = study found=20 high dosages of parabens in 18 out of 20 breast tumour cases).

Recently, high oil prices have shifted the industry in a = plant-based=20 direction. This would be good news, except that it means a massive = use of=20 palm-oil derivatives - 40 per cent less expensive than petroleum. = Giant,=20 unmonitored palm-oil plantations threaten the survival of the = Borneo=20 orang-utan, among other habitats. Instead, try palm oil-free = products from=20 http://www.scousesoaps.co.uk,/=20 or Yaoh shampoo (http://www.yaoh.co.uk)/ from = renewable=20 hemp.

A genuine ecological product from a company such as Green = People (http://www.greenpeople.com)/ = will=20 contain biodegradable ingredients. The knock-on environmental = impact of=20 the product swirling down your plughole is significant; a = conventional=20 showergel takes 800 years to fully wash away.

Washing your hair shouldn't necessarily be a political act, but = it has=20 become that way. The sale of 'ethical' company, The Body Shop to = L'Oreal=20 has proved to be one of the biggest battle grounds. According to=20 Naturewatch (http://www.naturewatch.org),/ = L'Oreal is the world's largest user of animal-tested ingredients.

All enough to make your freshly laundered head spin, explaining = why not=20 washing your hair at all - as recently championed by broadcaster = Andrew=20 Marr - might be an attractive proposition. Committed = environmentalists=20 have long understood the benefits of soap dodgery. Leave your hair = for six=20 weeks and natural lore dictates that after six weeks of smelling = like a=20 wet sheep, it will be self-cleaned by the rich oils we usually = strip out.=20 You will never, they claim, have to wash again. Not only will you = save on=20 plug-hole pollution, but on energy and of course water. Or you = could break=20 the cycle of supporting the multinational chemical industry every = time you=20 lather up and try an egg shampoo, lemon juice as a final rinse or = cider=20 vinegar to restore the pH balance - thus avoiding an ethical bad = hair day.

lucy.siegle@observer.co.uk