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Best Hair Care Products (Environmentally Friendly)

You put a lot of stuff in your hair—shampoo, conditioner, gel, and maybe some added color. The good news is that hair care products are made mostly of water, about which we have nothing bad to say. The bad news is that the chemical ingredients that actually do the work—chemical detergents, dyes, fragrances, and conditioners—aren’t always safe for you or good for the environment. Dyes and colors often come with ingredient lists that are 60 or 70 chemicals long and can include toxics like P-Phenylenediamine, resorcinol, eugenol, and ethanolamine. (more)

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Best Hair Care Products (Environmentally Friendly)

Dr. Bronner's Magic Organic Citrus Hair Rinse
Dr. Bronner's Magic Organic Citrus Hair Rinse
  • $9.99
  • User Rating:
    Star_full_small Star_full_small Star_full_small Star_full_small Star_empty_small
8.6
Dr. Hauschka Conditioner With Jojoba and Marsh Mallow
Dr. Hauschka Conditioner With Jojoba and Marsh Mallow
  • $22.95
8.6
Burt's Bees Rosemary Mint Shampoo Bar
Burt's Bees Rosemary Mint Shampoo Bar
  • $6.00
8.6
Miessence Clarifying Hair Rinse (oily Problem Scalps)
Miessence Clarifying Hair Rinse (oily Problem Scalps)
  • $17.23
  • User Rating:
    Star_full_small Star_full_small Star_full_small Star_full_small Star_full_small
8.6
Gourmet Body Treats Soy Protein Styling Gel
Gourmet Body Treats Soy Protein Styling Gel
  • $10.00
8.5
Nurture My Body Shampoo
Nurture My Body Shampoo
  • $21.79
8.3
Weleda Rosemary Hair Oil
Weleda Rosemary Hair Oil
  • $14.00
  • User Rating:
    Star_full_small Star_full_small Star_full_small Star_empty_small Star_empty_small
8.2
Suave Unscented Xtreme Hold 10 Hairspray
Suave Unscented Xtreme Hold 10 Hairspray
7.9
Loreal Paris Feria Multi-Faceted Shimmering Color 82 Desert Flower
Loreal Paris Feria Multi-Faceted Shimmering Color 82...
  • $12.29
7.8
Desert Essence Luscious Locks Hair Care Kit
Desert Essence Luscious Locks Hair Care Kit
  • $24.99
7.8
Kiss My Face Miss Treated Shampoo Organic Hair Care
Kiss My Face Miss Treated Shampoo Organic Hair Care
  • $7.99
7.8
Johnson's Kids No More Tangles Shampoo For Short or Fine Hair
Johnson's Kids No More Tangles Shampoo For Short or ...
7.8
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You can also find DMDM hydantoin, a form of formaldehyde that's a potential skin irritant and immune system toxicant.

A few shampoos and some conditioners use cleaners such as sodium laureth sulfate or octoxynol-40 that, depending on the way they are made, can introduce contamination into the product, with the impurities taking the form of irritant, carcinogenic chemicals like ethylene oxide and 1,4-dioxane. Sodium lauryl sulfate, a close relative of sodium laureth sulfate, is a strong skin irritant, and there is considerable controversy over its other potential health effects.

That’s not all: Most shampoos and conditioners incorporate a combination of chemicals labeled only as the ingredient “fragrance”. The exact mixture is considered a trade secret, so companies don’t have to say what’s in their fragrances. But, fragrances can often be allergy concerns or contain toxic chemicals like phthalates.

Common cleaning and foaming agents in shampoos are ammonium lauryl sulfate and ammonium laureth sulfate, which are eco-toxic ingredients. In shampoos, ammonium derivatives are the most energy-intensive ingredients to make, and since the manufacturing of ingredients has the greatest environmental impact (about 60 percent of the overall impact, compared to only about 15 percent in making the plastic bottle), it’s more environmentally friendly to look for shampoos without ammonium ingredients.

You can use GoodGuide hair care ratings to find safe, healthy products without toxic ingredients, or browse our reviews for products with high health and environment ratings. You can also look through our social data for no-animal-testing seals of approval from PETA and Leaping Bunny.