Years ago I quit using shampoo and I just use baking soda. Literally, just baking soda. I also use a rinse of apple cider vinegar, when I remember.

Rob333 is also a user of baking soda. She's been doing it longer than me.

I use J.R. Liggett's Bar shampoo, the original version. It contains saponified olive oil, coconut oil, castor oil, and essential oils: rose, lavendar and spearmint.

I use Kevin Murphy and go to a Kevin Murphy stylist for color.

Pert classic

Ingredients: Water, Ammonium Laureth Sulfate, Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate, Sodium Chloride, Glycol Distearate, Dimethicone, Fragrance, Polymethacrylamidopropyltrimonium Chloride, Cocamide MEA, Cetyl Alcohol, PEG-14M, Sodium Citrate, Sodium Benzoate, Disodium EDTA, Citric Acid, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, ...

The bar route sounds better, as any liquid needs preservatives -- parabens and whatever has succeeded them now that the public knows they are poison -- to keep it from growing mold in the container. It's one reason I prefer bar soap.

A lot of 'soap' products contain sodium laurate sulfite -- solely to create lather. People don't believe they can get clean without lather.

I think you can use most any shampoo (as long as it's not harsh/drying); it's the conditioner, and possibly any 'setting' lotion, that makes the difference.

I started using Olaplex shampoo and conditioner after our daughter gave me some of their products for Mother's Day. No, I don't know what all's in it, but you can scroll down to "View All Ingredients" in this link. Warning...it's a crazy looooong list! Yes, it can be expensive but I've never used a shampoo I like this much. For one thing, it might help with your "tinder for a brush fire" problem.

https://olaplex.com/products/olaplex-no-4-bond-maintenance-shampoo

ETA - Just thinking about something else that could help with frizzies. My hairdresser always uses this stuff. I bought a bottle at the salon but it's much less expensive elsewhere. You'd have to check the ingredients.

Not really...but I can read it if I want. I have used the same kind (different brands) over the

years and have been completely satisfied. I figure as long as they work for me, and have

for a lot of years.. I don't really care what's in them...and wouldn't know if it was good or

not, anyway. I have a friend who taught Chemistry, but don't think I need to show him

every product I buy. LOL On the other hand, maybe I should, he has a beautiful head

of hair! LOL

Interesting and timely topic. I have been having trouble with my eyes itching for the past few years. I am allergic to a lot of scented things. My kids know that there will be no perfumes or after shaves at my house when they come.

So, I got to thinking about why my eyes itch and itch all day. Went on Amazon and looked for shampoo with no fragrance. Lo and behold there is one called Free and Clear, so I ordered it. Guess what, my eyes barely itch and they itch probably because of pollen etc. I have used All Free and Clear for years and never use fabric softeners. So, I am a much happier camper now. Wish I would have thought of this sooner, would have saved big bucks on eye drops!

Free and Clear

If you are bothered by the idea of keratin in your shampoo, you might also wish to avoid the products that claim to have placenta in them.

It is not that I am bothered by the idea of keratin. I just want to know what it is and if it is really worth paying top dollar for. By extension, I want to know what is in all of those other proudcts that demand a high price. Is is really any different from a cheap one? Really?

I am not looking to avoid kerartin for any reason other then the fact that it might just be another empty promise from a cheap shampoo.

These manufacturers print so many wild declarations on the packaging that offer so many ridiculous promises. Trying to find a path through the nonsense.

I have no idea what might have placenta in it and dont much care. I use so very few products of any kind. Why would placenta be more objectionable than any other animal product?

It is my understanding that there are now some prohibitions against using human derived products in these things.

I have no idea other than there is something in Herbal Essence shampoo that I am allergic to. I tried it many years ago & had a reaction. Several decades later, I picked up a bottle of it at a rummage sale. Yup, I'm still allergic to it.

What has never worked for me is using just one brand/ product from shampoo to shampoo. So I switch off between 2 or 3 different ones that are lined up in the shower. Almost all of my hair care products & lotions come from rummage sales. So I have a wide assortment of stuff. From expensive highfalutin salon brands to mass market retail.

I choose my products with this rule in mind: All shampoo must be in a bottle; all conditioner must be in a tube. I started doing this because when we first started living together, my husband would get confused by the products I bought. I tried painting a big, red "S" and "C" on the bottles with nail poilsh to no avail. He said he was just too sleepy to read bottles in the shower. As long as there are no heavy smells and it's gentle for colored hair, I'm fine with just about anything. That bar soap moosemac mentioned sounds interesting, but I think it might just confuse things.

I switched to sulfate and paraben free shampoos a long time ago. Then i discovered Prose shampoo about 3 years ago. It is a customized formula depending on my hair needs. i can also order fragrance free. It seems pricey but a bottle lasts me a long time because i dont use much. Plus many of you might find this list of the ingredients they use helpful in decoding what ingredient does what, and which ones might be harmful. Some less so than they might seem, or necessary in small quantity as stabilizers.

https://prose.com/ingredients

Am I the only one who doesn't care too much what's in my shampoo? I mean, I want it safe (i.e. non-toxic), but beyond that, I just want it to work and not offend me with its smell.

Keratin is found in hair, skin and nails of animals, which would include wool and feathers (both specialized forms of hair) and horns (a specialized form of nails). There's a term "phytokeratin", but it's not really keratin from a plant source, which is impossible.....it's really a bunch of plant products put together so they act like keratin.

I care to the extent that I want something that really does add a difference to my hair. And, if I am going to buy an expensive bottle, I want to know that there is actually some reason that it is the expensvie one on the shelf, and what that reason is and why it is. With all the bogus claims it is hard to determine what really is quality.

I find that most of stuff at the store offers no different results one from another. Among those choices I see no reason to buy the more expensive one. LIke you, TVet, I look for one without a strong scent. That is also hard to find .

I am willing to pay for something that has some benefit, but I want to know more about it. And, I want to know what I am paying for.

For all I know, it could be the same darned thing in the bottle from Walmart that is in the expensive salon one.

Just trying to be an informed consumer and determine just what really is a quality product before I plop down up to fifty bucks for a bottle of keratin shampoo, or even twenty bucks.

You are right about keratin . It is an animal product . From what I read, there is plant based version of the nature that you explained. One article that I read did discuss phytokeratin and how it was not the real deal, yet is added to some products as if it were. That is one thing that I know now that I did not know before I decided to care about what is in that bottle.

That, right there, is part of what I am trying to be more informed about. With phytokeratin it is a bogus claim, really. And I am trying to weed out those bogus claims.

I did not know any of this until I started to investigate it. At least I know a little about this issue now. I took time to read the sides of any number of bottles at the speciality shops and at the Walmart and had many questions.

Once you find your keratin product there are many nuances of how it is used, how long it takes to make a dfference and exactly how does it make a difference in the strand of hair, in the cuticles of the hair.