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Vitis

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Recently I've gotten negative comments regarding the scent of soap I happen to use which prompted my idle curiosity. What do you look for in a soap, shampoo or conditioner? How important are the sub-categories that aren't priorities in and of themselves? Do you feel compelled to purchase a product that is marketed towards a particular gender and are you opposed to using a product that isn't traditionally marketed towards groups to which you belong?

Where I live we frequently have very drying to actively caustic water combating from chemicals added to combat algae blooms that produce potentially fatal cyano-toxins so a priority for me is the avoidance of harsh surfactants that can lead to dry skin as I already have issues with my skin drying out easily adding to the problem particularly during the times where the water is poor just makes me woefully uncomfortable. I also make sure to avoid chemicals conclusively linked to health risks even though the quantity used in soaps is considered safe because why risk it when there are plenty of options to eliminate them entirely. Certain scents give me massive headaches particularly long lasting chemically formed scents so I avoid them however as long as the scent doesn't physically bother me (usually needs to not be benzene based id est most artificial scents) I don't really care what the scent itself is. Lastly due to the cramped quarters in our particular current shower bars of soap don't last long as there is no way to avoid the water from running directly on the bar of soap using the holder so I always pick up liquid soap.

Following all these guidelines I found shampoo much easier to find a quality product than any sort of body wash since liquid body washes tend to have real issues lathering without a harsh surfactant in them. I recently switch my hand soap over to Dr Squatch from Tamarinda. Tamarinda is fairly decent glycerin based soap, but I still found it drying out my hands and it did have a variety of scents I did enjoy, but scent isn't as important as the soap quality itself and Dr Squatch is the difference between night a day since switching I haven't had any of the previous issues with woefully dry skin at least on my hands and I don't mind the Bay Rum scent. For Shampoo I simply resigned myself to use Pantene Pro-V Rose Water, while not a fan of the scent I couldn't really care less that it's primarily marketed to females, it's concentrated so it provides a good lather it's not drying though it is actually a little greasy for my preference probably meant for longer thicker hair but it's cost effective and checks all my personal boxes avoid harsh chemicals, being non-drying, providing a solid lather, and the scent while floral and not appealing to me it doesn't give me a headache. (That's the one that I've received negative comments about using) For body wash I've tried about 20 different brands each with varying pros and cons and kept hopping around mostly due to not lathering effectively while avoiding surfactants. I finally settled on a brand called Attitude, which uses a Coco-sulfate which is a surfactant, but not an overly harsh one and one that isn't linked to the problems of lauryl sulfates so it provides a fair lather though a little low for my tastes still it's acceptable. Unlike most brands that avoided the very cheap and effective lauryl sulfates it's fairly cheap which is a big plus. Preference towards the Orange scent it's a scent I actually enjoy (I'm a sucker for fruit scents actually) and while not actively moisturizing it at least doesn't contribute to dry skin so it's the product I'm going to stick with at least until we get moved where the new shower should allow for bar soap and I'll likely end up switching to Dr Squatch.

Edited by Vitis
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I have very dry, frizzy hair so I have to look for shampoo and conditioner that has a ton of moisturizing ingredients in it as well as hair masks and leave in conditioner. The one product I cannot use is Herbal Essence. I honestly don't know how people can use that crap. My hair gets even more dry with that stuff.

As for body wash, I don't really have an issue with the exception that I have to make sure it's free from any kind of Lavendar ingredients due to the fact I'm deathly allergic to it. I'll use mens, women's, etc. I don't care as long as it's lavender free, lol.

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1 hour ago, EnviousEnvy said:

I have very dry, frizzy hair so I have to look for shampoo and conditioner that has a ton of moisturizing ingredients in it as well as hair masks and leave in conditioner. The one product I cannot use is Herbal Essence. I honestly don't know how people can use that crap. My hair gets even more dry with that stuff.

As for body wash, I don't really have an issue with the exception that I have to make sure it's free from any kind of Lavendar ingredients due to the fact I'm deathly allergic to it. I'll use mens, women's, etc. I don't care as long as it's lavender free, lol.

A quick search into ingredients of herbal essences show that their baseline product has sodium lauryl sulfate an extremely drying surfactant not to mention its link to a myriad of other potential health risks so that could by why it dries out your hair.

Im fairly certain most men's shampoo excludes lavender they tend to go for tea tree oil which gives that pine-like scent that the majority of non-artificially scented male soap reeks of. I'm allergic to black walnut leaf oil though its actually poisonous for humans, never heard of anybody being allergic to lavender, must be a pain depending on just how allergic you are to it, past soaps which should be relatively easy to get around Id imagine it'd be hard to get around other people's perfumes. Lavender is kind of a staple in them that's not to mention it's a popular ingredient in cleaners considering lavender oil is a natural anti-bacterial.

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After searching EWG for the safest “skin deep” reviews on soap, I switched to attitude as well. I like this one3E1E234E-B19D-4E02-ABF0-C4C9F97F1323.thumb.png.47103b4dec6ce6a6367f0d06bfa37331.png

 

I used to use 5.5Ph soap by Sebamed, which felt really good, but I think it may have sodium Laureth sulfate, and who knows what else, possibly some PEG ingredients that I try to avoid.

For shampoo I like Avalon organics. I don’t mind that the soap doesn’t lather as much. It makes a huge difference to use an organic shampoo. I prefer moisturizing shampoos so that my scalp is taken care of. My hair is usually great without conditioner if I’m using an organic shampoo, it doesn’t strip your hair of all its oils. 

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I use 'Kruidvat' brand shower gel, shampoo and conditioner.

I kind of tend towards the stuff for women, though I don't really care either way.
The 'Kruidvat sensitive' shower gel is pH-neutral, and doesn't make me feel itchy all over, so it's the one I use.

I've used several shampoos and conditioners, but I've been using Kruidvat's coconut scented one for a while now. The shampoo is moisturizing, and doesn't make my hair all dry, which is nice. The conditioner doesn't make it heavier, but makes it easily combable, and glossy / shiny (not sure what the best word is?). They have several scents available, but I like the coconut one the most :)

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With soap, I just have to try until I find something that doesn't give me a rash. Unfortunately, my skin can be quite sensitive. I have to do the same thing with deodorant! Right now I use Dove bodywash and I have this deodorant thing that's basically a salt block. They work well for me :)

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3 hours ago, Kohloo said:

With soap, I just have to try until I find something that doesn't give me a rash. Unfortunately, my skin can be quite sensitive. I have to do the same thing with deodorant! Right now I use Dove bodywash and I have this deodorant thing that's basically a salt block. They work well for me :)

I’ve tried the mineral rock deodorant- doesn’t quite work for me. Maybe I’ll give it another try during different seasons and see if it can last in different weather.

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Recently come to discover that I hate Dove shampoo and conditioner. I used it for about a month now and I don't know what they put it in it but it weighs down my hair and makes it look like crap. 

I just bought a new shampoo and conditioner today and it's free from harsh chemicals so it's a little on the pricier side but I don't care. I washed with it today and my hair feels amazing. Going to give this a go for a month and hoping for the best.

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