It was only after researching what could be causing my 6 year old to have developed cradle cap did I come to realise the true horror of the products that we readily put on our children and ourselves.
Both my children, Sabah 6 and Harvey 8 have always suffered from sensitive skin and easily develop eczema when exposed to any harsh products (it rules out a lot from the supermarket shelf). So, in my own gullible way, I switched all their products to a well known brand that claims to have ‘fresh’ ‘hand made’ ingredients. You know the one I mean right?
All good, until, one day a letter comes home from school saying there has been an outbreak of nits. So, the check commences. No nits on Sabah, how could there be when her scalp is protected by a thick layer of scaly skin that resembles the worst cradle cap known to man! As I look in horror I realise that she has actual patches of hair missing where it can presumably no longer make its way through this layer. (Bad mum and masses of guilt for not noticing sooner).
This sends me into overdrive, I have to find the cure before my poor baby ends up bald!
Not only do I find out that the product I’ve been using contains parabens but I also learn what a paraben is. It’s nasty stuff. Words are leaping off the page like dermatitis and rosacea but rather more alarmingly carcinogenic, breast tumours and early onset of puberty in children.
If you want more information on parabens and sulphates these two articles are both interesting and informative but I would like to just say upfront that I have not personally tried any of the shampoos that they recommend and nor do I profit in any way from them.
http://www.shampootree.com/5-reasons-why-you-should-switch-to-a-sulfate-and-paraben-free-shampoo/
http://longing4length.com/parabens-in-hair-products.html
Bad right? I immediately make a switch to a paraben free shampoo (hand soap, shower gel pretty much everything) and the result was both immediate and amazing. Having been hoodwinked once I was careful when selecting my next brand. I soon discovered that products only need to have a tiny percentage of organic ingredients in them in order to have ‘Organic’ on the packaging. At Neal’s Yard they don’t use Parabens, GMOs, mineral oils, synthetic fragrances or colours or anything else that could do you harm. Just lots of lovely pure, natural and organic ingredients. I loved the smell and they advised me which of their products would be most suitable for Sabah.
The results honestly do speak for themselves.
So which Shampoo did we use? I would say that Sabah has normal hair so we went with Orange Flower Shampoo, a nutrient-rich blend of moringa, camellia, passion flower and neroli to nourish and cleanse the hair and scalp. This shampoo has a natural low lathering foam to avoid stripping away the hair’s natural oils which can leave it feeling brittle and dry as well as irritation the scalp.
With Sabah the effects of Parabens, detergents and silicones found in most haircare products manifested themselves in a physical symptom but for many people the true effects won’t be visible to the naked eye. Getting ahead of the curve could be the first step towards protecting ourselves and our children against all these damaging ingredients. If you wanted to try the same Shampoo for yourself or your children then it’s on offer for January at
https://uk.nyrorganic.com/shop/antoniapindar/area/shop-online/category/hair/
Organic Health & Beauty 