Are you looking for an organic shampoo because you’re concerned about the potentially harmful health effects associated with petrochemicals? Are you wondering how to choose the best organic shampoo? These are real questions consumers are asking because the labeling and regulations may be somewhat misleading on personal care products.

A walk through any supermarket or health food store will open your eyes to the many products that are claiming to be organic. However, when the United States Department of Agriculture established national standards in 2002, the term ‘organic’ was applied to food items and referred to the way the food was grown.

Except in a few cases, this law does not apply or extend to personal care products like shampoo. The state of California recognized the difficulty of regulating toiletries and cosmetics and enacted a separate law in 2003. This mandated that products cannot be labeled ‘certified organic’ unless 70% of the ingredients were truly organically grown.

As the consumer, you will need to carefully review the ingredient list on personal care products like shampoo. If you see the label ‘organic’, check to see if there are any petrochemicals added. Usually these are compounds ending in “-eth”. Occasionally, manufacturers will combine the organic ingredients with traditionally processed ones to make their products more appealing to the customer who is looking for a natural alternative.

With products like shampoo, or any substance that touches the skin, all of the ingredients in that product are directly absorbed into the body. The absorption rate could be 10 times more than if those same products were ingested orally.

If you are not using organic shampoo, for instance, you may be absorbing ingredients that are carcinogenic or allergenic. Most vulnerable are infants and young children. An interesting study revealed that if a baby absorbed a carcinogenic ingredient in the first few days of life, it would be 50 to 100 times more toxic than if an adult absorbed the same ingredient.

Buying and using organic shampoo is the best decision for you and your family. Sometimes people erroneously think that organic products are not as effective as those made in the mainstream industry. Nothing could be further from the truth. Organic shampoo performs the same way as its traditional counterpart plus you are not exposed to any health risks.

If you’re wondering about the fragrance, many organic shampoo manufacturers use essential oils like lavender and lemon as replacements for the more harmful and irritating synthetic fragrances. Organic shampoos will clean and nourish your hair in the best holistic way possible, without any detrimental ingredients.