The hair care market in Australia is a growing sector, and has been projected to show a CAGR of 4.45 percent between 2021 and 2016. Industry trends also show that Australian consumers are looking for “products with rich inactive ingredients.” In other words, they’re turning away from the harsh and artificial products of yesteryear.
Homegrown hair care products and brands are proving that the more natural the product is, the more people are becoming interested. For example, Noughty Shine shampoo is 97% natural, silicone and sulphate free, which means it’s free of the types of additives that over time appear to thin and damage hair, possibly even contributing to hair loss later in life.
Why is this happening? Why are natural shampoos proving to be the better buy?
1. They’re Gentler and More Nourishing
Natural shampoos shun chemicals and artificial additives in favour of plant extracts, essential oils and similar natural products that can be described as “skin loving.” They are gentle on the scalp and hair follicles, and won’t dry it out as many of the harsher products can do. Popular-brand shampoo products can often agitate and disrupt your scalp’s oil glands, which can be what makes your scalp dry and itchy.
2. They’re Greener
No, we don’t mean the colour of the shampoo, but rather that natural shampoos are more eco-friendly and have fewer negative impacts on our environment than more popular products do. Using shampoo made from harsh chemicals means that we are washing those same chemicals down our drains every time we wash our hair. Those chemicals can find their way into nature’s biosphere and cause all kinds of problems. If the shampoo is plant based, then it is also biodegradable and much kinder to the environment.
3. They’re Better on Sensitive Skin
For people who have sensitive skin or who suffer from various allergies, natural shampoos generally bring welcome relief. It’s not to say that no natural ingredients can also irritate. Certain natural additives like tea tree, essential oils from citrus, and even mint can be quite irritating to some people’s skin. Having said that, they are much better than the silicone and mineral oil that you find in mass-produced conditioners, or the sulphates in regular shampoo. These things don’t just stay on our scalp, but wash over our entire body as well.
4. You Don’t Need Chemicals for Sheen and Lustre in Hair
There is a belief that big-brand shampoos are so popular because their artificial formulas are the secret to having the kind of hair that female Hollywood celebrities seem to kill for. Superstars endorse the bigger brands, which leads us to think that they’re the only way to the sheen and lustre that you would only find walking along a red carpet. In fact, this is not the case.
As it happens, it is natural ingredients such as blue mallow flower extract, and jojoba oil that are more effective in delivering these kinds of results, but these are the kinds of premium ingredients that mass-produced items just don’t have, substituting them for artificial chemical alternatives.
Reduce Your Footprint and Save Your Hair by Going Natural
In essence, there is much to be gained from the use of natural hair care products like shampoo and much to despair over with more conventional ones. By making a switch and favouring those more natural products, we can reduce our footprint on our local environment, support small and upcoming local businesses, and even save our hair from the oil-reducing and follicle-shrinking effects of many common and popular shampoo products.