Sulfate, paraben and silicone free - L'Oreal Professionel Serie Nature Macadamia for hair spring clean

When I was writing the "Read the ingredients" sections in Gorgeous To Go it opened my eyes to a lot of concerns people have about chemicals in cosmetic products.  Plus it means that ever since then I have been literally addicted to grabbing bottles and scanning the long lists of chemical names on the labels and finding that some of them actually make sense.

Not all are comprehensible though you understand.  Although the packaging on a product may scream that it's free from some compound or other that's currently causing concern, a scan of the ingredients list will reveal that the hated chemical IS actually present in another slightly different form.

Sulfate in all its forms is an ingredient HATED  by lots of you - it can cause reaction, rashes and irritation to skin.  Because it's cheap it's added to many cosmetic products - think anything foamy - it works really well to make suds and bubbles.  You can also find it in loads of cheap cleansers, soaps and handwashes.  Look out for the ingredients sodium laureth sulfate  or sodium laurel sulfate(SLS and SLES).

Plus if you've gone for a permanent straightening treatment in a salon they'll have told you to stay away from shampoo containing SLS.  Though as those treatments are - without exception no matter what they tell you - packed with either formaldehyde or formaldehyde releasing ingredients you should really be staying away from them too.  But that's a whole other post.

So I know lots of you are on an everlasting hunt for a good sulfate free shampoo - here's one to add to your list.  There's a big craze at the moment for hair products which nourish and revive hair naturally without the use of silicones.  Using naturally occurring oils like argan (Morroccanoil), palm nut (Ojon, with its nasty side effect unforch of stinking of fags), and olive oil (Serie Nature Doucer) which can actually penetrate hair's lipid structure and enrich deeply.

Riche Macadamia Shampoo, (€14.20 for 250ml) is another star in this regard.  The oil and nourishment come from the macadamia nut and it ticks the chemical free boxes -  the shampoo is  nourishing, sulfate free and gently cleanses (don't expect lots of foam though because obviously the hated foaming ingredient is absent).  The Masque Macadamia, (€19 for 200ml) is rich and thick (ideal man territory) and smells delicious.  No silicones or parabens anywhere either.

So, worth a try?  Or maybe you don't give a toss about chemicals in hair care and don't mind a bit of silicone?