Is shampoo safe to use on our hair? Why not read the list of contents on a bottle of Head & Shoulders? Stop, I can save you the trouble, there are 28 items listed, most of which I know nothing about. Like many people, I read the media scares a few years ago about one of the substances called Sodium Laureth Sulfate. Finding a shampoo that does not contain this universal substance is really difficult.

The Delicate Pate

It struck me as strange that we spread this chemical mix over our head without a second thought. I had that second thought because I have some sun damage to my skin, mostly on the head. This skin is rough, not smooth, and inclined to hold anything applied to it. As I showered, I envisioned this mixture eating its way into the skin. I tried so called green products but they still contain so many unknown chemicals.

Water Treatment

The writer Matthew Paris solved the problem for me. He, likewise, had gone through this same exercise and simply decided to stop using any products on his head. At first, using just water saw his hair turn oily but within a week or so, it felt normal again. As a result, I did the same, just using warm water over the head and body and no chemical products. Six months later, I have no dandruff and my hair looks clean and shiny. I also feel virtuous at having dumped all that marketing hype on personal products. Men going green rather refutes a post I wrote some months ago.

My Pagan Ancestor Zuri

What influenced me to some degree was my research into how Zuri lived in 2200 BC. In my book, she foraged in what is now Christchurch Harbour. On her return to the River Avon, she then washed the salt off in the clean water. I conjectured that this will have given her cleaner hands and body, a potential health advantage in the Neolithic. This is not an advantage she would have recognised and has only been understood by us in recent centuries. I vainly studied herbals, thinking I might suggest that she had used plants like soapwort. Such plants, it appears, might not have been around in her day and were used as a soap alternative only in recent centuries. I also doubted that anybody in her tribe saw cleanliness as a virtue.

H2O

Zuri and I rely on water, the amazing liquid that makes this planet so welcoming and liveable. For certain, I can rely on water and no longer have to ask, is shampoo safe to use on our hair?