” I am taking a break from chemicals” She said to me.

“Oh so you’re going natural?” I asked assuming she meant she was going grey,  trying not to sound curious, or annoyed.  Not annoyed that she had decided to go  grey  but that she was “taking a break from chemicals”.  She was a long time client  it has always been on of my passions to educate my clients about ingredients, marketing words, gimmicks, golden calfs and scape goats  and the biggest one is the sham that is  CHEMICAL FREE .

It is my intent to explain the phrase “CHEMICAL FREE”,  and “ORGANIC HAIR DYE, so that clients considering switching over can make a more informed decision.  First lets go back to basics and ask WHAT IS A CHEMICAL?

A chemical is anything that consist of mass, matter, liquid, solid, gas.

A chemical that we are all familiar with is the chemical water H20.  Yes, water is a chemical. Humans are made of  60 percent  of the  chemical;  water.  Now we all agree we need water to survive, specially in those sleepless in Hollywood sweaty nights, so staying away from all chemicals is lethal in itself.  So the chemical water is not a bad chemical it is a necessary chemical in order for us to survive.  So is the chemical oxygen and the chemical hydrogen because with out those chemicals we would die.

Rebecca Adams writes an article in the HUFFINGTON POST titled  WHY I DECIDED TO DITCH CHEMICALS AND GO ORGANIC WITH MY HAIR DYE “ But even the most pleasant smells couldn’t get me to go organic if the results weren’t at least as good as the chemical stuff. Luckily, they were.”  Unfortunately for Ms. Adams that hair color is not ” ORGANIC” or “Chemical Free”.

Second WHAT IS ORGANIC?  The word organic in chemistry means. or any substance containing carbon-based compounds, especially produced by or derived from living organisms. Organic in food we have come to believe that it is used in farming without pesticides.

So what does ORGANIC HAIR DYE mean?   Here is the ingredient list for the color that Ms. Adams used.   Full ingredients list here:   It appears that the same pigments used in traditional color are used in her “organic hair dye”.  So in my opinion ORGANIC HAIR DYE is all marketing, while there are some ingredients that are “naturally delivered” it is not chemical free. Impossible.   Here is the USA standards on Organic products. 

USA Standards on Organic Products

In the U.S. Organic products are certified by the USDA, that is the United States Department of Agriculture. Cosmetics, however, are regulated by the FDA, the Food and Drug Administration. The FDA does not define or regulate the term ORGANIC.

Here is an excerpt from the USDA National Organic Program on Cosmetics, Body Care Products, and Personal Care Products:

FDA does not define or regulate the term “organic,” as it applies to cosmetics, body care, or personal care products.

USDA regulates the term “organic” as it applies to agricultural products through its National Organic Program (NOP) regulation, 7 CFR Part 205.

If a cosmetic, body care product, or personal care product contains or is made up of agricultural ingredients, and can meet the USDA/NOP organic production, handling, processing and labeling standards, it may be eligible to be certified under the NOP regulations.

You can learn more about this at the USDA Organic Agriculture Site and the FDA Cosmetics Site.

 

THERE IS NO CERTIFIED ORGANIC HAIR DYE (Hair Color)

AMMONIA FREE. Many of the color that is out today is already ammonia free, you could walk into your local RiteAid and buy ammonia free hair color that’s not a breakthrough it’s fairly standard these days.

I realize this article is getting really long in conclusion. Don’t be a fool, there is no such thing as chemical free anything or organic hair dye, and as always I invite you to do your own research, not a google search but research.  I am available to answer any questions, comments, observations, concerns or media requests.