Live your Best Hair

One question I’m asked regularly is which vegan, non-toxic hair products I’d recommend that are also high-quality and luxury. Since I’ve got a lot of hair, have been vegan since 2008 and vegetarian most of my life before that, I have been avoiding non-vegan and toxic products a while. That said, I’m no expert but I have found a few that work and others that absolutely do not.

In the interest of sparing you every hair-product-sob story of good money spent on products that didn’t work, I’ll try to focus only on what works best here. If you’re wondering about a specific vegan hair product, and I haven’t mentioned it here, I have actually probably tried it. Comment down below or direct message me and I will let you know my thoughts on those.

Tools:
No hot tool reviews here - that’s more for another post, as it’s less about vegan products and more about what really works to create luxuriously-styled hair.

Let’s start with my all-time favorite brush. Fellow beauty and luxury product lover Christin Gordon turned me on to this brand of brushes years ago. It’s special because it is safe to use with wet or dry hair, which is important - I can’t imagine having to decide if my hair is too wet to use my brush and having to switch brushes. It helps in growing long hair, because it prevents breakage while brushing. Most daily hair damage is not done while styling-- it’s done while washing and brushing.  

Heat Protectant:
Next is basically my all-around favorite product, a heat protection serum that also adds shine and manageability. I use it no matter the shampoo and conditioner I’m using, or if I’ve just wet my hair and don’t have time to wash it (swimming, for example).

This Giovani Serum works triple time to shield from heat, prevent frizz, and provide light structure almost like a gel. But it doesn’t have any hold, if that makes sense. So no crispiness at all. It just makes hair smooth and manageable, it’s non-toxic and fully cruelty-free.

Shampoo and Conditioner:
Secondly, getting the hair clean--  I have tried so many shampoos. Many more conditioners. For a while, I was spending mucho diñero on Pureology, which is one of the original vegan, cruelty-free brands. But it’s not really very non-toxic. There are a lot of toxic elements in it. I also used Aveda products in the past but often found they were either too heavy or too stripping for my hair, with no good middle-balance. Same with Carol’s Daughter products. Jason’s is probably one of my least favorite brands. It felt like I was putting Jergens lotion on my hair. But as I said, I’d like to stay away from talking negatively about any products. Those are just some lines that I haven’t had the best experience with.

Enter Shea Moisture. It’s a brand that you can buy at target, so some might not consider this one of the finer brands. I don’t care about that in the least, as I have tried many luxury, salon-only vegan hair products and been less than completely impressed.

I first tried Shea Moisture when somebody gave me their baby lotion when I had my son in 2016, and I really liked the smell of it. I sought out where to buy more of that, got a sample of their shampoo to take on a trip, and I just loved it. I find that in using this shampoo and conditioner set, I can wash my hair less, even go almost a whole week without washing, because without the sulfates and other synthetic ingredients that certain shampoos have my scalp produces less oil to compensate and stays cleaner.

Dry Shampoo:
In my experience, dry shampoo is either an amazing lifesaver that allows you to get more time back in your day, or it’s the worst decision you made that day and you need to shampoo immediately to rectify your now thick and chalky hair. There is no in between. Obviously this is a problem because you don’t have time to wash your hair, otherwise, you wouldn’t have used dry shampoo in the first place.

As far as the toxicity level of dry shampoo, some may argue that because true dry shampoo is usually sprayed out of an aerosol can, that there really is no nontoxic dry shampoo. Lots of folks use certain types of powders or other non-aerosol propellant versions of dry shampoo. I simply don’t find these to be effective or worth using. I find that if I use dry shampoo sparingly, I’m really only using it a couple times a week, spraying for less than 5 seconds at a time. Considering that minimal use and by using in a well-ventilated area, I find that I’m comfortable with the products using aerosol, as there’s no exposure to the potentially toxic propellants inside all aerosol containers. Don’t inhale the products, use them wisely and in a well-ventilated area and yep, I do feel safe.

Over the course of the last 20 + years have tried all the dry shampoos we commonly see in both the natural and standard marketplace, including Not Your Mother’s, Bastile, Redken, Bumble, Oribe, Hask, and various predictable drugstore brands like Tresemme, etc (obviously not nontoxic).

Side note: I haven’t been focused on nontoxic products for the last 20 years. Probably only for the last eight. As a result, I do have quite a bit of experience with toxic product lines as well, which helps me compare. No regrets, just more learning to be had!

Out of all those, I have tried there are two that stand out. The first is the best dry shampoo in the world, Oribe Gold Lust Dry Shampoo - I cannot say enough about this amazing product. It’s vegan and it’s perfect. It also might be the most expensive dry shampoo on the planet, but for special occasions or if you simply need excellence in hair, this is worth it. I don’t know how this is accomplished but there is literally no white residue. And the way that it sprays onto your hair... it just sprays perfectly evenly and really powerfully as well, almost like it’s electrically-propelled. I feel like I’ve walked out of the salon after I use this. At almost $50 a can you might think, how could this be worth it? And while $50 means different things to different people, let me tell you if your hair has to be on point that day, it’s worth it.

But okay, Oribe is pricey for sure, and probably not right for regular use. We need a better price-point for our everyday product. Almost as good is Hask Dry Shampoo in the Coconut Monoi formula. This is my go-to. It’s as nontoxic as you’ll find in an aerosol dry shampoo and leaves almost no residue, certainly none that is at all noticeable. The smell is absolutely amazing! It’s 100% natural too. It’s not overpowering, and won’t compromise any other fragrances you are wearing, but it’s just fresh and nice smell while you are using it. And at $16 for two, these ring in at around eight dollars a bottle, which is a crazy good price for salon-quality dry shampoo.

With all other brands I’ve tried outside of Oribe and Hask, my hair feels thicker, chalky and stiff afterward. It doesn’t feel silky and smooth like you’d want your hair to feel after washing, conditioning and drying it. I’ve put up with that increased texture for the convenience of not having to wash my hair, but that stiff chalky feel is just unbearable and ultimately I end up washing my hair sooner. With both Oribe and Hask, the lack of residue just can’t be beat-it literally feels like you have clean fresh hair, and the smell is ideal.

Short and sweet-- those are some of the top hair products I’d recommend - what do you think? Let me know if you have another vegan hair product you’re wondering about, I’ll bet you I’ve tried it!