j/a/s/o/n vs Avalon Organics shampoo

[Spidergrrl]

I make all my own natural products but shampoo is the last holdout for me. I haven't yet made a formula that works for me so I need to buy one. I have oily hair that tends toward limpness. I have short hair that sticks up and I like it that way. I really don't like sodium lauryl sulphate but without it my hair tends to be greasy and limp. And it won't stick up.

My health food store now carries j/a/s/o/n shampoo and Avalon Organics. Both look and smell lovely--have no SLS or harsh chemicals. No parabens either (something else I try to avoid) but they both are expensive. I don't want to fork out the £ for something that will make my hair oily and limp.

Anybody use either j/a/s/o/n or Avalon? How is it? Is it better for thick, coarse hair? How does it clean without SLS?

Thanks. Spider

[aiyanna]

I have tried them both and I think Avalon Organics is the best! I am an absolute addict of their lavender shampoo.

[Spidergrrl]

What kind of hair do you have? How often do you shampoo? Does your hair feel "soft" after washing or "squeaky"? Do you feel like you need conditioner after you wash? The one shampoo I tried without SLS (it was a baby shampoo) my hair felt like it had been washed with rainwater Which was great wet but it dried and clung to my head in a flat greasy way.

[Tesseract]

I currently use JASON Henna Highlights shampoo and I like it fine, but then I have fairly undemanding hair and I'm not picky about shampoos. It seems clean and normal. Henna Highlights smells GREAT. I've also used JASON's Biotin shampoo and didn't like it as much, mainly because it doesn't smell as good and it doesn't lather well. I haven't used Avalon, though.

[Spidergrrl]

Thanks Tess-the henna one was the one I was considering. But I just can't fork out nearly £6 especially since my hours have been cut back at work for next year. can't get myself into an expensive habit unless it is worth it.

Do you use any more j/a/s/o/n products? My HFS has their body wash as well but it costs £7--but the bottle is huge.

[gogoshire]

j/a/s/o/n has some great mouthwashes that I really like, and I like their deodorants, too.

For shampoo, I still use Tom's of Maine, which they've discontinued, but I used to work for them and get products for free, and so I stockpiled when I heard they were stopping production.

[Tesseract]

Do you use any more j/a/s/o/n products? My HFS has their body wash as well but it costs £7--but the bottle is huge.
I am also using their Tea Tree Satin Shower body wash, and I like it pretty well except that I'm not crazy about the smell of that particular formula. It comes in a lot of different scents/formulas, and next time I'll probably try a different one. I got a twin pack of two 12-oz bottles for a very reasonable price here in the US-- I think it was $6.99 for a total of 24 oz, so it seems to be much more expensive in the UK.

IMO, the best body wash is Aubrey's Organics. It leaves my skin the softest and least dry, but it's expensive, so I rotate between it, JASON, and Tom's of Maine.

I did not like JASON's Aloe Vera roll-on deodorant. I stank while I was using it!

[gogoshire]

TESSERACT SAID:

I did not like JASON's Aloe Vera roll-on deodorant. I stank while I was using it!

One thing I learned while working at Tom's was that b/c the products are natural, the deodorants are not going to work for everyone, so this is probably the case with JASON brand, too (Tom's #1 competitor. Anyone else notice we need more female names in the mix?).

I can't use any of Tom's lavender-scented products. They make me narcotic! JASON'S lavender stuff doesn't make me feel like I'm about to pass out, though.

For bodywash, I really love anything by Alba.