Need replacement shampoo

February 5, 2023 4:13 PM

Love Beauty and Planet Indian Lilac Shampoo is a shampoo that helped my dry scalp like no other, and was cheap to boot. Which of these ingredients might have been the magic one for me?

Here are the ingredients:

Water (Aqua), Cocamidopropyl Betaine*, Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate*, Sodium Chloride, Eugenia Caryophyllus (Clove) Leaf Oil*, Azadirachta Indica Leaf Extract*, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil*, Citric Acid*, Fragrance (Parfum), Sodium Benzoate, Glycol Distearate*, Polyquaternium-10*, Stearamidopropyl Dimethylamine*, Disodium Edta, Ppg-9, Benzyl Alcohol, Benzyl Salicylate, Limonene, Linalool *Plant Based Ingredients

On top of that, I loved the smell. Is that the "Indian lilac?" Or more likely coming from the clove leaf oil? Thanks!

posted by tiny frying pan to Health & Fitness (3 answers total)

Coconut oil, maybe? You could get a jar and try putting it on by itself as a mask.
posted by pinochiette at 5:09 PM on February 5, 2023

Best answer: The fragrance would probably be from a combination of nice-smelling things I see in the list:

- clove leaf oil
- azadirachta Indica is the neem tree
- coconut oil
- "fragrance" is mysterious, and probably important
- limonene
- I looked up linalool and found, "Its odor is described in literature as floral, citric, fresh and sweet"

--

I hadn't heard of sodium methyl cocoyl taurate, so I Googled it. It looks very promising! "a gentle cleanser and foaming agent used in personal care products due to its mild and moisturizing roperties. It is usually found in sulphate-free formulations and can also be used for sensitive skin and baby care products. It is biodegradable."

I'd look for products containing that, if possible (and please let me know if you find them!).
posted by amtho at 7:38 PM on February 5, 2023

Best answer: I'd hypothesize that the neem leaf oil was what helped.

Coconut oil can be moisturizing, too, but it's more of a neutral carrier oil, whereas neem is pretty potent and more "medicinal." Clove oil is a strong antiseptic, but because of that, it would probably have more of a drying effect than a moisturizing one.

In herbalism, neem leaf oil is known to be good for a variety of skin conditions because of its antifungal (treats what's causing a flaky scalp) and anti-inflammatory (soothes dry-and-thus-itchy skin) chemicals. I've also read that it can help normalize sebum (oil) production if the scalp is either too oily or too dry, though I'm less sure about how that would work.

You can buy neem oil just on its own, if you want to try it out.

But note that neem oil has a very strong smell, but it's *not* one that most people would fall in love with! The fragrance you're enjoying is probably whatever they put in to mask it (either artificial fragrance or clove leaf oil, which is pretty strong-smelling and often considered nice).
posted by fire, water, earth, air at 2:28 AM on February 6, 2023