Let’s get a little fancy here with Dr. Bronner’s Organic Hair Crème. Check out this video with my friend Stephanie, and then read below for a little backstory.
A few years ago I was in a quandary because my daughter needed to have her hair in a particular style for a performance. With her hair, the style was impossible without product. Generally, I am a “no product” mom. I don’t even use it on myself. For the most part, what my hair wants to do is what my hair does, with very little input from me. It’s one of those daily unpredictabilities that keeps life interesting.
Nonetheless, my daughter needed to have her hair sleekly styled on top of her head. Conventional products would not only make her hair crunchy (not a word that should go with hair) but worse, envelop her in a cloud of phthalate-filled, hormone disrupting, synthetic fragrance for the entirety of her evening. And no one should die for a dance performance.
As has happened before (in my search for the perfect face wash), I found that what I needed was right in front of me. I knew the Hair Crème was a great leave-in conditioner and frizz-tamer. It’s one of the few things I ever do put on my hair when it gets a bit too wild and crazy. But it hadn’t occurred to me that it could help with something fancier.
I worked a few pumps through her hair, and up it went smoothly and easily.
This didn’t save the day only that one time. Despite how accidentally I stumbled upon this usage, the Hair Creme has been a hugely great help time and again for all sorts of long hair types and styles.
Only organic ingredients. Only essential oils for fragrance. No petrochemicals. No synthetics.
And while you’re decked out for your night on the town, your hair just thinks it’s getting a several hour hair masque.
Why does the hair creme have Ethyl Alcohol? It makes hair so dry and brittle. Have you guys considered cetearyl alcohol instead?
Hi Jesse – While ethyl alcohol and cetearyl alcohol are both alcohols, they have quite different purposes as ingredients. Ethyl alcohol is an emulsifier (holding the ingredients together) and a preservative. Cetearyl alcohol is an emollient, which is a type of moisturizer. Emollients are great for hair and skin, and the Hair Cream already contains several in the other oils in the product (coconut, jojoba, avocado, hempseed). The Hair Cream needs an ingredient to hold everything together and to preserve it. Cetearyl alcohol cannot do that.
I have enjoyed going through the blog lately and learning all about Dr. Bronner products and their uses. Could the hair cream be used in place of mouse for styling curly hair?
Hi Erin- It’s great to hear you’re enjoying my blog! The hair créme doesn’t hold artificial curls, but I’ve seen it do fantastic things for natural curls. It is great for calming frizzies and for separating and defining curls. In fact, for my hair, though it is wavy and not curly, it really brings out my natural waves. I just scrunch in a pump or so when my hair is damp and let it air dry. It is not a hard hold. It is more like a lotion for hair.
I have been having trouble with hair loss. My hair is fine and tends to be dry. I am looking for an anti-loss conditioner and bought the lavender hair creme to use as a conditioner. Now I have seen there is a rinse that you recommend. Should I use the rinse and then apply a small amount of the creme? I appreciate any advice you might be able to give me. Thank you.
Hi Adrienne- We have not tested the hair care line for the goal of preventing hair loss. However, we do recommend using the Hair Rinse after washing your hair to help smooth your hair – 1 capful diluted in 1 cup of water. The acidity of the Hair Rinse restores the pH balance to the hair. Another option is to try rinsing your hair with Apple Cider Vinegar, mixed in half with water. You might want to start with a smaller amount than we recommend and see how it goes. After you have washed your hair and then rinsed with the acidic rinse, the Hair Crème is great for nourishing and light styling.
Hi Lisa,
Is there a difference between the organic hair creme and organic lotions? The ingredients seem to be the same but I know after reading your blog that the sugar shaving soaps (while having the same ingredient list as the sugar soap) has a higher amount of sugar and Shikakai powder so I’m wondering if something similar applies to the lotion and hair creme products.
All the best!
Hi Brent – I’m sorry I didn’t see your question earlier. It’s great to see how closely you’re reading ingredients! Well done! The situation with the lotions and hair creme is the same as with the Sugar Soap and Shaving Soap. The ingredients are the same but at different concentrations, which gives them a different thickness. The Hair Creme is thicker, due to a higher ratio of jojoba oil compared to coconut oil. I think of the Hair Creme as lotion for the hair.
Hi –
I need hair and skin care help!
I’ve been suffering from rashes, itching and hives since early December. Recent allergy testing shows that I am allergic to nearly every fragrance and many chemicals. I’m also allergic to the Lamiaceae family – basil, mint, rosemary, sage, savory, marjoram, oregano, hyssop, thyme, lavender and perilla.
What can you recommend for my long, thick, dry, unruly hair? Sugar soaps?, castille soap? Hair rinse?
Also, Do you make the hair cream in any scents other than lavender and peppermint (I’m allergic to both)?
Thanks for your help.
Hi MaryAnn- Many customers with allergies tell us that switching to Castile soap has been helpful. The Castile soap is always a good place to start, although with dry hair, you may like the extra moisture from the Sugar Soaps. Everyone’s hair has it’s own personality so you may need to do a bit of tinkering to find what works for you. You will most likely need an acid rinse, such as our Organic Hair Rinse or a 50% dilution of water and apple cider vinegar. Unfortunately, we do not have any other scents of the hair creme, but give the Unscented Magic Balm a try for smoothing and taming fly-aways. You may also find this “Definitive Guide to Washing Your Hair with Dr. Bronner’s” helpful for that transition from conventional shampoo to soap: https://www.drbronner.com/all-one-blog/2017/03/definitive-guide-washing-hair-dr-bronners/.
Thank you! We’ve loved your products for many decades – & are grateful you’ve continued to honor the mission of this company! We need all these beautiful organic products that do no harm. Many blessings!
https://newatlas.com/lavender-tea-tree-oil-hormone-estrogen/53853/
Some new research is saying essential oils can disrupt hormones.
Hi Sue – It’s great to keep up with the current research on all this. The concern about Tea Tree Oil and Lavender Oil disrupting hormones has been around for a while, based on a 2007 article, that was largely repudiated by follow up studies. It will be interesting to see what follow-up studies are able to confirm about this 2018 article, which was a study that looked at components common to 65 essential oils, not just tea tree and lavender. It is very good to be aware of potency of essential oils, which can bring great benefit if used well and potential harm if misused. Here is a good overview of the response to the early study: https://earthmamaorganics.com/blog/how-lavender-and-tea-tree-became-labeled-as-endocrine-disruptors/. Let’s keep an eye on what additional researchers find out now.