Beauty Review: Maple Holistics Apple Cider Vinegar Shampoo*

A few weeks ago, Maple Holistics approached me to review their Apple Cider Vinegar Shampoo. I love Maple Holistics products and whenever they approach me with a product to review, I really can’t turn it down. The reason I love Maple Holistics is because their products are all-natural, paraben and sulfate free, and good for the environment. They are also cruelty free, which makes me feel better about the products I buy and use. (And I know many of my readers are also concerned about how their products effect the world around them!) In short: using Maple Holistics products make me feel better about my impact on the world.

I’ve previously reviewed their Tea Tree Shampoo and their Silk18 Shampoo. To sum up these reviews: the tea tree shampoo helped my scalp a lot. The Silk18 shampoo made my hair gorgeous and silky, but didn’t do much for my highly sensitive scalp. Both products are totally worth their cost—which isn’t even “high end,” but highly affordable—and can be beneficial to lots of different hair types.

To summarize all my hair issues (sorry if this is old hat for you!), I have a lot of straight, fine hair and a very, very sensitive, dry scalp. I’ve tried just about everything for it, but in the past 6 months I’ve fallen into a fairly good routine:

• Monday: A clarifying shampoo followed by a heavy hair mask mostly on my scalp

• Thursday: Wash with the Paul Mitchell Tea Tree & Peppermint Shampoo**, follow with half hair mask (I use BRITE’s Unicorn Hair) and half Paul Mitchell Tea Tree & Peppermint Conditioner**

• Daily: use Aveda’s Shampure Dry Conditioner Spray

My weekly clarifying shampoo is usually a revolving door of samples I get from Birchbox (I swear I get one a month, which has been handy if nothing else). However, I’ve been wanting to pick a more solid addition to my routine that I can use weekly and really get benefits from.

(**Note: Would you like a review on this shampoo & conditioner set? Let me know in the comments!)

So when Maple Holistics asked me to review the Apple Cider Vinegar shampoo, I knew I needed to go for it. I’ve done ACV rinses on my hair before and noticed it helped a lot with my scalp’s sensitivity. However, using apple cider vinegar so much made my hair kind of smell, so I was hesitant to do it too frequently.

Here’s what Maple Holisitics has to say about this shampoo:

“Remove buildup, restore volume and boost shine with our new, hotly anticipated apple cider vinegar shampoo. One of the most powerful ingredients in personal care, apple cider vinegar provides a variety of benefits for hair and scalp alike. We tap into its full potential in our apple cider vinegar shampoo, providing you with a shampoo that soothes the scalp, removes buildup, clarifies and adds or restores shine. Enriched with natural ingredients like sunflower, argan and jojoba oil, our apple cider vinegar shampoo is sulfate and paraben-free making it great for all hair types, color treated hair, and sensitive skin.”

The reason I use a clarifying shampoo once a week is because my scalp tends to suffer from any product build up during the days I don’t wash; this includes not just the products I use, but also my dry skin itself (flakes!), oil, and anything that’s in the air (pollen has been an especially big issue for me this year). A clarifying shampoo really helps me ensure that my scalp is at its optimal health. However, clarifying shampoos can be incredibly drying.

That’s the first thing I like about the Apple Cider Vinegar shampoo: I get the clarifying aspects of apple cider vinegar, without the extreme dryness caused by some shampoos. As well, it has all the benefits of an ACV rinse without making my hair smell like an (admittedly delicious) salad.

This shampoo also has jojoba and argan oil, which means that it is also moisturizing; again, this leaves my actual hair looking much nicer. I did use this shampoo combination with my usual hair mask and only once a week for about 3 weeks. However, I did notice an improvement in my scalp by the second week. My scalp tends to get really red and irritated if I use a shampoo I’m not supposed to (aka every time I go on vacation and use Head & Shoulders or a hotel shampoo that I know is going to murder me), and I didn’t experience that at all with this shampoo.

After I used it the first time, Danny asked me: “so what does it smell like?” Interesting enough, it has kind of a green apple scent to me—however, it’s not strong and it’s not strongly scented, period. It smells almost neutral—so don’t worry about that ACV smell, seriously.

If you’re looking for a good clarifying shampoo that will revitalize your hair, without breaking the bank, this is a great option. It costs $12.95 for 10 oz, which is incredibly affordable. A 10 oz bottle of Maple Holistics usually lasts me about 3-4 months, depending on how often I use it. To purchase, click here.

Disclaimer: As noted by the asterisk (*) in the title of this post, I received products in exchange for review. However, all opinions remain my own! To learn more about my disclosure policy, click here.

Beauty Review: Maple Holistics Silk18 Shampoo*

About a year and a half ago, I wrote a review of Maple Holistic’s Tea Tree Shampoo (one of my favorites). You can read that here.

As you all surely know by now, shampoo is one of my bugbears. I have a very sensitive, dry scalp; shampoos will work for a little while to relieve the dryness, then stop. I have reviewed so many shampoos and while they all worked for a while, eventually, my scalp went back to its usual: dry, flaky, itchy, sensitive.

When Maple Holistics reached out to me about reviewing their Silk18 Shampoo*, I was excited… but aware that like most shampoos, my dry scalp will probably acclimate to it. I’ve started to realize that I need to focus more on nourishing my scalp between washes, instead of expecting the shampoo to do all of the world.

My review of this was slightly complicated by the power outage at the end of February. I wasn’t able to shower for the first 4 days, by which time I was on day 7 with no washing. My scalp felt great and I realized I needed to start giving myself more time between washes. I used the Silk18 Shampoo for that first shower and oh my gosh… it felt amazing.

I really like Maple Holistics for a lot of reasons; the first one is that all of their products are cruelty free and ethically sourced. This helps me feel a lot better about the products I use, even if I can’t guarantee it for everything that works me & my hair! I also like that their products contain natural, soothing ingredients that are low on a toxicity scale, which helps keep our waterways clean.

The Silk18 Shampoo from Maple Holistics promises the following:

“Achieve stronger, smoother, more luscious hair with silk18 shampoo. Infused with a rejuvenating blend of 18 silk amino acids which help fortify hair follicles and strengthen strands to protect hair from dryness, breakage, damage, split ends, and hair fall. The nourishing formula gently cleanses dandruff, excess sebum, and impurities to leave your hair and scalp feeling fresh but not stripped. Enriched with argan and jojoba oil to add supreme softness and a luminous shine. Our shampoo is sulfate and paraben-free making it great for all hair types, color treated hair, and sensitive skin.”

All of those things are definitely true. I have slightly drier-than-average hair (although not bad compared to my scalp) that can get slightly frizzy and ugly after a few days (usually if I wear it in a bun too much). However, this shampoo definitely gave my hair most luster and shine than any other shampoo I’ve used recently, which is a definite plus. I used it in combination with my Formulate conditioner, which was really, really lovely.

You might be wondering, what about your scalp? Well, it didn’t help my dry scalp as much as I would like—but it didn’t make it worse. When it comes to shampoo, that’s really all I can ask for! Some shampoos definitely make my scalp feel awful and this isn’t one of them.

So what’s my final verdict?

I love this shampoo for my hair. I like it for my scalp. I have found that using it in combination with my blend of half Head & Shoulders and half my Formulate shampoo on my scalp, then this on my ends… I get the absolute best wash I’ve gotten in a while. I’m currently working on washing my hair much, much less often to see if that will help my scalp health overtime. (I’m talking… like washing my hair every 10 days here, which seems like so long!) If you have drier hair, this is a great shampoo to try for a little extra moisture here at the tail end of a very, very cold winter season.

You can try the Maple Holistics Silk 18 Shampoo yourself by purchasing here.

Disclaimer: As always, as asterisk (*) in the title of this post denotes that I received this product in exchange for review. However, all opinions remain my own! Posts like this help me keep the lights on at Writing Between Pauses. To learn more about my disclosure policy, click here.

Beauty Review: OGX Miracle Oil Line

Another day, another shampoo review.

A few months ago, I reviewed the OGX Coconut Oil Shampoo, which I quite liked. It did a lot to help my scalp, which was in pretty poor shape. As I wrote in my post about hair masks, I recently discovered that my scalp problems are mostly hormonal and my goal has become to soothe my scalp as much as I possibly can.

One thing I started noticing in the last 6 months had nothing to do with my scalp: split ends. I hadn’t had a hair cut in 3 years (it’s been 3 years ago this week actually!), when I was pregnant. It was just one of those things that got away from me. But since I don’t use heat styling, I don’t really get split ends as bad as I should. However, I was having a lot of breakage and split ends by the end of July. It just kept getting worse and while I knew the solution was to get a hair cut, I still kept putting it off. (But that’s really another story entirely, isn’t it?)

My hair started getting very dry during the summer. Not just my scalp, which was still flaring up occasionally, but my hair started to feel rather straw like. The problem really got bad when I was sent some shampoo to try and it absolutely destroyed my hair to the point where I had to email the company and cancel the sponsored post. It was bad, bad, bad! Just the absolute worst shampoo I’ve ever used on my hair. It made my hair dry and brittle, the ends seemed to start splitting at an alarming rate, and I was looking really ragged!

So at Target, I decided to treat myself to two pieces of the OGX Coconut Miracle Oil line because my hair needed it. I got the Coconut Miracle Oil shampoo and the Coconut Miracle Penetrating Oil. Here’s what the shampoo promises:

“Create an island girl escape in your shower with this ultra-moisturizing formula for thick to coarse hair. Help repair, soften and revive damaged strands and discover silky, soft island-inspired hair.”

And here’s what the Penetrating Oil promises:

“This Penetrating Oil is the key to your island escape, to help revive your senses and your strands. This rich oil helps to calm frizz and tame flyaways, leaving hair silky soft and shiny.”

Basically, both these products are intended to moisturize and help repair hair. Technically, they are both for hair types that are not mine (thick, wavy hair seems to be what they are advertised for), but since my hair was in such need of heavy repair… I knew I had to try something.

The shampoo especially is lovely. After one use, my hair was much less dry and brittle (from that awful shampoo!) and within a week or two, it was looking back to normal again.

The oil has become something I use daily: I apply it in the morning to help take impressions out of my hair (as my hair is so fine it often stays in a ponytail wave for a long time) and to help calm down visible breakage. It is also great for getting rid of static and frizziness when I do blow dry my hair. I have also noticed the oil helps my scalp when it is flaring up, feeling sore and flaky; I try not to apply it directly, but by moisturizing my hair, it does lend moisture to my scalp.

I have found both did a lot to help repair my hair from the damage I put it through, both from not getting a hair cut for my son’s entire life and from using a shampoo that really did a number on me. They are also both really affordable products, so if you’re hair needs a little TLC, they are absolutely a great option.

This line also include a dry shampoo, which I am very, very interested in trying. I rarely use dry shampoo, as I have found that it either leaves white marks in my dark hair or makes my scalp burn a bit (thanks sensitive scalp). However, I am really curious as this line is so moisturizing and lovely, I’m sure the dry shampoo is great too.

3 Things You Need to Know about Sulfate-Free Shampoo

I'll be totally honest: I've always been really disinterested in hair products. As someone who can buy 45 different versions of the same lipstick color (and argue with my husband to the death that they are actually very different colors, thank you very much), hair products are just beauty products that I feel I don't have space in my brain for. 

I've been pretty lucky to be blessed with hair that just kind of works. I have straight, really manageable hair. I could honestly wash it with dish soap and it would behave the exact same way. (And yes, I may have done this once or twice in college.) I don't heat treat my hair and I only dye my hair its natural shade to cover grays, so I don't experience a ton of damage to it. 

My hair, by nature, is very fine (though I have a lot of it, so my hair is also quite thick in terms of amount) and I've always been able to get away with washing it every 2-3 days before it looks bad. Unlike my face, I seemed to have a natural amount of oil on my scalp and it never bothered me. But about 4 months ago, I started really struggling with a dry scalp. 

I tried every tea tree oil shampoo I could find, convinced I wanted to go natural. When those did nothing, I switched to Head & Shoulders, angry that I had to go with an option that wasn't cruelty-free. And while Head & Shoulders made it marginally better, I still would get a dry, flaky, itchy scalp within a day of washing. I went to the dermatologist and was told I didn't have dandruff or seborrheic dermatitis; my scalp was just dry, so when my hair got even a little oily, the skin would lift. The dermatologist told me to just wash my hair every day. 

Which I did and it didn't really help. And my hair started getting quite limp from all the washing. 

While listening to a podcast recently, a guest mentioned that people with dry, flaky scalps should try going sulfate-free. I had tried a few sulfate-free shampoos and I wasn't totally impressed with them--but I was willing to give it a shot. Anything that allowed me to go more than 24 hours between washes without a flaky, itchy scalp! 

I started doing a lot of research on sulfate-free shampoos and came to conclusion that trying it would be absolutely worth it. I knew it might require me to stick with it for a while--not something I'm great at--but I really wanted to give it a try. 

All my research gave me the idea that I needed to share what I've learned about sulfate-free shampoos. 

1. Sulfates are what make shampoo sudsy--and they do not cause cancer. 

For the last few years, I've been seeing this scary meme floating around Facebook (especially in my mom groups) that sulfates in shampoo cause cancer. That's categorically false.

Sulfates are simply an ingredient in shampoo that makes it sudsy; they also are a type of surfacant, which means they attract oil and water to themselves. This allows oil and debris to be removed from your scalp--but it can also strip natural oils from your hair too, making it dry and brittle. If you struggle with a dry scalp or dry hair, you may be particularly sensitive to sulfates--and so switching to sulfate-free shampoo would be a good things to try. 

2. Sulfate-free shampoo makes hair color last longer. 

If you dye your hair, and notice that your color is fading quite quickly, switching to sulfate-free shampoo can make a major difference. I primarily used eSalon's shampoo for a long time--but as I started struggling with my dry scalp, I had to switch to harsher shampoos that I felt stripped my color. Since I've switched to the Kristen Ess sulfate-free shampoo, I've definitely noticed that my color is not fading nearly as fast. 

3. Going sulfate-free is most beneficial for certain hair types. 

There are some who will benefit from going sulfate-free and some who won't. If you have relatively easy hair, and a scalp that never gets itchy or too oily, then sulfates are the easiest way to clean your hair. Going sulfate-free means you spend a little bit more time manually cleaning your scalp. 

Those with dry and/or frizzy hair can benefit from sulfate-free shampoos, especially those that use coconut extracts instead of sulfates. As well, anyone who struggles with eczema or other skin conditions might benefit from going sulfate-free too, as it can help alleviate dry skin and itchiness. 

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I'm two weeks into using Kristen Ess's The One Signature Shampoo; I'll update this blog post when I know exactly how it has helped my scalp. I've definitely seen a reduction in flakiness and I've been much less itchy since I started using it, but I want to give myself a little bit more time! 

Do you use sulfate-free shampoo? What's your favorite kind? Have you seen it help your scalp or hair?