Detoxing my hair the cruelty-free way

I know it may seem a little excessive to write a whole post on a shampoo and conditioner, but honestly this is one of my favourite haircare discoveries of recent years so it looks like I’m doing it anyway.

It’s also part of a more serious and important topic that has become part of how I shop. Until the end of last year, I’d never thought too much about animal testing – that sounds terrible I know, but what I mean is that I felt it was a given that sticking potentially harmful substances in bunnies’ eyes just wasn’t okay. (A simplistic way to look at it but you get the jist. Not okay, right?!). Very naively, I just kind of assumed it didn’t really happen anymore.

Sadly this is not the case. I don’t want to dwell on this too much but essentially what happened is I wised up, did my research and found that many brands that were standard in my daily routine are not in fact cruelty free (hi there L’Oreal, Herbal Essences, Nivea, Garnier, Rimmel, and many others). Since then I’ve been replacing the products I was using with more bunny-friendly alternatives.

Enter Avalon Organics. This stuff is next-level good, and by that I don’t mean ‘better than I expected’ or ‘good for the sort of hippy haircare you buy in Holland and Barrett’ (although I did buy it in Holland and Barrett, make of that what you will), I mean really, actually good in its own right. When I bought this I was looking for something that would completely detox my hair; it was feeling super clogged up and product-laden at the time, which I actually now think was due to using products filled with too many chemicals and none of the good stuff. Using the Avalon Organics Clarifying Lemon Shampoo & Conditioner was a perfect antidote.

These little angels contain no harsh chemicals, are completely plant based, vegan, eco-friendly and organic. I mean, it involves quinoa protein. I think that says it all really. Most importantly of all for me in this case – they are completely certified cruelty-free with the leaping bunny logo.

My hair actually noticeably improved after just one use of these. The shampoo was a little less thick than I was used to and the conditioner also felt a bit different than I was expecting (I wasn’t really a big user of natural, organic products) but with the shampoo you can still get enough lather to get a good wash all over and both products are easy to work into the hair. After just one wash my hair felt smooth, soft and super clean – in a natural, healthy way, rather than anything too harsh or squeaky clean.

The smell is also fantastic. I’m a sucker for anything lemon-scented anyway, but let me tell you this smells sort of like lemon meringue pie. I’m not sure if I’m making that up but that’s definitely what my mind jumped to when I smelled it, perhaps that says more about me than the product but what can you do?!

In all honesty, at £5.99 each they’re on the higher end of I would usually spend on shampoo and conditioner (I’m a cheapskate, what can I say), although I know lots of people regularly spend a lot more than that on their haircare, so I think these can definitely be classed as very affordable. Plus, when I got them Holland and Barrett were doing buy one get one half price making it £9 for the pair.

I’ve been using them for a couple of months now so long enough to really test them out, and I really have noticed a lasting difference in my hair. It feels stronger, cleaner, and more naturally nourished and healthy. I never get that built up, product laden feel in my roots anymore and am a convert for sure – I can’t wait to try the peppermint and rosemary ones now!

Has anyone else tried Avalon Organics? What did you think? Actually, if you have any cruelty-free suggestions in general that would be just splendid!

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