Daniel Galvin Organic Hair Juice Calming Baby Shampoo

Author's product rating:   

How gentle is it?	Gentle
Does the product work?	Good
Tangle free agents	Very good - Leaves the hair tangle free
Fragrance	Lovely - fresh and clean smelling
Value for Money	Poor

Advantages:	Organic,does not contain Sodium Laureth Sulphate
Disadvantages:	Does contain other harmful ingredients, expensive,not widely available

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

If you knew that the shampoo you were using on your child may increase skin thickness, cause irritation or even penetrate the cornea of the eye would you still use it?
This may sound like scare-mongering, but many shampoos contain a detergent called Sodium Laureth Sulphate which some scientists claim does all of the above. It was when I read a report on Sodium Laureth Sulphate that I looked around for kinder alternatives to the popular brand of baby shampoo that I had previously been using.
Quite surprisingly really, I found very few baby shampoos which didn’t contain this harmful compound. I did however, on browsing the shelves at Waitrose, find celebrity hair stylist Daniel Galvin Junior’s Calming Baby Shampoo.
Having read the claim ‘only the mildest, organic ingredients gently cleanse your baby’s hair and scalp’, I popped the little bottle into my trolley, safe in the knowledge that I was protecting my babies from another of the world’s evils ( just by the way I say this with a slightly sarcastic tone…wouldn’t want you to think I take myself too seriously !).
It turns out, however, that I may have been wrong to place my trust in Daniel Galvin Junior’s promise. I had initially planned to give this shampoo an extremely favourable review, but when I looked closer at some of the ingredients and attempted to unravel the mysteries of the scientific jargon during the compilation of this review, I was surprised and disappointed to find that maybe this shampoo didn’t in fact live up to Daniel Galvin Junior’s claims.

Outward Appearance
This shampoo comes in a small white 125ml bottle with a purple ‘clickable’ lid, and black and purple lettering on the front. It also has a green diamond on which are printed the words ‘contains Certified Organic Ingredients’, and a sticker which bears the outline of a leaf with the words ‘New Improved Organic’ on it. On the back is a quote from Daniel Galvin Junior which tells us how he came to produce this shampoo, directions on how to use the shampoo and a list of ingredients.

Inward Appearance
A thick, opaque amber liquid.

Cost and availability
I bought my bottle from Waitrose for £3.99.It is also available in some branches of Tesco.

What are the claims?
Daniel Galvin junior claims and I quote:
‘My organic shampoo contains only the mildest, natural and organic cleansing agents and contains no harsh detergents such as sodium lauryl/laureth sulphate or alcohol.
My shampoo will leave your baby’s hair fresh and clean the organic way, and your baby calmed and relaxed ready for a good night’s sleep.
This product is not tested on animals.’

Directions
The directions on how to use the product are pretty standard. Users are advised to rinse thoroughly and also to avoid contact of the product with the eyes. It’s fairly obvious why if you read my findings on the ingredients below.

So what exactly are the ingredients and do they uphold the claims?

Lauryl glucoside: a surfactant and detergent made from coconut oil (the "lauryl" part) and sugar (the glucose part).This is known to be gentle to the skin, and works in hard water.

Coco Betaine: a mild surfactant derived from coconut oil and the basic ingredient in shampoos and liquid soaps.

Glycerin: a humectant, meaning it attracts moisture to your skin. Glycerin is a natural by-product of the soapmaking process.

Coco Glucoside: from natural fatty acid (coconut oil) and sugar

Sucrose laurate: could find little information , apart from the fact that this could be derived from animals.

PEG-60 Almond Glycerides : an Almond Oil Derived Emollient),

Dimethicone Copolyol is basically non-hazardous with low toxicity, although contact with the skin or eyes may cause irritation.

Lactic acid: a fermentation product of lactose (milk sugar).

Yucca Vera: a plant extract.

Phenoxyethanol: again, I could find little information on this ingredient, but did find out that it can be irritating to the eyes.

Lavandula angustifolia: Common Lavender

I was happy with the majority of the ingredients in this shampoo, but shocked to find that two of the ingredients are known to act as an irritant to the eyes or skin, and also to find that one ingredient was possibly an animal derivative. It’s also worth remembering that in order for a product to claim to be organic, it only needs to contain 5% organic ingredients. 87% of the ingredients in this shampoo are organic.

Perfume
This shampoo has a mild but pleasant smell of Lavender.

Effectiveness
The shampoo lathered up well, and left my little boy’s hair smelling and looking clean and tangle-free.

Overall Opinion
I was disappointed to find that some of the ingredients in this baby shampoo would irritate the eyes. However, this shampoo appears to do the job well, leaving my children with sweet-smelling, clean hair. It is somewhat overpriced at £3.99 for just 125ml. However, compared to other baby shampoos, this would appear to be the lesser evil as far as harmful ingredients go, so I will continue to use this shampoo until I find a suitable alternative, and would still recommend it to others.