I am interested in getting away from using products with chemicals in them (shampoo, laundry detergent, dish soap, cleaning products, etc.) and was hoping that some of you can suggest some products for me. I would prefer not to spend a lot of money "going green" if possible. I live in the US.

I have hard water with high pH. I don't know if that will affect the products I can use.

Any suggestions are welcome. I don't mind putting weird things in my hair if they don't smell bad and my hair will turn out nice.

Thanks.

Hello,

It is hard to go "green" for cheap. Demand for all those products is still low which keeps prices high. I found organic and all natural shampoo by JASON. Most of shampoos you see in the stores have a chemical called Laureth Sulfate. Its what makes all the shampoos so foamie. But its is very bad for the environment. :(

Good Luck.

Thanks for the shampoo suggestion Polina.

I found a few sites that said you can use baking soda mixed with warm water as a shampoo. Has anyone tried this? I have also heard that a little bit of lemon juice in your rinse will make your hair shine.

baking soda is very harsh for hair. I would only use it occationally in the hair but not everytime unless you have very harty hair. My hair is easily damaged, so I wouldn't. it is excellent when used to clean other things. it makes a good toothpaste alternative although it doesn't taste good it will sure clean your teeth super well. vinager is also a good household cleaning agent. Back to the hair, did you know that conditioner actually has some cleaning action to it and many people do what's called a condition only treatment. they leave the conditioner on the hair while in the shower doing the rest of their routine and then at the end of the shower rinse it off. conditioner doesn't normally have the harsh stuff in it that shampoo does like the sulfates. there are also many herbs that can be used to clean hair. have you considered making your own soaps?

This site lists natural ways (like using lemon juice, veingar, etc) to clean things in your house:

http://www.thegoodhuman.com/2007/11/05/the-natural-way-to-clean-everything-in-your-house/

And here are some natural ways to clean and take care of your hair (beer and mayo I know people have used personally and it worked well for them):

http://www.rd.com/tools-and-quizzes/extraordinary-uses/natural-hair-care-tips/article26784.html

Natural face and body cleansars, treatments (like using honey, oatmeal as an exfoiliant, etc) are here if you scroll down:

http://allnaturalbeauty.us/ani24.htm

and here:

http://www.womanspassions.com/articles/87.html

I originally just looked up these sites so I could help answer your question but hey I think I want to try some of them now too :)

If you think of anything else in particular you would like to learn about let me know and I will gladly you find you more info luckyboobs!

I love Alba Botanica and Burt's Bees. You can find both at almost any store. Neither of these companies test on animals but I don't think they are 100% organic because they don't have the seal.

try www.organicconsumers.org

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. Much appreciated.