February 18, 2021 2 min read 3 Comments

We love clean hair. Who doesn’t? It’s so satisfying to step into the shower and work up a rich lather of shampoo. Then that silky feeling from conditioner after? Just incredible. Knowing your hair looks amazing is a confidence boost unlike any other, and it’s so simple to achieve. Particularly if you’re tapping into the all-natural power of plants to give you that shine.

three women sitting with their backs to the camera, with shiny hair.

How We Get The Natural Lather

We know how important it is to have a rich lather in your Shampoo. We also know how important it is to use only natural ingredients, at least for us. And we’re guessing that if you’re reading this right now it’s important to you too.

Many shampoos rely on sulfates to create all the bubbles you associate with clean hair. Sulfates are on our red list at Rocky. That means you’ll never find them in any of our products. The associations with skin irritations and sulfates are one reason, but SLS can also be derived from petroleum or plant sources, which could be palm oil. No thanks!

Image of hair lathering with natural shampoo.

We’d rather rely on nature for beautiful ingredients that won’t harm you or the planet. We don’t ever want to worry about what we’re putting on our bodies. That’s why we use Soap Nut Aqueous Extract to bubble and lather our natural shampoo.

What’s a Soap Nut?

Soap Nut is the start ingredient of our natural shampoo. You know that clean feeling you get when washing your hair? That luxurious lather that tells your brain you’re going to look amazing? We get that effect using Soap Nut.

image of soap nuts, what we use to naturally lather our shampoo without sulfates.

Part of the lychee family, soap nuts are actually considered a berry and come from the Sapindus Mukorossi tree. And even though their name implies otherwise, soap nuts are actually totally soap-free. To make soap you need to, by definition, create soap through the process of saponification (we’re pretty good at that).

The cleansing ingredient in the soap nut is actually a natural thing called saponin that acts as a mild cleanser. When added to water the soap nut lathers and foams, giving a soaping effect. The saponins act as surfactants and that means they can easily dissolve dirt and clean your hair, skin and clothes. This is why a soap nut is called a "soap.”

Fun fact! You can throw loose soap nuts into a mesh bag and add them to your laundry for a natural detergent.

Recipe For Beautiful Hair

Soap nut is part of how we make the lather, but there are so many other superstars nourishing your hair in our shampoo. Here are the highlights:

image of woman smiling in shower.

Flax Seed Protein
Packed with Omega-3 Fatty Acids, Flax Seed nourishes your hair. This ingredient is also packed with B and E vitamins to strengthen your locks.


Sodium Cocoyl Glutamate (Amino Acid)
Amino Acids help your hair retain moisture, keeping the hair cuticle healthy and moisturised. This plant-based amino also works as a gentle cleanser.

Lactic Acid
We derive our Lactic Acid from molasses. It helps retain moisture, works as a natural preservative and is totally natural and vegan. Learn more about Lactic Acid.


3 Responses

Rocky Mountain Soap Company
Rocky Mountain Soap Company

March 12, 2021

Hi Dolores and Colleen!

We don’t currently have plans to make hairspray, but we’re always cooking up new things in our workshop, so you never know! We’re SO glad you love the hair care, Colleen. Thank you both for the feedback, we love hearing from you.

Dolores
Dolores

March 12, 2021

Also interested in a hair spray. Will be trying your shampo and conditioner very soon.

Colleen
Colleen

February 22, 2021

Love love love your shampoos! All of them that I’ve tried!
Please can you come up with a hairspray that is good for my hair? Right now I must rely on a natural product from the Lemongrass Company out of the USA. They do not ship here, so I wait to cross the border because of Covid, or pay expensively to courier it across.
Would be so pleased if your company sold this and some good laundry products also. For what it’s worth to you ☺️

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