I am so picky about the products I use on my hair. A lot of drugstore products don't typically meet my standards in terms of ingredients or animal welfare practices. Yet, one day I stumbled across a TikTok that talked about a brand of hair care that received an amazing score on some type of "clean beauty" app. That brand ended up being Native and I ended up being influenced enough to try it.
I bought the shampoo and conditioner and was actually shocked at the price. It was only about $10 a bottle, which I found pretty reasonable considering the reviews. The first thing I noticed once I brought the bottles home were the ingredients. Their shampoo and conditioner are typically made of about ten ingredients, which in it of itself is pretty good for affordable haircare. The part I personally loved about the ingredients is that they translated the ingredient name to what it actually is. For example, sodium benzoate is literally just food grade salt. I love the ingredient transparency and it made me feel so much better about what I was putting on my head.
I also quite simply loved how my hair felt after I used it. I had no complaints. My hair felt clean after I shampooed and didn't have any strange residue, and it felt soft and detangled after I brushed it with the conditioner in. Native is also vegan and cruelty-free, which is a must for me, personally. Now, I don't buy any other type of shampoo or conditioner. I buy their seasonal scents whenever they come out, but me and Native are happy together.
There's some folks that aren't as enthusiastic about Native as I am, which is totally valid and it's valuable to hear all sides! I went to a website called The Filtery, which is a site where they review certain products and their ingredients. According to their website, "The Filtery is a digital platform that provides curious citizens with well-researched and practical solutions for decreasing the toxins in their bodies and homes. Whether you’re looking for trusted non-toxic brands or answers to your questions about materials or ingredients, The Filtery is here to help."
The Filtery pointed out basically every single "pro" that I listed, along with including the fact that Native is available at major stores, such as Target, and that they are free of things such as "gluten, soy, dyes, sulfates, parabens, phthalates, microbeads, polyethylene, and DMDM hydantoin." They also listed a few of their "cons," which include not being biodegradable, not being tear-free and not listing what ingredients make up their fragrance. Based on The Filtery, and other people's opinions, the fragrance aspect seems to be the biggest red flag of their products. According to the FDA, "fragrance and flavor ingredients do not need to be listed individually on cosmetic labels..." Some folks aren't fond of artificial fragrance in their products, which is part of the hesitation of Native's hair care.
All of this is really based on personal preference when it comes to beauty products. I also think this is a part of a bigger conversation regarding the lack of knowledge folks have about ingredients in their products and the fear mongering that happens on social media regarding what is considered "toxic" in beauty products.
In conclusion, Native hair care gets a big thumbs up from me and I think everyone should try it. For the price and minimal ingredients, you can't get much better than Native.
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