Once upon a time, shopping for organic and all-natural products, whether they were for food or for your body, was relegated to the so-called health food nuts and old hippies. This is just not true anymore. Every year more and more people are beginning to realize the impact that human beings have on the earth as well as the negative impact that the synthetic chemicals we use have on our bodies. Organic has become much more than an off-beat farming strategy. Today organic and living green are a way of life.

When you ask most people what “organic shampoo” means, they believe it should contain 100% organic or at least not contain any synthetic preservatives or detergents. Current organic standards are geared towards farming and include regulations such as the prohibition of the use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers. In order to meet US federal labeling requirements, a product that is labeled as “made with” organic ingredients must include at least 70% organic elements. A product labeled as “certified organic” must contain at least 95% certified organic ingredients. The USDA requires the actual percentage of organic materials to be listed on the label.

The most harmful non-organic ingredients of regular shampoo includes the synthetics: parabens, phthalates, and sodium lauryl sulfates (commonly referred to as SLS-free on a natural shampoo label to indicate that it contains none). A recent widely publicized study in the medical journal Pediatrics showed some serious concerns in the body's ability to absorb phthalates through the skin. The study examined the use of lotions and powders on babies and found that higher use of lotions and powders was linked directly to higher concentrations of phthalates in the babies' urine. The doctors were so alarmed that they have recommended that parents do not apply any baby lotions or powders to their children's skin unless they are specifically prescribed.

When looking for organic shampoos, sometimes it can be difficult to discern exactly what is actually more natural and healthy. This is because in foods, the water percentage is not allowed to be included in calculating the percent of certified organics present in the product. This is not true with shampoo. For the most part, shampoo consists of a sort of herbal tea along with other chemicals and vitamins in much smaller percentages. But these small percentages of chemicals are the problem. Its not difficult for unscrupulous companies to replace the previous herbs they were using with organic herbs and slap an organic label on the shampoo. This is because shampoo is always more than 70% water - so that herbal "tea" makes up for the entire content that is required by US labeling standards.

The other challenge is in the way that beauty products such as shampoo must be labeled – they much contain the chemical name of the ingredients. For example, instead of saying vitamin E – which is a natural preservative and not harmful, the bottle much list tocopherols which will sound much worse if not explained.

The most important thing to remember when choosing an organic shampoo is to avoid any parabens, phthalates, and sodium lauryl sulfates.

It was quite a challenge searching for shampoos that are labeled as organic in one form or the other that did not also contain at least one of these ingredients. The usual culprit is sodium laurel sulfate as it is a popular chemical additive to enhance sudsing. An organic shampoo may not create mountains of suds in the way that a traditional saloon product does, but it will clean just as well if not better and be much more healthy for you and the environment.

Here are the best 3 organic shampoos from my research. Please note that ONLY Scalp Rescue by Max Green Alchemy is 100% organic. It happens to also be certified vegan and cruelty-free as well as being a genuinely good shampoo.