Cara B Naturally ~ Shampoo/Body Wash, Leave In Conditioner, and Bar Soap

Behind the Scenes report 

 As you may have already read, I fell blindly in love with Cara B Naturally hair care products! After my infatuation wore off (somewhat) I realized I should critique this product just the same as I do any other! Here it is, the in-depth review of Cara B Naturally!

Paraben-free

Petrolatum-free

Phthalate-free

Sulfate-free

mineral oil-free

no artificial colors or fragrances

Natural Products Association Certified

Shampoo/Body Wash 

       What the website says:   
Tear-free, extra rich lather, and silky clean
 
Gently cleanse your child’s delicate hair and skin with our all-natural, nourishing bath solution. CARA B Naturally Shampoo / Body Wash includes vitamin E and aloe to moisturize and soothe, while imparting a rich cleansing lather and calming all-natural chamomile fragrance. Hair and skin are left feeling clean and soft.

Ingredients: Deionized water; natural coconut oil, cornstarch and sugar soap blend (decyl glucoside); natural chamomile fragrance blend; vegetable glycerin; sugar (glucose); vitamin E; aloe vera barbadensis leaf juice; citric acid; guar gum (natural thickener); caramel; glucose oxidase & lactoperoxidase (natural preservative)

8 fl. oz.     $11.00

 Curly Hairdo Ideas thoughts:

Every single claim was true. (Ok, I didn't purposely get any in my eye to test that one!) It leaves your skin so soft - no need for lotion after washing your hands! My hair felt clean, but not stripped and "fluffy" (I dislike that fluffy feeling) The lather is incredible - so if you'd like to go more natural, but love the lather - you'll have it!  (it used to be that "natural" products didn't have the lathering "capabilities" of detergent based products)

 ** See below for ingredient breakdown.
 
Leave In Conditioner 

     What the website says:
Softens with a light touch, non-greasy and non-oily


 Gently condition and moisturize your child’s hair without any oily residue. Our all-natural Leave-In Conditioner / Daily Moisturizer is designed for use immediately after shampooing to improve manageability, and for use every day as a light, non-greasy, and gentle moisturizer. Jojoba oil and shea butter leave hair feeling noticeably soft.

Ingredients: Deionized water; natural emulsifying wax (cetearyl alcohol); shea butter; jojoba oil; coconut oil (capric triglyceride); vegetable glycerin; natural emulsifier (cetearyl alcohol and cetearyl glucoside); natural chamomile fragrance blend; cocoa butter (stearic acid); sugar (glucose); xanthan gum (natural thickener); natural emulsifier (glyceryl stearate); aloe barbadensis leaf juice; vitamin E; caramel; potassium sorbate; glucose oxidase & lactoperoxidase (natural preservative)
Use only as directed. Keep out of reach of children except under adult supervision.

8 fl. oz.     $13.00

Curly Hairdo Ideas thoughts:

Again, true! I went loved this conditioner, it passed the test in each and every way I tried it. After shampooing, on it's own as a co-wash, and as a leave in after washing. Our hair was definitely soft! and there was no greasy look, even when using this product as a leave in, which with Q's hair, we have to sometimes be very light handed with the leave in - while I didn't go overboard in applying it, we also never had greasy-looking curls!

 ** See below for ingredient breakdown.

Bar Soap

   What the website says:
Gentle cleansing, creamy lather with aloe, shea butter, jojoba and palm oil

 Gently cleanse delicate skin with the creamy blend of natural oils, shea butter, and aloe. The Baby Bar Bundle contains three (3) bars.

Ingredients: Coconut oil, palm oil, safflower oil, glycerine (kosher, of vegetable origin), purified water, sodium hydroxide (saponifying agent), sorbitol (moisturizer), sorbitan oleate (emulsifier), soy bean protein (conditioner), aloe vera barbadensis leaf juice, shea butter, jojoba oil

*Our CARA B Baby Bar Soap Bundle, while made with approved all-natural ingredients, has not yet been certified by the Natural Products Association.

 3 bars  $10.00

Curly Hairdo Ideas thoughts:
Worked like a charm - just as great as the body wash. But I *believe* non-liquid products have less preservative (that could be wrong, just so ya know), so yay! This was definitely my first pick of my soaps in the shower at the time. I love how all these products leave my skin feeling clean and soft and healthy! Instead of dry.


Ingredient Breakdown!
(note: I use the toxicity rating system at Skin Deep quite a lot! They rate the toxicity levels of products and ingredients on a scale of 1-10, with 0-3 being "low hazard", 4-6 "moderate hazard", 7-10 "high hazard")

Ok, now the moment of truth. As you can see from the lists above - most of the ingredients look amazing:
Coconut oil -  coconutoil.com
Jojoba oil - Benefits of Jojoba oil, more in depth info about Jojoba Oil than you ever knew there was to know!
Palm oil - a bunch of articles on research of Palm oil
Safflower oil - I haven't found anything yet to suggest this is something to stay away from, it appears to be a skin lubricant which gives that soft and smooth appearance we all love so much.

Water - not much to complain about here!

sorbitol (moisturizer) - Skin Deep indicates a history of cancer and non-reproductive organ toxicity, with data gaps. Overall toxicity rating = 1.
sorbitan oleate (emulsifier) - Skin Deep indicates a history of cancer, irritation, ecotoxicology, and non-reproductive organ toxicity, with data gaps. Overall toxicity rating = 1.
soy bean protein (conditioner) -  It was very hard to find much about soybean protein in my quick internet search. I'm a bit hesitant of soy because of the way the US is modifying its growth - but beyond that, Skin Deep gave it a rating of 0, with data gaps, of course, and I also found THIS article. Doesn't seem to be much to worry about. Unless you're allergic to Soy!
aloe vera barbadensis leaf juice - Skin Deep rates this ingredient as a 1, with slight reproductive concerns as well as use restrictions and data gaps.
shea butter -amazing stuff - This is where I buy mine and there's also a lot of great info on Shea Butter here too! It has way more uses than I first realized! For more of my previous thoughts for Shea Butter - visit this post. and this post.
Cetearyl alcohol - Skin Deep rating of 0-1. for data gaps and ecotoxicology. This is actually considered a "good" alcohol - not all alcohols are bad for our skin and hair. It seems that it's main use is to keep other ingredients from separating, and as a thickener - read more at cosmeticsinfo.org!

sugar (glucose) - Skin Deep toxicity rating of 1, for cancer, non-reproductive organ toxicity, neurotoxicity, biochemical or cellular level changes - and data gaps, of course!
xanthan gum (natural thickener) -  Skin Deep rating of 0.
natural emulsifier (glyceryl stearate) -  I couldn't find an exact match on Skin Deep, but I did find this on cosmeticsinfo.org

Glyceryl Stearate acts as a lubricant on the skin’s surface, which gives the skin a soft and smooth appearance. It also slows the loss of water from the skin by forming a barrier on the skin’s surface. Glyceryl Stearate, and Glyceryl Stearate SE help to form emulsions by reducing the surface tension of the substances to be emulsified.

vitamin E - used as a preservative - and for it's many benefits! I just have to add this quote even though it will take up even more space in my already-too-long post...

When vitamin E products are applied to the skin, they are claimed to have positive effects against skin aging attributable to ultraviolet light, such as sunbeams. However, the ability of vitamin E in cosmetics to assist in the healing of minor sunburns and burns has not been substantiated. The application of vitamin E in cosmetics initially reinforces the inwardly aligned efficient defensive mantle of the skin.
Some studies have also shown the caring effects of vitamin E in cosmetics for acne and scars treatment as well as for promoting healing of eczema, burns, and other skin ailments. When vitamin E-containing products are applied to the skin, they are believed to promote curing, protecting cells from reducing itchiness and free-radical damage. Many people today use vitamin E cosmetics to ensure the most favorable skin health and inhibit oxidation processes and signs of aging.  (Source!)

caramel - yep, literally. Caramel - the melted sugar! I had no idea it was used in cosmetics - but it's quite common, I guess! Mostly used to add color. (makes sense!) Skin Deep rates it as a 1, for cancer and data gaps.
potassium sorbate - Skin Deep rating of 1. Cancer, non-reproductive organ toxicity, neurotoxicity and data gaps.

lactoperoxidase (natural preservative) - ecotoxicology, data gaps: Skin Deep rating of 0.

guar gum (natural thickener) - an organic (or can be) emulsifier! How cool is that!!



and only a few look less than amazing, but they're good to be aware of:
Glycerin - www.cosmeticsdatabase.com (Skin Deep) indicates a history of cancer, reproductive and non-reproductive toxicity as well as some lesser or emerging concerns. Overall toxicity rating = 2.
sodium hydroxide (saponifying agent) - Skin Deep indicates a history of cancer, neurotoxicity, skin irritation and non-reproductive toxicity as well as some lesser or emerging concerns. Overall toxicity rating = 3.
glucose oxidase - Skin Deep rating of 2, endocrin disruption, organ toxicity, irritation, data gaps
citric acid - Toxicity rating of 2-3 depending on product usage. use restrictions, organ toxicity, irritation, data gaps, biochemical or cellular changes
cocoa butter (stearic acid) - Skin Deep rating of 2 for cancer, irritation, non-reproductive organ toxicity and neurotoxicity, as well as data gaps.

What is THIS??
natural chamomile fragrance blend -  obviously a company-specific formula ... see email clip below!
cornstarch and sugar soap blend (decyl glucoside) - decyl glucoside is a gentle detergent cleansing agent

 These were actually the ingredients listed that finally caught my eye and made me rethink my blind infatuation! I realized that I (usually) look up every single ingredient and learn what I can about it! But how could I do that when I don't know what is in a "blend"?  So I wrote to Cara B and here is their response:

To answer your questions about our products, our fragrance is an all-natural custom blend with chamomile serving as a central component. As far as the sugar soap blend is concerned, it is decyl glucoside which serves as an ideal foaming agent for formulas like baby shampoos that are created especially for sensitive skin. The decyl glucoside in CARA B Naturally is naturally derived and produced through the reaction of glucose from corn starch with the fatty alcohol that is derived from coconut.  It is plant-derived, biodegradable, and extremely mild and gentle for various hair types.  I hope this answers your questions.  Please do not hesitate to let me know if there is any other information we can provide you.

Based on what I know of the rest of their products, I guess I am trusting in the company's integrity that they have continue to use trustworthy ingredients in their "blends". As with any product, if I still had concerns, or developed an allergic reaction - I would ABSOLUTELY email again asking for a specific ingredient list.

Final Thoughts

 While these products are not as "pure" as I originally thought (due to my blind love) - I'm still very happy with their performance and will continue to use them in rotation with other products. While they do have a toxicity rating presence at www.cosmeticsdatabase.com, most of the products fall in around a 1! Not many companies can claim that!  And really, we can't get away from ALL the bad stuff, anyway - it's just up to us to be informed and do the best we can.  Considering all the good and helpful ingredients that is in these products - it would almost be silly NOT to use them!

As a side note: One of the reasons I started No 'Poo-ing was to get away from all the "bad" ingredients.... do you know what baking soda ranks at Skin Deep? a 2, for cancer, developmental/reproductive toxicity, neurotoxicity, organ system toxicity, irritation, data gaps, biochemical or cellular level changes. ....  Sigh. You just can't get away from it all! So I just choose the best I can with what I know. That is all anyone can do! and I do believe it is beneficial to vary the products you use occasionally.

A thought on price:  Cara B Naturally is a fairly new company - I am not privileged with any actual information on this, but I would not be one bit surprised if this is the lowest you will ever find their prices! The more people who know about this and the more amazing publicity this company gets, I'm sure their production costs, etc, will increase and the prices (thank you, inflation) will rise as well. I'm seriously considering stockpiling this stuff!!

For your further enjoyment:

Cara B Naturally ~ First Impressions



From October 27, 2010 until November 15, 2010 Curly Hairdo Ideas readers can use Discount Code  CURLY20 to receive 20% off your orders from Cara B Naturally!

Disclaimer - I was sent these Cara B Naturally products for review - after reviewing them and Loving them so much I asked Cara B if there was anything else I could offer my readers - they create this short term discount code for your benefit! Enjoy!