The 411 on Foam

Sometimes our customers comment on the low foaming aspect of our line of all natural shampoos. We should probably make a bigger deal out of it than we have, because we totally get why that might be confusing.

When it comes to shampoos and cleansing agents, we all make the mental assumption that more foam = more cleaning. Since we are used to seeing tons of bubbly suds in shampoo and laundry detergent ads, that’s what we are wired to think. Because for so long, those spin doctors on Madison knew that suds sold.

What Are Suds?

The frothy soap bubbles you make when you wash your hands, are suds. If you put too much detergent in your dishwasher, the kitchen floor could end up covered in suds. Besides suds made from soap (the word is actually short for soapsuds), there are other foamy, frothy substances you can call suds.

Type of foaming agents (suds)?

The thing is, suds are there for just that reason. Selling. Many products use foaming agents such as cocamide DEA, MEA or TEA, none of which serve any purpose other than creating lather. Worse than that, they can be damaging.

What is cocamide DEA?

Cocamide DEA is a colorless liquid used in cosmetics and personal care products such as bath oil, shampoo, conditioner, and hair dye. It is also used in some pet-care and household-cleaning products.

Also known as Coconut Oil Diethanolamine Condensate. This ingredient is a chemically-modified form of coconut oil; used as a foaming agent.
The use of cocamide DEA has decreased in recent years.

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS)

The additive sodium lauryl sulfate is in so many cleaning products because not only does it create foam, it’s cheap. Sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) is one of the ingredients you’ll find listed on many shampoo bottles. However, unless you’re a chemist, you likely don’t know what it is.

As is true with so many corner cutting things in life, sodium lauryl sulfate is also bad for you. Not only is the detergent harsh and moisture-stripping, elements of the chemical are absorbed into organs permanently. As imagined, sulfates are harsh, and if you can wash your dishes in them, you wouldn’t necessarily want to wash your hair with them too, right?

PRIDE+GROOM All Natural Shampoo Ingredients

To give you an example of using a clean, all natural beauty brand, without added foaming agents, in THE SHEDDER Shampoo, you will find:

Purified Water (Aqua/ Eau), Lauryl Glucoside, Sodium Lauroy| Sarcosinate,
Disodium Cocoamphodiacetate, Sodium Lauroyl Lactylate, Cocamidopropyl
Betaine, Glycerin, Glycerin (and) Aqua (and) Althea Officinalis Root Extract,
Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexy|glycerin, Persea Gratissima (Avocado) Oil, Cocos
Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Linum Usitatissmum (Flax) Seed Oil, Simmondsia
Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Fragrance, Xanthan Gum, Tocopherol, Melaleuca
quinquenervia (Niaouli) Oil, Aloe barbadensis juice powder, Citric Acid.

Do We Actually Need Suds?

High-lather hair care products often do more harm than good to your strands, and your pet’s. Conversely, a low-suds shampoo will make your locks clean, while maintaining your hair's natural oils. A gentle, non-lather shampoo is essential in a hair-care routine to build strong, healthy locks in your middle age. Just because a product doesn’t have a super sudsy lather, doesn’t mean it isn’t working to clean your precious locks.

Conclusion

Not only do sudsing agents add extra, unneeded and, yikes, HARMFUL chemicals, but they’re taking up a lot of space in the valuable ounces you paid for.
So that’s our spiel. We want your pets (and you by the way) to have the safest, most natural way to get clean and beautiful. If that means replacing insidious chemicals and commercial-worthy sudsing with the natural lather that comes from our carefully chosen ingredients, then sobeit.

Hope that clears it up!