Batiste Dry Shampoo
As a woman pressured by looks and as a student rushed for time, dry Shampoo is the answer to most of my hair days. Most women get the same question as they sit in a salon “How often do you wash your hair?” It’s as if I’ve lived twenty years and haven’t been asked this question before, and they are going to deliver new wisdom. Presumably, they are asking to sell you their products. With the invention of dry shampoo, I like to go 2-3 days without washing my hair, which is salon recommended by almost everyone I’ve been too. Dry Shampoo allows me to cut back my water use and save time during the day. I use it so others don’t perceive me as greasy and unclean. A can of Batiste dry shampoo Is mostly aluminum, metal and plastic. It is manufactured by Crown packaging who’s recently started publishing sustainability reports for the last six years to commit to environmental stewardship. The CEO has spoken out to say “We continue to operate with a relentless focus on safety, innovation and efficiency – both in our manufacturing processes and our use of resources. That discipline has enabled us to reduce our overall energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, even as demand for metal packaging has continued to increase and we have grown our global footprint” (Donahue, 2017). The latest of which details a 18% decrease in VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) emissions, a 10% decrease in greenhouse gas emissions, and 49% decrease in waste to landfill. The products can be found in several major retailers including but not limited to CVS, Rite Aid, Walmart, Target, and Amazon. On average I use an entire bottle every two to three weeks. A rough estimate is I probably consume around 24 bottles a year. After I completely empty the bottle I recycle all its parts. Its parts are not directly recycled back to the company but are repurposed materials which are used in other products. As far as waste management from the product, its recyclable when completely emptied and considered hazardous waste when still full. The Batiste website focuses primarily on this and not the material being sprayed into the air. While they’ve made efforts to reduce the VOC’s, ingredients remain in the products which pollute the air. Not only can this be harmful to human health but environmental health. The only way to reduce the impact to the air and potential communities would be to have products produced without these VOC’s. Some alternatives already exist such as, Lulu Organics Hair Power, BB Prêt-à-Powder, and verb which are powder alternatives to the aerosol. I am uncertain of how much dry shampoo effects air quality but can draw conclusions based on its negative human health effects. Aerosol’s are notoriously labeled as bad for the environment and the introduction of these VOC’s can be harmful to the environment, especially if they are replenished to often or are sprayed in not well ventilated areas.
https://sustainability.crowncork.com
http://www.batistehair.com/Default.aspx
https://www.health.ny.gov/environmental/indoors/voc.htm
https://gethealthyu.com/dry-shampoo-bad-hair/
I found this post to be very interesting since I too use Batise Dry Shampoo. I agree with you on everything you said, I also worked at a hair salon as a desk receptionist, and got told so many times how I needed to wash my hair once every week even, just to keep my non-natural blonde hair color vibrant, and to make sure my ends were not getting very dried out. Although that is nice and all, it is very difficult to do when your hair is producing oil daily, and you do not want to have extremely oily hair. Using Batise is great because it is easy to find, cheap, and all together takes the oil out of my hair for the most part. I have wondered constantly how bad these air sole cans can be for the environment, since I use dry shampoo almost daily, and I found your attached article to be very interesting and eye opening. Might have to switch over to a safer, and more environmental friendly brand!
I like the company’s efforts to reduce their gas and energy commissions, but I also agree that the only real way to reduce these harmful aerosol effects is to completely get rid of the VOC’s in the products. I’ve used baby powder as an alternative to these before (Nature’s Baby Organics Silky Dusting Powder from Walmart works really well, leaves your hair silky, and is under $10). Another product I’ve personally used to fight those dry shampoo days is Acure’s dry shampoo for brunette and dark hair. Both of these products have been deemed organic by the USDA and have been effective for me, so they’re deffinently worth a try next time you think about buying the aerosol spray dry shampoos.
I feel like knowing this is a good way to change our habits from using harmful things like this, and changing to items such as powered dry shampoos, but good to know!
Nice post! The Environmental Working Group is also a great source to see how hazardous certain products and ingredients may be to your health. Check out their analysis of this dry shampoo: https://www.ewg.org/skindeep/product/598333/Batiste_Dry_Shampoo%2C_Strength_and_Shine/#.WpssDujwbic