Your whole life, the beauty industry has mislead you. It has lied to you. It has convinced you that if your shampoo doesn’t lather, or if it doesn’t leave your hair smelling like fresh daisies, that it’s not actually doing its job. What the beauty industry doesn’t tell you, is those suds you’re so used to are caused by sulfates. These sulfates are an aggressive detergent, meant to remove dirt and grime from your hair – which they do. But in addition to cleansing they often also dry out your scalp, strip your hair of its natural oils, and in some cases can even cause severe skin irritation. And that fresh daisy scent that makes your hair smell so clean? That’s an added fragrance… more specifically, a toxic chemical. It is added to your shampoos and conditioners, to trick you into thinking you have clean hair, when really you’ve just added who knows how many additional chemicals in that bottle to get that fresh, clean smell.

The quick solution? Never wash your hair again.

The long-term solution? Find a better product to wash your hair with.

That is where Maple Holistics comes in. The company is headquartered in Farmingdale, New Jersey, and provides all natural, cruelty-free, sulfate-free, made-in-the-USA products through their online shop. The company started in 2001 but became commercially available around the country in 2012, and I was fortunate enough to recently receive their Argan Oil Shampoo and Conditioner set to try out.

*Note: Maple Holistics kindly sent me these products to review,
but all opinions in this post are always, completely my own.*

After my Halloween baby powder blunder, my hair was in dire need of some TLC. These products came into my life at the perfect time. I had a feeling they would restore the much-needed moisture back into my hair, but had some concerns over using an all-natural product for the long term. Would my hair become over-oily? Would it ever actually feel “clean”? Would a lack of added fragrance mean if I don’t wash it for a couple days, it will start to look and smell dirty? All of these concerns, while valid, are definitely a by-product of the beauty industry standards of adding unnecessary ingredients to shampoos and conditioners to manipulate what we believe actually constitutes as clean.

What’s in it?

Argan oil is derived from the nuts of Argania spinosa, a native desert tree in Morocco. It can be ingested, and in Morocco is often used for dipping bread, on couscous, or in salads. It’s also increased in popularity recently for cosmetic use, in the hair, skin, and nails. The benefits of Argan oil are pretty clear when using in your hair: it’s non-greasy, tames frizz and fly-aways, provides shine, and protects your hair against the heat of dryers, curlers, and flat irons.

Maple Holsitics uses all-natural ingredients in conjunction with Argan oil to bring forth an effective tool for anyone who wants to bring their hair back to life. Free of sulfates, parabens, and fragrance, the company uses a natural and gentle surfactant in their shampoo, Sodium Lauroamphoacetate, instead of the typical kinds of sulfates found in commercial shampoos and conditioners. A quick google search of most of the major ingredients in their products (most of which I was unfamiliar with) show they are mostly derived from coconut oil (another *amazing* product for your skin and hair) and other various organic compounds and oils.

The results are in…

I have pretty healthy hair to begin with – it’s not color treated, I only blow dry it once every week or so, and typically wash it two or three times per week. I do tend to flat iron my hair daily. After the first week of using the Argan Oil Shampoo and Conditioner, I didn’t see much of a difference in the overall appearance of my styled hair. This was actually a positive in my eyes, since I feared the oil might weigh my hair down or make it appear greasy. What I did notice immediately was added shine; again, much needed after that baby powder sucked all the natural oils out of my hair. My dry, straw-like hair was back to normal in no time.

After about a month and a half of continued use, I have also noticed a dramatic decrease to flakes and dandruff, especially going on day two or three without washing. This is definitely a side-effect of removing sulfates from my hair care routine.

My unstyled hair has always had this natural, unattractive “kink” to it – not straight but not quite curly/wavy. It kinda just flips out where it wants, much to my disdain. But ever since using these products, when I let my hair naturally dry, it has become much more tame and dries less frizzy. Even after a vigorous workout at the gym (with short hair I can’t really put it in a pony), my sweaty hair largely stays put, which is in sharp contrast to the gross, uncontrollable flip-out it was doing just a couple months ago. I couldn’t believe it – to actually be able to run to the store/bar/wherever after the gym and not worry about what my hair is doing. What a feeling!

I do feel like it has lost a little bit of volume over the last month, but it’s nothing a little dry shampoo or teasing can’t fix. The smell of both these products are subtle and pleasant. I started to notice after a while, my hair took on more of my own natural scent which was also pretty delightful – no smelly hair after a few days without washing (seriously – I’ve had my closest friends perform the sniff test). The picture below is on day three (!!) without washing, and I just can’t tell you enough how much my hair has changed for the better since I went all-natural.

Overall, the benefits of switching to an all-natural hair routine have made me a believer. My hair feels and looks so much better, it’s so much less dry and static-y (just in time for winter!), and I know I can feel good about the ingredients in the bottle.

Claim your free sample!

As an added gift to you, Maple Holistics is offering a Free Sample to anyone who visits their page and fills out this form! They even let you pick what sample you want to receive… what do you have to lose?

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Check out Maple Holistic’s wide range of organic and natural beauty products on their website, www.mapleholistics.com or visit their page on Amazon!