Comments on: Are Aveda Products as Safe and Natural as They Claim?

By: Pam

Pam — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 22:41:12 +0000

I live in Minnesota and have been using Aveda hair, skin, and makeup products for over 20 years.

However, after learning about the dangerous chemicals in many of their “natural” products, I am no longer an Aveda customer.

To all of the defensive Aveda salon workers who have posted here, the ingredient lists speak for themselves. Yes, ingredients such as parabens are indeed natural, and they even exist in foods we eat. Even in olives, which are a wonderfully healthy food! However, do some research: they are dangerous when used in body care products.

Aveda and Estee Lauder do much to mislead customers about their products. Just walk by an Aveda salon, with the green eco-decor and the big signs touting their “plant-derived” products. Plenty of other brands do this too.

All I can say is, “let the buyer beware”. Aveda and Estee Lauder, with word of mouth on the internet, it’s only a matter of time before the jig is up. There are other truly natural products that are years ahead of you in terms of research. Too bad you squandered away your time on marketing rather than developing safer products.

By: Adrienne

Adrienne — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 09:39:37 +0000

Phillipe – Unfortunately most people misunderstand the meaning of hypo-allergenic. Just because something is labeled as such does not mean no one will react to it….it means people are generally LESS LIKELY to react to it. Therefore, it is not false-advertising.

To all who are having allergic reactions to hair colour, please be very careful… It has been documented that people have died from allergic reactions to hair colour (went into anaphylactic shock). If you have a serious allergy or suspect you do ALWAYS DO A PATCH TEST.

By: Philippe Livernois

Philippe Livernois — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 19:25:18 +0000

Bonjour, ma copine est aller dans un salon AVEDA le 23 Décembre au Soir, et quelque heures après avoir eu un traitement pour cheveux,teinture,coupe et mise en plis, une grosse réaction allergique c’est produite qui a commencé au niveau de la tête et oreilles un gros rash dans le cou,la poitrine,le dos, le corps les jambes etc..! Les yeux enflés , des grosse plaque rouges au complet de bas en haut du corps. Bref,après 24h toujours les mêmes symptômes, demande des conseilles a la pharmacie, crème Aveeno,benadryl total plus, et benadryl pour la nuit. Maintenant le 25 au matin, les symptômes au diminuer mais toujours présent.

C’est la premiere fois que sa l’arrive apres 7 rendez-vous au Salon AVEDA, jamais que ma copine a eu des réactions a la peau.On a manger et bu la même chose durant la soirée, le seul doute , c’est que une des coiffeuse au salon AVEDA a faite la même réactions pendant que ma copine se faisais faire une coupe il y a quelque mois. Donc, on a conclus qu’il a certaines personne qui ne tolère pas les produits AVEDA, peut-être un Spray Net , Teinture ou mousse/savon pour les cheveux.Ce sont de bon produits, mais je trouve que c’est de la fausse publication qu’ il mentionne que leurs produits sont ANTI-ALLERGIQUE.

Si quelqu’un a eu les même symptômes , SVP. , récrivez moi !

Merci! Joyeux Noel

By: JJ

JJ — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 02:19:56 +0000

You’ve saved me from spending 100.00 by going to Aveda this weekend. I am going to use that money and purchase Acure Organic Shampoo and Conditioner. Their products look really good. Was able to try their day cream at Whole Foods today and I really liked the product/ingredients. I wish WF carried Acure shampoo/conditioner, though.

I already use John Masters and, as mentioned above, they are quite expensive, but I really LOVE his products. Acure is all organic and better priced. I noticed the free shipping code (FREESHIPPING) and have decided to order their products.

By: patricia

patricia — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 21:25:24 +0000

How do you feel about Neuma hair care products. They have the zero content on the back of all their bottles. Any input?

By: Jamie

Jamie — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 16:08:30 +0000

A few Aveda facts
-Aveda hair color is 97-99% naturally derived ingredients, including all natural fragrances.
-Aveda does NOT use artificial fragrances AT ALL. When fragrance is listed in the ingredients, it is Aveda’s PUREfume, all natural fragrances. This is listed on their product labels under the complete ingredient list.
-Aveda products do cause allergic reactions because they contain derivatives of grass, wheat, lavender, and other natural ingredients that can cause allergic reactions. For example, if you allergic to grass, you can not use the Aveda Green Science Anti-Aging skincare line.
-90% of Aveda’s essentail oils and 89% of the raw herbal ingredients are certified organic.
-Aveda products are manufactured using the power of wind. They are the FIRST company to manufacture with 100% certified wind-power.
-Aveda ingredients are obtained from all over the world using fair trade/pay practices, as well as providing indigenous peoples who supply these items with schools, clean water, and the ability to support and sustain their existing way of life.

By: Tracy

Tracy — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 15:40:18 +0000

I just wanted to post about a brand I love that didn’t seem to get a lot of play here. After going through all of the concerns and worries people here have, and spending way to much time on http://www.cosmeticdatabase.com looking at ingredients, it seems like the safest salon-quality brand you can use is John Masters Organics. I’ve been using them for about a year and I am very happy. He runs a salon out of NYC, and also does a lot of the research people seem to be suggesting Aveda do in terms of transitioning out dangerous ingredients. His stuff is REALLY pricey, even by Aveda standards, but I’m really happy and I know I’m taking care of my health. Hope this helps!

By: Rebecca

Rebecca — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 03:51:52 +0000

I used to use Aveda before I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and pretty much became allergic to almost everything that touched my skin. Since then I have been making my own hair products using ingredients from Camden Grey, TheHerbarie.com, and Ingredients to Die For. I try to stick to the natural and ECOCERT additives. I have learned so much about synthetic ingredients and realized that companies like Aveda use way to much of them. In some of their products it seems as if they add the natural ingredients as an after thought. While investigating the synthetic products, I was very surprised to learn how many of them could be cancerous. Some of them, like polysorbate-80, they put in food all the time. It’s no wonder the cancer rate has sky rocketed in the United States. Did you know that one out of three people in the U.S. will develop some kind of cancer in their life time (usually breast cancer and prostate cancer)? I am really going to try to eat organic foods and make my own health and beauty products from now on.

By: wendy

wendy — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 15:26:37 +0000

Thank you eco-chick for providing us with great information on Aveda. I used to think that they are “pure” but from reading your articles and comments on here it makes me think twice about what I choose to put on my body. I have been using Aveda camomile color enhancing conditioner so I’m going to look up their ingredients to see if they are actually natural as they claimed. If not, I’m going to return my latest purchase.

If anyone have any recommendation on safe color enhancing products, please let me know.

By: L

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 21:28:22 +0000

I just confirmed with customer service that both the Full Spectrum Permanent Hair Color and the Full Spectrum Deposit Only Hair Color contain p-Phenylenediamine and Resorcinol.

Does anyone know why these are necessary for non-permanent color?

I used the full spectrum deposit only color for years and I loved the results but it always caused minor irritation. The last time I went it was horrible – pain, swelling, itching,and a patchy bumpy rash, all around my hairline, neck, forehead, and the tops of my ears. I was miserable for weeks.

99% plant derived does me no good when the remaining 1% is composed of nasty chemicals.

If anyone knows of a good alternative please share. I only want to darken and / or add red, and I don’t care if the color fades out, in fact I prefer not to use anything permanent. I have heard of henna but I don’t want bright orange.