Oh if only the TV ads were true - that lathering up with a shampoo instantly makes you irresistibly sexy and popular. In fact, when you find out what chemicals go into most shampoos, it acts as an instant turn-off.

The main ingredient of most commercial shampoos is detergent, followed by surfactants, which reduce irritancy and produce a lot of foam. But foam does not necessarily equal ‘clean’ – it’s primarily a chemical reaction.

You’ll also see advertisers bandy around ‘scientific’ terms like ‘pH balanced’, yet deep-cleansing shampoos use alkaline ingredients to swell the hair shaft and allow the surfactants to penetrate, while conditioners and moisturising shampoos use acidic compounds to make the hair shaft contract and seem smoother.

EcoHip chooses its products on the basis that less is more. However, if you have to use that other stuff, our advice is to dilute it before it hits your hair.

Our conditioners work by using ingredients that naturally moisturise, like olive oil, coconut, almond oil and jojoba. Conventional conditioners typically work by glueing down damaged hair shafts to give the illusion of healthy hair.

Scientists are still researching the carcinogenic effects of conventional hair dyes. But in the meantime we’ve found the best, safest products around. They use organic ingredients and work without resorting to the usual ammonia (irritates your skin and eyes) p-phenylenediamine (potentially carcinogenic dye that can also damage the immune system and wildlife) and parabens (linked to breast cancer).