The natural and essential oils used in these formulations are extremely beneficial for hair and scalp health. Knotty Boy Natural Dreadlock Shampoos gently cleanse, allowing the hair to retain nutrients and moisture, while the rosemary, tea tree and peppermint essential oils work therapeutically to treat and prevent dry scalp, dandruff and other skin and scalp irritations. Use anywhere you need a good scrub - also proven to be effective in the treatment of problem skin and acne, and as an all-over body wash. You can even wash your dishes or clothes in a mountain stream with our Natural Shampoos - it won’t hurt the environment!

And have we mentioned the scent?? Like a peppermint patty ice-fishing with a candy cane at the North Pole! Sooo fresh it’ll knock your socks off, and your scalp tingles for ages after, too! YOM!!

Ingredients: Saponified Organic Oils of Palm, Coconut, Castor Bean and Hemp, and Organic Essential Oils of Rosemary, Peppermint and Tea Tree

More about these Essential Oils
Rosemary, tea tree and peppermint oils are some of nature's most treasured gifts for hair, and our oils are now organic, too! Not only do they leave your hair and scalp smelling fresh and clean, they go to work on problems like dry scalp and dandruff. Rosemary essential oil (Rosmarinus officinalis) is used widely as a specific tonic for hair and skin, helping to control dandruff and encouraging hair growth. (Incidentally, rosemary is also used as a stimulant for the mind, helping with memory and mental clarity - so using Knotty Boy Dread Shampoos might even help make you smarter, too. Gee whiz!) Tea tree essential oil (Melaleuca alternifolia) is probably one of the most well-known essential oils and is popular because of its anti-bacterial, antiseptic, anti-fungal and anti-viral properties. Peppermint essential oil (Mentha piperita) is used extensively for relieving itching, inflammation and treating oily skin and hair due to its astringent properties. So, as you can see, unlike medicated dandruff shampoos which only mask the problems (and allow the problems to return as soon as you stop using the shampoo), Knotty Boy Natural Dreadlock Shampoos actually nourish and restore the scalp. The incredible response from customers who rave about how our shampoos helped to clear up their skin, and how their scalps don’t flake or itch any more are testimonies to the effectiveness of our products and, to a great degree, due to the therapeutic essential oils of Tea Tree, Rosemary and Peppermint.

More about Foam
Contrary to popular belief, the presence of foam and suds is completely unnecessary in the cleansing process of hair or skin. Like all cleansing agents, the natural soaps found in the Knotty Boy Natural Dreadlock Shampoos release the surface tension, allowing the loosened dirt, grime, and environmental impurities to be washed away, without unnecessary amounts of foam.

Up until very recently, it was not possible to manufacture a truly all-natural liquid shampoo, despite the over-abundance of claimed ‘all-natural’ shampoos on the market, including other liquid shampoos marketed specifically for use on dreadlocked hair. The fact is most ‘all natural’ shampoos on the market still blend commercial surfactants like Sodium Lauryl Sulphate (SLS) into their shampoos to boost foaming action. SLS is the most commonly used coconut-based surfactant by manufacturers of cleansing products (including carpet cleaner) and often appears as ‘coconut-derived’ in the ingredients list. SLS is a very harsh, stripping chemical that can cause skin conditions including contact dermatitis and, some believe, even cancer. Some manufacturers do not list their shampoo ingredients fully because they do not want consumers to know their ingredients include SLS. It’s easy to claim that ‘all vegetable-derived cleansers’ are used in a product when the ingredients are not specifically listed.

Knotty Boy wasn’t satisfied with this grey-area of ‘all-natural’, and withdrew our original liquid dreadlock shampoo from the market in 2000, even though it was such a huge seller. The Knotty Boy Dreadlock Shampoo Bar was developed shortly thereafter, thereby finding a way to make a truly natural shampoo in a solid bar form. The inclusion of foaming agents was not necessary in bar form, as the saponified oils of coconut, castor bean, palm and hemp surprisingly form suds naturally on their own! The shampoo bar worked to clean dreadlocks the exact same way, but still honored our commitment to the manufacture of completely all-natural products.

Directions for Shampoo Bar: Unwrap the bar, breathe in the icy-fresh pep-o-minty scent, strip yer nekkid self down and hop in the tub. Wet hair and get the 'poo bar wet, too. It becomes very foamy just like a bar of soap, so you can either work up a good, thick lather in your hands and scrub it onto your scalp, or you can rub the bar directly on your scalp and work up a lather that way. Once you've done that, get down to the scalp with your fingertips and give it a thorough, but gentle scrub. Let the essential oils get in there and do their thing for 2 or 3 minutes, too. Then, allow the shampoo to rinse through the dreads, thereby cleaning them without handling them too much. This is the best way to clean new, still-soft dreads without damaging all that hard work you've put into them. Rinse and repeat as necessary – you will be able to feel how squeaky-clean your scalp is after its been rinsed, and where you need to shampoo again.