top of page

​

​

​

​

Aspire conditioner is a simple conditioner for the hair, created with simple, natural organic non-ingredients.  I've never been much for conditioners, since I went to short hair several years ago, but I was asked repeatedly to develop a conditioner, so I finally went for it.  One reason I've avoided conditioners is that,by definition, they're an emulsion, a combition oil oil and water that must be stabilized with a surfactant, which makes for a somewhat more arduous development process compared to, say, the castille soap.  I began by simply following a recipe for lotion from a book, to get a sense of it.  I got a lotion that literally stood up by itself, it was soo thick, and you'd never be able to squeeze it out of a bottle, much less get it rinsed from your hair.  But, it was a start.  From there, I wiggled my way through about 100 iterations in a 5-month period, until I had an optimized formula.  After 22 years in the oil industry, a lot of it in the lab, I actually have a lot of background with emulsions, although, in the oil industry the goal was typically to break out the emulsion, while in this case the goal was to hold it together.

 

The purpose of the conditioner is to lightly coat hair with oils to protect the hair from drying.  Once hair emerges from the scalp as it grows, it's actually dead, with no source of nutrients or liquids to keep it oist, so conditioner can help with that.  The conditioner needed to be thick enough to stay in the palm of the hand, yet thin enough to pour from a bottle.  Aspire will never resort to squeeze tubes, that aren't refillable or recyclable.  It must also be easy to rinse from hair, leaving just a very thin,  molecular layer on hair surfaces, with no excess that could make the hair feel oily or greasy.  I finally found a nice balanced formula with the exact ratios that met my initial goals for a conditioner, basically a combination of oils that are great for hair and scalp.  I am now sold on conditioners, by testing out my own product!  I now use it whenever I shampoo, which is two or three times a week, since I don't think excessive shampoo is good for hair.  I find that the conditioner gives my thin hair some great extra body, which lasts longer compared to when I don't use conditioner.  Also, I definitely don't get fly-away hair when I used the conditioner, and I love that.

​

​

​

  • Water.  Sourced from Golden, Colorado, this is the most Local and natural ingredient of all!  In Golden, we have the best water, since it flows directly down Clear Creek from its source, Saint Mary’s Glacier, high in the Rocky Mountains.  This is the same source of water used by the mighty Coors Brewery!  

  • Canola Oil.  Organic, sourced from U.S.A.  Natural, rendered from canola seeds.

  • Potassium Hydroxide (Caustic Potash).  Strong caustic, sourced from U.S.A.  Natural, depending on how you view it, made by electrolysis of mined natural potassium chloride salt.

  • Citric Acid.  Natural, fermented from cane sugar using microbes.

  • Shea Butter.  Organic.  From West Africa.  Natural, rendered from shea nuts.

  • Pine Tar.  Natural, extracted from trees.  From U.S.

  • Witch Hazel. Witch Hazel is added as a soothing anti-inflammatory that remains on the skin after the alcohol evaporates.  Currently it comes from the northeastern U.S.A. and is organic.  Natural, rendered from witch hazel wood.

  • Hemp Seed Oil.  Organic.  From Canada.  Natural, rendered from hemp seeds.

  • Avocado Oil.  Organic.  From Italy.  Natural,rendered from avocados.

  • Olive Oil.  Organic.  From Spain.  Natural, rendered from olives.

  • Castor Oil.  Organic, sourced from India.  Natural, rendered from castor beans.

  • ​Marula Oil.  Organic, sourced from Namibia.  Natural, rendered from marula nuts.

  • Vitamin E Oil.  Organic, sourced from USA.  Made from blend of natural rendered plant oils.

  • Tea Tree Oil.  Organic.  From China.  Natural, rendered from tea tree leaves.

  • Essential Oils for Scent.  We use a variety of essential oils, as listed on our labels.  All are organic and natural oils, that are rendered from plant parts, such as seeds, leaves, stems, roots, etc.  It's difficult to find sources of essential oils that are made in the U.S.A., but we are continuing to work on that.  We are making some essential oils in our Golden facility from our own organically-grown plants, but they are limited in volume and don’t make up a significant portion of the essential oils used in our products.

​

​​​​​

  • Siloxanes, or silicones, such as cyclopentasiloxane, dimethicone, or dimethiconol.  These are typically used to improve the texture of formulations, helping products to apply smoothly and evenly.  These are horrible for the environment, and extremely toxic to aquatic life.  

  • Disodium EDTA.  This is a chelant that is used to keep insoluble salts in solution.  It's a synthetic ingredient from ethylenediamine and formaldehyde, which are petroleum products, and sodium cyanide.  It's bad for the environment because it continues to chelate nutrients from water, making them unavailable to aquatic life that needs them.

  • Petroleum By-Products, such as propylene glycol, mineral oil or sodium polyacrylate.  They’re used as moisturizers, thickeners and for texture in conditioners.  Propylene glycol has been found to cause severe neurological symptoms and seizures.  There have also been cases of nausea and vertigo.  Mineral oil is composed mainly of alkanes and cycloalkanes, related to petroleum jelly.  Aspire conditioner contains vegetable oils, to serve the same purpose much more responsibly.

  • Propylene Carbonate.  Used as a dispenser and disperser, a similar purpose as emulsifiers.  Made from petroleum.

  • Triethanolamine.  Triethanolamine is used to stabilize and increase the pH of products to improve the way they feel.  Triethanolamine is a mild skin and eye irritant.  It is made from ethylene oxide, a fossil fuel, and ammonia.  Just another unnecessary nasty chemical that Aspire will never use.  Who would want this on their scalp?

  • Synthetic Preservatives, such as quaternium-15.  Quaternium-15 is an allergen, and can cause contact dermatitis in susceptible individuals.  Quaternium-15 is a known human skin toxicant and allergen and possible eye irritant. It is also a formaldehyde-releasing preservative.  It is made from fossil fuels.  Aspire uses a mild natural preservative, tee tree oil, instead. 

  • Fragrance, Perfume, Parfum.  If you see these words on a label, it should immediately raise suspicions about the product and the integrity of the manufacture.  Why?  Basically, the very usage of the term “fragrance” on a product label is the manufacturer’s way of making their product special or proprietary, so that they can sell more, take more market share, charge more for the product, or so the product can’t be duplicated by another manufacturer.  While these purposes can all be considered somewhat reasonable, the problem is that the "fragrances" that they are hiding from you, the consumer, are often synthetic organic carbons, typically made from fossil fuels.  And, many are extremely toxic to wildlife, meaning they kill at extremely low concentrations in water.  And, to make matters worse, because they are synthetic and complicated, they are difficult to treat in a conventional wastewater treatment plant, so they often pass into receiving rivers and streams in an untreated or partially treated state.  That is extremely unfair to the fish and wildlife that depend on these water sources to thrive, and a big reason that we’ve managed to kill off more than 50% of our fish and wildlife in just the past few decades.  Of course, there are processes that can be added to conventional wastewater plants to remove these complex chemicals prior to release into receiving waters, but these cost more money to build and operate, consume more energy, and of course that means more cost to the consumer.  So, I ask you, what is your preference?  Paying three times as much for your wastewater treatment, or avoid the use of products that have “fragrances” in them?  We have chosen the latter, simpler way to keep fish and wildlife safe, and Aspire products offer responsible choices for the consumer, that don’t contain “fragrances”.​​

About Aspire Conditioner

About Aspire Conditioner

Natural Ingredients in Aspire Conditioner

Ingredients that are not in Aspire Conditioner

bottom of page