Luke says:

I've been using White Rain shampoo for years. It's in every Walgreens in the nation, and it is the cheapest shampoo ever. It's a dollar a bottle. It's always been a dollar a bottle. Ask anyone. It's also always been in a 590 mL bottle. But now they changed it to a 532 mL bottle. They still insist it's "33% MORE" than something.

Well, it certainly isn't 33% more than it used to be.

From the LA Times:

The research, to be published today in the medical journal Pediatrics, found that as the use of baby care products rose, so did the concentration of phthalates, which are used in many fragrances.

The lead scientist in the study, Dr. Sheela Sathyanarayana of the University of Washington's Department of Pediatrics, said the findings suggested that many baby care products contain a variety of phthalates that enter children's bodies through their skin.

Manufacturers do not list phthalates as ingredients on labels, so it is unknown which products contain them.

The researchers at the University of Washington and the University of Rochester stressed that the potential effects on babies were uncertain.

But previous animal and human research suggests that early exposure to some phthalates could reduce testosterone and alter reproductive organs, particularly in males.

What's the alternative to using these baby products? Karr: In terms of bathing your baby, plain water is all that you need. Special soaps and shampoos marketed for your baby are really just a cosmetic choice, so parents can save money and save worry just by using plain water. With the exception of maybe excessively dry skin, most babies don't need lotions or creams at all.

Linkner: Parents should go to health food stores, and read labels the best they can. Buy organic as much as possible. If they're concerned about diaper rashes, they can look for a non-petroleum, natural product. But natural soap and water is what you can use most of the time. Let's face it - do babies really care what they smell like?

Chemicals in baby shampoo: What to do now [MSNBC]
Study finds high levels of chemicals in infants using baby cosmetics [LA Times]
(Photo:shatterkiss)

RELATED: California's Ban On Phthalates May Spread To Other States

The lawsuit claims that Blue Cross Laboratories is "distributing look-alike Herbal Essences shampoo and conditioner products under the name Herbal Passion to dollar stores," says Reuters.

We couldn't locate a photo of the supposedly infringing shampoo bottles on Blue Cross' website, but it's pretty obvious from some of their other products (left) that they're not above "improving" someone else's shampoo bottle design. Do these actually fool anyone into thinking they're buying brand name shampoo?

Blue Cross Laboratories
Procter & Gamble charges shampoo bottles copied [Reuters]

EEEK! From the horrorshow of Charra D's scalp after using Tresemme Color Thrive Conditioner.

Charra writes:

I consider myself lucky that the matting did not happen to the top of my head as I would have had to have my head shaved and I am not up to that. I have never heard one word from Alberto/Culver and am still waiting for the products they were sending me to maybe get the tangles out.

When I got over the shock, I was able to realize that even if it were possible to untangle my hair, the hair surely would be pretty damaged and I would have to cut it anyway. Yes, I am vain about my hair which I inherited from my grandmother, and it just kills me to have to cut it.

She lived on a farm in Massachusetts and one of my visual memories of her was watching her put her head forward, brush that lovely hair, and swirl it around to the top of her head into sort of a bun which was held steady with bone hairpins. Thank you for, at least, listening and believing what I had to say.

Charra, my mother actually wanted me to pass on some advice: "I had something similar happen to me, won't use thier stuff since. Took about 1 week of shampooing and re-shampooing before I finally got it out. If Charra has very long hair it might be impossible without just having to cut it out, but you should suggest that she go and see a good hair dresser before she actually cuts it."

Consider it suggested! Also, put some peanut butter in it.

The point? At least one editor at the Consumerist knows how important a girl's hair can be... in my case, to a man. So when Charra D. wrote us in a bright, purple font to tell us about how Tresemme Color Thrive Conditioner congealed her hair into one disgusting, greasy, almost pubic dreadlock, I began shrieking in hysterical sympathy.

Charra's bad hair day, after the jump.

I have very long hair which I had been coloring for many years. As I grew older, I found that the blonde color did not hold very well so I decided to just let it grow out and did not cut off the blonde part. For three years I have been shampooing my own hair and not putting anything on my hair other than shampoo & water - no blow drying, no color, no hairspray - no conditioner. Since it has gotten longer, it is a little tangled after shampooing and does take a while to comb straight.

I decided to use a little conditioner and bought some TREsemme Color Thrive Conditioner. The bottle is marked for blonde color treated hair. When I finished shampooing & conditioning my hair a week ago last Friday, and removed the towel it was if someone had parted my hair down the middle from front to back, grabbed my hair from both sides, and joined both ends of the bottom of my hair and twisted it together in the back. It somewhat resembles a dread lock - is matted together, solid as a rock. I am going to have to have it cut.

I did call Alberto/Culver last Tuesday since I thought they should know so it would not happen to someone else. They do want me to send them the remaining Conditioner to "test" it. And, offered to refund my money "if I return the sales receipt". I would have thought they would do more than that and would want to see it. I would like to have it tested myself, but cannot find a lab that does that kind of thing. Right now, I would fit just fine in a haunted house for Halloween.

Naturally, Aquage threatened a lawsuit. Doesn't Jamie know that the light that actually bounces off one of their products is the legal property of Aquage Shampoo? And don't you know that taking a photograph of an African native actually steals their soul right out of their bodies?

We're declaring today National "Go Into A Store And Take Pictures Of Stuff" day. Go out and steal a corporation's soul today! You know... providing they have one.

Company: Taking Pictures of Our Product Is Copyright Infringement [CL&P Blog] (Thanks, Larry & Elva!)

Lest it make us go all Medusa, we're afraid to put this shampoo in our hair. It smells like it's rotting. Maybe the "active fruit concentrate" became "active."

The bottle is kinda old, maybe even around a year. There's about an inch of "poo" left. We inherited it from a former roommate in the mix of moving and she was not one famed for her ritual cleansing.

Still, we've never heard of shampoo going bad. We should plant it in the garden. Perhaps next spring, buds of hotel mini bottles will blossom.