eco.kid: It's not you, it's me...

Hi all...Melissa stepping up to review a product Jenn threw my way.

When Jenn received a shampoo and conditioner from Australian company eco.kid, she promptly handed it to me because I have the appropriate test subjects: kids, that is. I'm always on the lookout for kid-and-environmentally-friendly personal care products, so I was more than happy to take them on.

The shampoo, Prevent, couldn't have a much more appealing profile: Its heavy-on-the-organics, hold-the-nasty-stuff formulation comes from naturally-derived and renewable ingredients (though I guess that could be said of anything that comes from plants, right?). It contains essential oils that smell pretty good, but are a turnoff to lice (that's what it prevents). So does its companion conditioner, Nourish. Sorry to be bringing up vermin, but parents know lice are no joke, and any products that can help to lessen the chance of an infestation get big points. At least, if they clean adequately.

Do they? I'd say yes, but with a caveat. One of my sons was showering on his own and came in, after finishing up, with hair that felt and looked kind of loaded down with residue. I had to send him back for further rinsing. The other two, who were in the bath, were all lathered up, and I rinsed...and rinsed...and rinsed...and you get the idea.

The shampoo came out, after the kids were sufficiently waterlogged, but I have to say, that amount of rinsing isn't likely to be popular with kids who don't appreciate being drenched from the top down (and mine don't). And it does beg the question how many extra gallons of water would it take to get a proper rinse? (Not a problem in the bath, so much, but kind of an issue in the shower.)

Now before unfairly condemning the product to a lukewarm review, I hopped onto eco-kid's website to see what they had to say for themselves. If I understand correctly, the reason the shampoo works a bit differently is that it doesn't use detergent action -- it works more like dry cleaning. I don't know if that fully explains it, but it seems like it would account for the shampoo not behaving like a more traditional, easy-rinsing product.

Other points to note: These are not "tears-free" formulas. The company explains on its site that products containing essential oils will unavoidably sting somewhat, so users will need to watch out for the little ones' eyes. Also, these products are not formulated to remove build up from styling products, so if your tykes gel up, think twice.

I did try the conditioner, as well, but here, I'm a bit out of my element. I have all boys, and their hair is typically no more than a couple of inches long, so conditioning and detangling aren't a major concern for us. Nothing bad to report, other than the aforementioned need for repeated rinsing.

I don't know, maybe that's just the price of products that don't contain all those unwanted chemicals...anyone have any feedback on that? Products you've tried that aren't quite such a project to rinse out? As I said, both Prevent and Nourish have great-sounding ingredient lists, and both smell pretty good, too. The company's heart appears to be in the right place, so I want to like their product, too -- but I just don't feel it, at least until I know I have to be prepared to settle for hosing the kids down like they were rioters!

So for now, I'll go with a relatively neutral three leaves (I'm feeling more like 2.5, but wish I could give it a 3.5...so this is my compromise).

My Own Worst Enemy Is a Three Leaf Show

Last night was the premiere of a new show on NBC, My Own Worst Enemy, starring Christian Slater as a split personality -- spy killer / family man. It was interesting to see how NBC worked with the concept of the show and how Slater played the character but that was not what grabbed my attention.

(Please note I am about to reveal some stuff that happened in the first episode so if you didn't watch it and want to catch up first, stop reading now and go here. Just make sure you come back.)

A little over half way through the show family man (Henry) gets a visit from a couple bad guys who know Edward (spy killer). Edward had stolen a case from them and through a series of events with a shovel and GPS tracking device, it is discovered that he buried it in a wooden crate about six feet down somewhere in the middle of the desert. As the bad guys sit and watch Henry dig up the case, the ring leader, known as Uzi, asks his non-English speaking cronie to get him some water which we all read on the subtitles. The cronie goes to the back of the car and when he comes back we all expect to see him hand over a plastic bottle right? Much to my surprise and delight he hands over a brand new, shiny, burnt orange colored, metal Sigg style reusable bottle! In the next ten seconds while it makes its appearance on film, he essentially guides our sub-conscious through how to use one by opening and drinking from it right there on camera. Hooray for NBC!

Sadly, the bottle, and the bad guys, are blown up in the next shot but at least there will not be a non-biodegradable plastic bottle melted to the hand of the bad guy for a vulture to come and snack on right?

Because of the clever placement of such a hip product as a reusable metal water bottle and the fact that the show has a certain "I-never-would-have-expected-it-but-I-kind-of-like-it", 24-esque feel, I am giving last night's episode a Three Leaf Rating. Kudos NBC, keep up the good work.