# Can I safely wash my hair with Orange Joy Dishwashing liquid? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 3, 2004, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-safely-wash-my-hair-with-orange-joy-dishwashing-liquid/267332 "2004-10-03T16:08:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2004, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-safely-wash-my-hair-with-orange-joy-dishwashing-liquid/267332/1 "2004-10-03T16:08:10Z")
I ran out of whatever flavor of Suave shampoo (coconut I think) I was using, and so I decided to use a squirt of “super concentrated” Orange Joy Dishwashing liquid. It seemed to work fine on my very short hair with the exception that my hair felt almost a little _too clean_, almost stripped, but it’s not like I’m going to be worring about “body” with a 1/4 close cropped hairstyle. If I have to do this again there’s no downside is there? As a side question, is there really any significant difference between my 89 cents a bottle Suave shampoo and the 8-12 dollar a bottle stuff my daughter insists on? ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2004, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-safely-wash-my-hair-with-orange-joy-dishwashing-liquid/267332/2 "2004-10-03T16:21:39Z")
Using conditioner afterwords may have helped. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2004, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-safely-wash-my-hair-with-orange-joy-dishwashing-liquid/267332/3 "2004-10-03T16:31:44Z")
When _Consumer Reports_ magazine rates shampoos with blind tests on volunteers, they always find that the cheapest things — including yes, dish detergent — perform as well as the most expensive stuff. What sells is the pretty smells. ---
**Author:** ![Tamex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ccd318/32.png) [@Tamex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamex)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2004, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-safely-wash-my-hair-with-orange-joy-dishwashing-liquid/267332/4 "2004-10-03T16:38:39Z")
Well, dishwashing detergents are designed to remove grease very effectively, so perhaps it would be good if your hair is really, really oily, but I think that it would tend to be overdrying otherwise. That’s what caused your hair to feel “too clean”. I think that I would have used, especially if my hair were as short as yours, bar soap or body wash before I ever, ever, would have considered dish detergent. YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2004, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-safely-wash-my-hair-with-orange-joy-dishwashing-liquid/267332/5 "2004-10-03T16:38:45Z")
Yep. Perfumes aside, dishsoap, shampoo, liquid clothing detergent and bath/body gel are all basically the same thing. Some may have a little more oil in it than others (hence the dryness when washing with dishsoap) but they’re basically the same. Next time, mix a little olive oil in with your dishsoap and it will work more like the shampoo you’re used to. (I also use Suave coconut sometimes, and it is one of the oiler ones.) ---
**Author:** ![CrazyCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2004, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-safely-wash-my-hair-with-orange-joy-dishwashing-liquid/267332/6 "2004-10-03T17:49:45Z")
Ooh, **Tamex** , you should never use bar soap on your hair. Soap is rather different chemically from detergents (which is what “dish soap”, shampoos, and body washes are). I used to be able to explain the details of it, but organic chemistry was lo these many years ago and I no longer remember the specifics. At any rate, soap doesn’t wash clean like detergent does. It binds to stuff and forms insoluble compounds. That’s what soap scum is. Detergents tend not to do this, which is why you pretty much never see ads for stuff to take the soap scum off your kitchen sink. Anyway, you don’t want these insoluble compounds all over your hair. It looks and feels repulsive, and it can be a real bitch to wash out later. ---
**Author:** ![11811](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/9d8465/32.png) [@11811](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/11811)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2004, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-safely-wash-my-hair-with-orange-joy-dishwashing-liquid/267332/7 "2004-10-03T22:21:24Z")
you may find it difficult to get a comb through if you wash out **all** the oils. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2004, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-safely-wash-my-hair-with-orange-joy-dishwashing-liquid/267332/8 "2004-10-03T22:46:30Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Yep. Perfumes aside, dishsoap, shampoo, liquid clothing detergent and bath/body gel are all basically the same thing. Whoa; I think this is going a bit far. Cite? FWIW, there is a difference between a \*soap \*and a _detergent_. And yes, having heard MANY times, from many reliable sources, that one shampoo is pretty much the same as another, I always buy the cheapest shampoo I can find. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2004, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-safely-wash-my-hair-with-orange-joy-dishwashing-liquid/267332/9 "2004-10-03T22:56:39Z")
All shampoos, aside from anti-dandruf ones, are the same. And as far as anti-damdrug shampoo goes, just make sure it has pyrthione zinc (i think that’s what it’s called) and you’re good to go. Conditioners are not all the same. Just make sure there is some kind of protein in it, cause that’s what hair is, and that’s what makes it healty. ---
**Author:** ![duffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duffer/32/1026_2.png) [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2004, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-safely-wash-my-hair-with-orange-joy-dishwashing-liquid/267332/10 "2004-10-03T23:29:52Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > And yes, having heard MANY times, from many reliable sources, that one shampoo is pretty much the same as another, I always buy the cheapest shampoo I can find. Wouldn’t that be a cite? Or is the source not credible? 😃😉 ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2004, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-safely-wash-my-hair-with-orange-joy-dishwashing-liquid/267332/11 "2004-10-04T00:11:23Z")
No, duffer. Read the assertion I asked for a cite on; it’s a different assertion entirely. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2004, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-safely-wash-my-hair-with-orange-joy-dishwashing-liquid/267332/12 "2004-10-04T00:14:39Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > Whoa; I think this is going a bit far. Cite? I’m a soapmaker, does that count? 😃 I also work with premade detergent blends, scenting them with different essential and perfume oils for different uses. Soaps are surfactants made from vegetable or plants oils and fats, detergents are made from petrochemicals. "According to EPA guidelines, “The word ‘detergent’ refers to household cleaning products which are based on non-soap, synthetic surfactants and which are primarily used for laundering and dishwashing.” They don’t mention that shampoo and bodywash are made from detergents, but they are. If something is not a soap but it is a surfantant (Makes lots of bubbles by cutting the surface tension of water), it is by definition a detergent. [Here’s a link](http://www.cutofcloth.com/article_soapvsdetergent.asp) with more information on soaps and detergents and their differences. [This is one](http://sci-toys.com/ingredients/detergents.html) I point my students toward, but it might be more than you wanted to know. [Here’s one](http://chemistry.about.com/library/weekly/aa081301a.htm) with more chemistry on soap. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2004, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-safely-wash-my-hair-with-orange-joy-dishwashing-liquid/267332/13 "2004-10-04T00:37:30Z")
Yes, I know; that’s why I pointed out a difference. ---
**Author:** ![moriah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b2d939/32.png) [@moriah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moriah)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2004, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-safely-wash-my-hair-with-orange-joy-dishwashing-liquid/267332/14 "2004-10-04T01:04:26Z")
Yes, but I can now see myself in your hair. ===== Question for the “Don’t use soap on hair” crowd… # If soap on hair is bad, why is soap on the hair of the rest of the body (eyebrows, beards, underarm, chest, pubic, leg) OK? Shouldn’t soap also be bad on facial and body hair? # When I use soap on my hair, it takes several washings to ‘strip’ it squeaky clean. (I don’t need to worry about dry hair, within half a day, it’s all oiled up again.) Wouldn’t that indicate that soap isn’t harsh on hair? If soap leaves a soapy buildup (as opposed to what detergents do) then why can clothes acquire a detergenty buildup as well as glasses in the dishwasher? Isn’t the issue of soap or detergent buildup an issue of using less of the product and rinsing better? ===== ## Peace. I use Lemon Pledge to condition my hair. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2004, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-safely-wash-my-hair-with-orange-joy-dishwashing-liquid/267332/15 "2004-10-04T03:07:27Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > [Here’s a link](http://www.cutofcloth.com/article_soapvsdetergent.asp) with more information on soaps and detergents and their differences. [This is one](http://sci-toys.com/ingredients/detergents.html) I point my students toward, but it might be more than you wanted to know. [Here’s one](http://chemistry.about.com/library/weekly/aa081301a.htm) with more chemistry on soap. Fascinating article. Per the quote below I do wonder why soapmakers draw a renewable/non-renewable distinction betweem soaps and detergents. In the context of producing and using soap vs detergent, how can the fats and oils used in making and using soap be considered “renewable” in any way? > [@](#): > > Those concerned about the environmental effects of soaps and detergents do have options. Since both soaps and detergents are surfactant based, you can make the effort to choose a product whose surfactants are made from oleochemicals, instead of those made from petrochemicals. Petrochemicals are a nonrenewable resource and actually a ‘waste product’ of the petroleum industry derived from crude oil or natural gas. (1,4) Oleochemicals are from fats and oils, which are renewable resources. > > As we mentioned earlier, the surfactant raw materials of both soaps and detergents must be chemically converted. That being the case, in its final form, the surfactant with an oleochemical base is similar to one with a petrochemical base. (1) The obvious question then is why do manufacturers choose to use a non-renewable petrochemical when there is another option - oleochemicals. Well, primarily ‘cost.’ > . Also, chemically, how are soaps really any more “natural” than detergents from a chemical point of view in that - > [@](#): > > Both soaps and detergents perform the same task. - As far as removing dirt or poopies (since we are specifically concerned about getting your diapers clean), the difference between soaps and detergents are in their composition. Soaps, on the whole, are made of materials found in nature, and detergents are labeled synthetic (although some of their ingredients are natural). (3) An interesting point is that some chemists will argue that the actual production of a soap molecule from the naturally occurring fats and oils is still a synthesis step, and therefore, soaps are synthetic products as well. (2) The EPA states, “The word ‘detergent’ refers to household cleaning products which are based on non-soap, synthetic surfactants and which are primarily used for laundering and dishwashing.”(5) And finally _why_ are soaps " better overall for our health" than detergents per the assertion below? The article doen’t really back up this claim with any cites. > [@](#): > > Whichever side of that argument you lean on, we do recognize that soaps have been around for centuries and that they are better overall for our health and easier on our environment than detergents. ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2004, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-safely-wash-my-hair-with-orange-joy-dishwashing-liquid/267332/16 "2004-10-04T03:23:59Z")
A buddy of mine, Joe Santy, salon owner, author, and helluva nice guy, claims that occasional use of dishwashing detergent is good for your hair-it strips out all of the stuff that your everyday cleaners leave behind. I asked him the question posed by the OP years ago when I used lemon Octagon to shampoo. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2004, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-safely-wash-my-hair-with-orange-joy-dishwashing-liquid/267332/17 "2004-10-04T03:34:57Z")
> [@astro](#): > > Fascinating article. Per the quote below I do wonder why soapmakers draw a renewable/non-renewable distinction betweem soaps and detergents. In the context of producing and using soap vs detergent, how can the fats and oils used in making and using soap be considered “renewable” in any way?. Because petrochemicals are from petroleum sources, which are presumably finite. Perhaps not, but since soaps use animal or vegetable fats, we can breed more animals and grow more crops to get more ingredients - more “renewable” in the short term, with the technology we have. (Note: I’m not putting a value judgement on this, just trying to explain.) > [@](#): > > Also, chemically, how are soaps really any more “natural” than detergents from a chemical point of view in that - I don’t think they are talking about being “natural” from a chemical point of view, but a because their sources are piggies and corn. Some people are pretty biased against petrochemicals. Of course, petroleum is a natural product - but not often marketed as such. > [@](#): > > And finally _why_ are soaps " better overall for our health" than detergents per the assertion below? The article doen’t really back up this claim with any cites Because if something is “natural” and “been around for centuries” it must be good for you. You know, like syphillis. :rolleyes: I don’t know why they’re saying this, frankly. I prefer detergents for my own use, especially as I’m in a hard water town. Soap just leaves residue on everything. IIRC, some years back there was some concern over weather or not detergents broke down as fully as soap when it found its way into the ground water, and if that might prove harmful to wildlife. I don’t have any current information on this, but perhaps this is what they are alluding to. ---
**Author:** ![Bingo\_Plebney](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/43a26b/32.png) [@Bingo\_Plebney](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bingo_Plebney)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2004, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-safely-wash-my-hair-with-orange-joy-dishwashing-liquid/267332/18 "2004-10-04T04:37:02Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > Conditioners are not all the same. Just make sure there is some kind of protein in it, cause that’s what hair is, and that’s what makes it healty. What “healthy”? Per Cecil: “Your hair is made up of DEAD TISSUE, and no amount of vitamins, minerals, or seasonings is going to make it live again. In addition, the protein derivative (not a protein at all, you see) used in shampoos bears no resemblance to the protein (keratin) that made you hair.” -The Straight Dope, page 136- ---
**Author:** ![tygerbryght](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a9a28c/32.png) [@tygerbryght](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tygerbryght)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2004, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-safely-wash-my-hair-with-orange-joy-dishwashing-liquid/267332/19 "2004-10-04T06:28:07Z")
Minor hijack: I got outfitted with prescription support hose a couple of weeks ago. The fitter (who came to the hospital; I gather she spends lots of time there) told me that I shouldn’t wash the hose with anything other than a specially formulated “wash” (her store sells) or else Ivory Soap. Since replacements cost 70, I'm not inclined to take chances. However, I don't have to tell y'all that my %^& detector went off when I was told that. It may also be of interest to some people that Wallyworld no longer stocks the Original “99 & 44/100ths % pure” stuff (I found it at Kroger). So. Will other stuff (and I especially mentioned Woolite when I questioned her about it) “eat up” the hose? ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2004, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-safely-wash-my-hair-with-orange-joy-dishwashing-liquid/267332/20 "2004-10-04T06:40:53Z")
[Above Knee, Below Knee, or Panty Support Hose](http://www.durrettsoandp.com/Business/productsbusiness/hosetip.htm) > [@](#): > > 1. Machine wash on gentle, lay flat to dry, and don’t use any bleach. A mild soap like Dreft or Ivory is acceptable. Petroleum or chlorine based detergents like Woolite and Tide are not recommended. The use of harsh detergents or other washing additives may shorten the life of the hose. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-safely-wash-my-hair-with-orange-joy-dishwashing-liquid/267332.md?page=2)