Isostearamidopropyl ethyldimonium ethosulfate, cocoamphocarboxyglycinate-disodium salt, and sodium isostearoamphopropionate. These compounds could be some multiple choice answers on your next biochemistry test, but they’re also a fraction of the 46 ingredients found in Clairol’s Herbal Essences shampoo for normal hair. Compare these chemicals to olive oil, beta-carotene and rosemary, all of which are part of the ingredient list in Simply Organic’s everyday shampoo.

Juliet Hart, education professor, has extremely dry, sensitive skin. The harsh Kansas winter wreaks havoc on her face and she says she is cautious about what she puts on her skin.

“I practically wear scarves around my head rather than my neck in the winter,” Hart says. “I’m afraid to put just anything on my face here, where my skin responds so harshly.”

Hart regularly purchases organic face wash at Salon di Marco, 733 Massachusetts Street. She recognizes a major difference in her complexion and also enjoys the perks that come along with being eco-friendly.

“My skin isn’t dry or blotchy,” she says. “I know there are no harsh chemicals and when it all goes down the drain, I don’t have to worry about harming the environment.”

Becca Evanhoe, health and beauty manager at The Community Mercantile, 901 Iowa Street, is not only the merchandise buyer for the store, but she also buys organic products for her own use.

The Merc offers more than 100 organic body-care products ranging from shampoo to deodorant. Evanhoe has an extensive routine she must go through to buy products for the store. She examines a product’s ingredients, ethics and its national sales. She associates the increase in organic beauty product sales with the rise in organic food consumption.

“More people are realizing that what’s put on the skin is as important as what’s put into the body,” Evanhoe says.

Evanhoe says that her personal routine has been made all the better by including organic and all-natural products into her morning and evening regimens.

“I’ve been using organic products for a few years now,” she says, “and now conventional products smell and feel strange to me.”

Fashion designers and major celebrities, such as Stella McCartney and Alicia Silverstone, have taken notice to the positive effects of organic body care, both physically and financially, and publicized the trend. McCartney is working side-by-side with haute couture fashion house Yves Saint Laurent to launch an exclusively organic skincare line. Silverstone is a proponent of animal rights and environmental awareness and swears by her everyday beauty regimen. Both women boast of the benefits associated with an organic beauty routine.

Elizabeth Much, Silverstone’s publicist, notes that Silverstone enjoys her organic products for multiple reasons.

“Alicia uses an Australian organic line called Jurlique,” Much says. “They don’t test their products on animals and they are good for you.”

Michelle Dick, Leavenworth senior, purchases all-natural shampoo and conditioner from Aveda. She says that although organic products tend to be higher in price, she is willing to pay more for the positive effects.

“My hair has never been so soft,” Dick says. “I understand that the organic products are expensive, but I like how I feel after I take a shower. I’m refreshed and energized and I don’t feel like I’m lathering unknown chemicals on my body.”