Edit: After the shabby treatment of Ana from Lipsticks & Lightsabers and Grey from LeGothique and Joelle I no longer recommend GudonyaToo because of their customer service. You can read on to see what I think of their products, however, BE WARNED, I do not recommend their products. I have now received several emails complaining about the customer service of this company. It seems the decent treatment I received was an anomaly. Also, Gudonya has not left me feedback for my last purchase on Etsy, so I fear they’ll leave me nasty feedback.
So a while ago I decided I wanted to find a vegan sulfate free shampoo. I’ve been on the sulfate free kick for a long time (at least 5 years) because it helps my color to last longer. I decided Etsy would be the place to search for such a product and I hit the jackpot with GudonyaToo Soap.
Shampoo $4.50 to $8.00
Their vegan shampoo is called Salty Dawg Creme shampoo. It’s got sea salt, creme soap, panthenol (Provitamiin B5) and hydrolyzed wheat protein. It’s supposed to be similar to Lush shampoos. I had never tried a salt shampoo or lush shampoo before, but after reading the description, I decided to give it a try.
I picked up the Acai Acai scent. Its description is:
This fresh scent has REALLY tangy top notes of lemon and citrus fruits. The middle notes are complex and SUPER fruity, with a very subtle hint of lily. The base notes are sweet, musky and delicious. This is not a sugary-sweet scent, it is fresh, tangy and somewhat like a sweet, berry grapefruity yummy goodness treat.
While they recommend a nickel or dime sized amount, for my length of Hair I end up using a bit more than that. While I don’t feel like a ton of lather envelopes my hair, I definitely feel like it gets me clean. It’s something I always have to remind myself, that vegan sulfate free products don’t lather like traditional commercial soaps, and that’s ok. I’m still getting clean.
Edited to Add: I tried adding slightly more water before using the shampoo by scooping some on and that worked!
I really do love the scent. Now, it works wonderfully in my hair. I only wash my hair once to twice a week anyways, and this keeps me feeling nice and clean. For Ray, he normally has to wash his hair every day. Now that he’s been using this shampoo and conditioner, he can skip a day and his hair will still be nice, soft and clean, which is impressive.
Conditioner $7.00
I also tried the Acai Acai vegan conditioner. It’s an intense conditioner with Rice Bran oil, BTMS-50, Panthenol, and Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein, as well as glycerin. This vegan formula is new. Ray absolutely loves the conditioner. I like the conditioner ok, but I definitely prefer a spray leave in conditioner formula, because I do feel like my hair responds better to a leave in formula.
Whipped Clean Body Wash $4.00 to $7.00
I tried the whipped clean vegan body wash in Chocolate Dream and Italian Lemon Cream. It’s a nice light body wash that cleanses you without leaving you feeling dried out. The bubbles are good, and with this a little does go a long way.
The description for Chocolate Dream is:
We had numerous requests to add a chocolate scent to the “stable” of whipped clean scents… so with much research and careful blending of chocolate fragrance oils and REAL cocoa we came up with a combination that is pure decadence. It is a not too sweet, or bitter, it is just right…Think of a tootsie roll floating in cup of hot chocolate with a shot of dark chocolate!!! Perfect for the chocoholic in all of us !!!
The description for Italian Lemon Cream is:
ITALIAN LEMON CREAM– Are you a lemon-lover? Not straight sour lemons, but smooth custard cream type. We’ve taken the tart but sweet taste of ripe lemons and cut the edges by enveloping them in a cool vanilla cream.The fragrance is unbelievable. Mmmmmmm…. A definite keeper!
The lemon scent is ok. Usually I love lemon scents and this one is just an ok for me. It actually smells like lemons and marshmallow peeps. However, the chocolate is FANTASTIC. I mean oh my god, I’ve thought about asking them to make this into a perfume because I love it so much. Ray and Dave both like it as well. It’s a yummy perfect chocolate scent.
Solid Perfume $3.50
Because of the interesting scent description, I decided to try their solid perfume in Mayan Gold.
Mayan Gold is described as:
Exotic, sweet, warm and spicy can all be used to describe this incredible fragrance. The most well-balanced bond of sandalwood, patchouli, musk and amber. With them, merge tangerine, mango and clary sage. Lastly, it’s all joined by a trace of vanilla, nutmeg and Mexican chocolate… sound like an odd blend? It’s truly a “must sniff” to believe – and believe, you WILL!
Unfortunately, I did NOT like this scent at all. It smelled overpoweringly like sandalwood and patchouli, and while I like sandalwood, I felt like it stank. However, it did seem to last pretty well, even through me trying to wash it off twice. I think it’s probably a good product if you get it in a scent you like.
Overall, I liked the products but will not support such shabby customer service.
I will not order from them again – updated Feb. 12, 2010
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Hello Cotton
I got a lot of lather with the shampoo. The trick is lots of water. I usually wet my hair, put the dollop (I go with quarter size because my hair is really thick) of shampoo on top of my head and then dip my head under the shower again real quick (or just scoop a couple handfuls onto head) and start working it through my hair. I usually end up with a head full of lather, and all over my hands and splashes of foamy goodness on the shower curtain too.
I agree about the Mayan Gold, that scent didn't work for me at all. The Tahitian Vanilla was my favorite.
Hi Michelle,
What I usually do is shove my head directly under the shower head, to make sure I'm fully saturated, then I use some shampoo and put my head under the water again. However I'm thinking I might be better off trying your handfuls of water method
I have Whipped Clean coming in: Almond (For Ray), Oh So Delicious, and a large jar of the CHocolate Dream.
I have the Salty Dawg shampoo coming in: Oh So Delicious (for Dave) and Tahitian Vanilla.
Great review! I've had my eye on Gudonya for a looong time and your experience is pushing me over the edge. I would have probably selected the exact same scents to try as you did (I'm a freak for acai and lemon scents) so thanks SO much for all the great info.
I like the smell of the product and yes I found very little lather and I had to use lots of product because we have very hard water and I don't have a water softner so It is hard for me to use but the smell is so nice…
Hi Recessionista,
Definitely give them a chance
Hi Krista,
I didn't have to use lots of product, but a bit more than suggested. I need to try more water though.
Argh! You beat me to the review!
Hi Grey,
I just had time to finally do a bunch today before I started raiding.
Lol! You've beaten me to so many
The Oh So Delicious scent is wonderful, and I love love love the Sandalwood and Amber body wash. It's such a warm and snuggly fragrance- comforting without being sweet.
I've been using the shampoo like you described and haven't gotten lather, just slip. I'll have to try the scooping method now.
Have you tried adding a bit of the conditioner to a spray bottle of water and using it like a leave-in? I do that sometimes if it's really cold and windy out for extra protection and it works well.
Hi Amanda,
Aww the Sandalwood and Amber sounds nice.
What I did just a little while ago (I was rinsing bleach out of my hair and then washing), was thoroughly saturate my hair under the shower head. I realized I sort of 'wipe' my hair off, taking away some of the precious moisture, so I made sure to not wipe and scoop a handful of water on the top of my head, then I grabbed probably about a quarter sized amount of shampoo and scrubbed my head, then scooped a bit more water on and boom, lots of lather.
I'll pick up a spray bottle and try diluting it with water. Would you suggest a 50/50 mixture? or something else? Right now I'm using Tigi's Superstar Volumizing Leave in conditioner and it's really perfect for my hair.
I dilute the conditioner a lot otherwise it looks greasy on me. I have an 8oz bottle and do about 2 tbsp of product and fill the rest up with water.
Hmm. I do the wipe thing too. I'll have to remember not to next time I wash. Thanks for the details. While I know slip is enough to cleanse, I do like lather.
This post is really good timing. I was actually looking at that Salty Dog shampoo yesterday. I have to thank you. You are one of the few bloggers responsible for me trying out (or finding) so many indie companies. I love it!
Hi Amanda,
That's why I tend to prefer the spray leave in conditioner. I literally just spritz my comb and use that to detangle my hair, then blow dry. That's all I need. Thanks for the details on the bottle
Hi Dominique,
You're quite welcome! I really love supporting good indie companies, so I'm very happy to hear that you like my reviews
Ooooh I think I need to try a shampoo like that, my hair gets oily/greasy if I dont wash it every day =/
Great review!
How is it with color treated hair? Have you notices less color washing away?
Hi Silhouette,
Definitely give it a try, it may react well with your hair.
Hi Demoness,
Actually I specifically LOVE sulfate free shampoos for my colored hair, moreso than shampoos specifically for colored hair that contains sulfates.
I personally find that for my hair, sulfate free shampoo is easier on my color. It also helps that I only wash my hair every 5 to 7 days, and I use a spray in sulfate free leave in conditioner.
This salty shampoo works really well and I don't feel like it strips the color out of my hair. I'm currently coloring with Jerome Russel Punky colors. In fact, I just colored my hair again last night, so you'll see nice bright hair later today
Thanks for this review, I've been wanting to try a few of their products and this give me confidence! Mainly the whipped clean and their sMOOchy skin bars. I think I'll try them out!
Hi Jenna,
You're welcome! I am in LOVE with their shampoo! Their whipped clean is great. I need to try one of their smoochy skin bars, too.