Frequently Asked Questions

Original Sprout is located in San Clemente, California.

Inga Tritt founded Original Sprout. She is a mother and professional hairstylist who remains involved with Original Sprout.

Our products are completely free and clean of the following common allergens: Gluten, Soy, Parabens, Phthalates, Formaldehyde, artificial colors, Lavender, Tea Tree, Dairy, Peanuts, Honey and Strawberry.

The term “natural” is a conundrum in the marketing world while it has specific meaning in the scientific world. From a common sense perspective, all things seem to come from nature in one form or another so how is something not natural? As our loyal Sprout fans know, many of our early products had “natural” in their name which gave a nod to our ingredient deck comprised of mostly natural ingredients and extracts. Years ago, when Original Sprout started out, using the term “natural” meant the same as “safe” or “non-toxic”, unadulterated, products. Today we have realized nature isn’t always that friendly. Cyanide and arsenic are naturally occurring, but certainly not safe. Original Sprout has begun a campaign of purging the use of “natural” from our product names and descriptions in lieu of more correct terminology such as “non-toxic”, “dermatologist tested”, “safe”, “vegan”, and “cruelty-free”. Our formulas have not changed. We continue to use the highest quality ingredients, and a lot of them can be called natural, but we don’t use any that aren’t safe, not even the natural ones! Our new name, Classic, is our original product, naturally.

For decades we have been available to niche market salons, in stores who specialize in natural foods, and in other places where consumers generally shop for high quality products. It was time to introduce a product line intended for mass distribution, but priced with mainstream competitors, yet retaining our heritage. It was tough sledding. It took over a year in development, but we did it! We’re at Target exclusively because we feel their presence in the market and their newly focused attention on clean, safe,products are the best path to reach our customers on a nationwide scale. And, they picked us as a product of choice.

We call our new line Worry Free Hair Care for one simple reason: because safe, tested and effective hair care should be affordable for everyone! We believe everyone should have the option to swap their hair care products that are full of harsh chemicals and skin irritants for something that can be trusted. Worry Free has earned the “Target Clean” seal of approval, meaning all Worry Free products are phthalate-free, paraben-free, sulfate-free, cruelty-free and vegan! All Worry Free products are dermatologist tested and are 100% safe on even the most sensitive skin.

All Original Sprout products are 100% safe for people of all ages, from newborns to toddlers to adults.

The simplest explanation is that EWG is not the consumer watchdog they claim to be. EWG charges a fee calculated as a percentage of total revenues in exchange for permission to affix their decal of approval. Hardly a sign of independence. They do no lab testing and no verification of ingredients. The reports they generate for consumers, and their decals affixed to product packaging, are misleading at best and we refuse to pay for that practice. Original Sprout products are clinically tested by independent labs and are confirmed hypoallergenic, non-allergenic, dermatologist tested, pediatrician tested, cruelty-free and safe. Moreover, we ship product all over the world and are required to provide independent test results in order to enter some countries, the E.U. in particular where 1,328 ingredients have already been banned. EWG is not interested in these test results, nor are they willing to do their own testing. They only want a percentage of our sales revenues in order to give us the EWG blessing. We say no thanks. We prefer to put our money towards making Original Sprout products the safest and most effective they can be while protecting our planet for future Sprout generations.

Our friendly Customer Service team will be happy to help you with any questions you have regarding your online order or any product information. Please click this link to be directed to our “Contact Us” page and include as much information as possible in order for us to accurately and sufficiently assist you. Our website also offers a “Live Chat” Just hop over to our homepage and click the tab that reads: “NEED HELP?” Please be advised that our live chat option is only available during business hours.

The reason Original Sprout Classic Shampoo does not lather or produce foaming suds because it does not contain any harmful sulfates. Sulfates are a chemically added surfactant in many shampoos or hair care products that helps remove any excess oils from your scalp and hair. These sulfate chemicals in hair shampoos can strip away hair moisture and natural oils, leaving your hair frizzy and your scalp vulnerable to irritations. Sodium lauryl sulfate and ammonium lauryl sulfate are the two main sulfates that work against you when coloring your hair and even causing more irritation and dryness to those with eczema.

The Tahitian Collection was originally developed with the new mommy in mind. We wanted to make products with the same integrity as the Classic Collection while also appealing to teens and adults. This collections is just as safe for whole family — babies included!

YES! All of our products are FREE of gluten and wheat.

Our proprietary blend of Parfum includes natural extracts and synthetic fragrances. Original Sprout uses fragrances that are approved by California’s Safe Cosmetics Program and the European Cosmetics Directive. Our fragrances are free of ingredients linked to hormone disruption and cancer concerns such as: Phthalates, Dioxanes 1, 4, Sulfates, Parabens, Formaldehyde, Propylene Glycol, Dipropylene Glycol, Acetaldehydes, Styrene, Toluene, Glycol Ethers, Ethylene Oxide, Musk, Lavender or Tea Tree Oils, Clove, Soy, Nonylphenol, Mineral or Petroleum Oils, Triclosan, Eurethane, 1¬2 Propylene Oxide, Placenta, Synthetic Colors and Titanium Dioxide or Nanoparticles.

Original Sprout is made in California. This means the Best Consumer Protection in the U.S. Only California has the Safe Cosmetics Program & Prop 65. http://www.cdph.ca.gov/programs/cosmetics/Pages/default.aspx Europe & California have banned over 1,500 endocrine disrupting, mutanogenic & carcinogenic ingredients from cosmetics.https://www.cosmeticseurope.eu/

Yes, ALL of our products are 100% vegan and cruelty free. We have thoroughly researched our manufacturer to verify that they do not affiliate with or source ingredients from resources that are not cruelty-free for any of our products. We love animals and are against animal testing of any kind!

It is your eye’s natural defense to tear up when you get any type of foreign substance in it, let alone soapy chemicals. Most compounds in soap are irritants, so your eyes will naturally respond with pain due to how delicate and especially essential they are for the human body. We like to promote our products as being “sting-less” because they are pH-neutral like water. We also do not add any numbing agents such as clove oil (a popular ingredient added in many baby washes/shampoos) to our products. We proudly stand behind our “FREE and CLEAN” motto.

Yes! All of our products have a gentle pH range of 4.5-7.0 and free of any harmful sulfates like ALS and SLS which are responsible for fading hair color.

We do not recommend the following Original Sprout products for customers with Tree Nut Allergies.

*Tree nuts used in the following products include: Almond, Kukui and Mongongo nuts

• Hair &Body Babywash
• Deep Conditioner
• Island Bliss Shampoo
• Luscious Island Conditioner
• Natural Styling Balm

The products we recommend to repel lice are our Miracle Detangler and the Leave–In Conditioner because they contain rosemary extract. They sit on the hair throughout the day, therefore acting as a shield to repel lice. Rosemary is a natural repellent against lice, but it will not cure an active lice infestation.

The Hair & Body Babywash also contains rosemary but doesn’t ward off any new infestations, as it is a product that is rinsed out of the hair and does not have the same protective effect as our products that are made to be left on the hair throughout the day.

SD Alcohol is actually an Ethanol which is a grain alcohol. This type of alcohol is used in cosmetics for a couple of different reasons. 1) To cause the product to dry faster and 2) To introduce oils, fragrance, etc. into a water-based formula.

All other alcohols for cosmetics are considered fatty alcohols and are actually good for you. They are usually solid and waxy such as cetearyl alcohol and cetyl alcohol.

We use non-nano sized particles of Zinc Oxide which is recommended to be safe for reef and marine life.

Our products utilizes a Julian date, listed at the top of the tube, or under the bottle.

Example:
Code J-981 – J = year; 981= batch code
19-331 – Julian Date = 19-331

The Julian Date is the actual day within the 365 days of the year. Starting January 1st as 001 and December 31st as 365. In this example, this product would have been made on November 27 (the 331 day of the year), 2019. Please give this code to our Customer Service Representative if you have any questions regarding your product.

All of our products have an open 24-month expiration date. For example, if the product was sitting on the shelf for 6 months before it was opened, it would expire 24 months after the product was opened.