How Rainwater Started a Shampoo Revolution

Rainwater started Nature’s Gate business in 1972, and water remains the company’s focus today.

It started with drops from the clouds—brothers Leo and Vladimir Weinstein started our making a simple shampoo from rainwater and herbs out of Vladimir’s herb shop in Venice, Calif.

Word spread quickly, and soon customers were bringing in empty soda bottles and asking the duo to fill them up with the homemade hair product. As demand grew, the two decided to create a company and bottle their hair formula.

Though the company has since switched to distilled water instead of collected rainwater (good luck finding rainwater in the middle of California’s drought), Nature’s Gate still keeps all of their bath and body products as natural as that first shampoo.

Whether it’s shampoo, conditioner, or toothpaste, all the products this company makes are cruelty-free, paraben-free, pthalate-free, petroleum-free, and totally vegan friendly. Even more importantly, everything fits the standard of “wholistic beauty”—nothing artificial, harsh, or unnatural allowed.

And because they have Mother Earth to thank for all of their ingredients, and the efficacy of their products, Nature’s Gate is also committed to giving back to the environment. Among other charities, they’ve partnered with Water Aid, a global organization dedicated to bringing clean water to people all around the world.

As Nature’s Gate puts it on their website, “water is the foundation of life.” You can trace this philosophy back through their partnership with Water Aid, their eco-friendly business practices, and their use of all natural ingredients, all the way back to that original rainwater shampoo.

After all, without access to clean, fresh rainwater, Nature’s Gate wouldn’t even exist.

Photo credit: Paul Delmont