about a year ago i stopped washing my hair with traditional shampoo and conditioner. i read/watched several articles about toxins and hair stripping.
so, i made a choice. i stopped using shampoo and conditioner.
first, i tried just water - i found my hair full of build up and a grey gunk that turned out to be my own hair oils and whatever else my hair picked up in the urban city i live in...
what to do, i wondered.
after an astounding amount of research and hours of personal experimenting i found a natural way of cleansing my hair, without toxins.
i use a few simple ingredients:
my hair is curly and tends to be dry, or at least it used to be dry. ever since i stopped stripping my hair with over the counter shampoo my hair is a lot healthier from root to tip.
so, i made a choice. i stopped using shampoo and conditioner.
first, i tried just water - i found my hair full of build up and a grey gunk that turned out to be my own hair oils and whatever else my hair picked up in the urban city i live in...
what to do, i wondered.
after an astounding amount of research and hours of personal experimenting i found a natural way of cleansing my hair, without toxins.
i use a few simple ingredients:
- local eggs (for vegans substitute egg for flax seed blended with distilled water or herbal tea)
- vinegar (home brewed apple cider vinegar, made from local apples)
my hair is curly and tends to be dry, or at least it used to be dry. ever since i stopped stripping my hair with over the counter shampoo my hair is a lot healthier from root to tip.
egg whites are an amazing source of protein for the hair. so potent too much egg white can thicken the hair and cause it to become too heavy; causing the new hair to break at the shaft. at first i washed my hair with egg several times a week. until my hair started to feel crunchy the first signs of too much egg white. i tried only egg yolk, finding my hair to feel heavy and thin. after trial and error i found washing my hair with one whole egg every week and a half to be perfect for my hair.
i used to beat the egg then apply it in the shower to wet hair. then i tried experimenting with making a hole in the egg shell only letting egg white out gently massaging whites into my wet scalp. this technique thickens my new hair growth. then i break the shell open and massage the egg yolk into the ends of my hair. the fat in the yolk is a great conditioner. (remembering to wash in warm to tepid water, too hot and i could end up with scrambled eggs in my hair, again...)
i used to beat the egg then apply it in the shower to wet hair. then i tried experimenting with making a hole in the egg shell only letting egg white out gently massaging whites into my wet scalp. this technique thickens my new hair growth. then i break the shell open and massage the egg yolk into the ends of my hair. the fat in the yolk is a great conditioner. (remembering to wash in warm to tepid water, too hot and i could end up with scrambled eggs in my hair, again...)
after the egg wash, i rinse with apple cider vinegar. the first time i used vinegar on my head i poured it straight out of the bottle. it stung and i smelled like a salad. after months of trial and error i found infusing apple cider vinegar with a few herbs and diluting didn't sting. my favorite is rosemary infused vinegar. it improves my scalp circulation and imparts a nice rosemary fragrance.
to make a diluted vinegar hair rinse i measure a spoonful of infused vinegar to a cup of distilled water (or herbal tea). generally i leave the vinegar rinse in my hair for a few minutes. the vinegar softens my hair and helps soften dead skin cells from my scalp. letting the vinegar set on my hair a while makes it easier to massage unwanted impurities out of my hair.
i cleanse my hair with vinegar more frequently then i do with egg. i also use a homemade hair balm to shape my curls or style my hair into loose waves. the no shampoo experiment has been a success for me, i don't think i will ever go back to commercially made shampoo.
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for folks with oily hair try a spoonful of baking soda (aluminum free) in a cup of distilled water (or herbal tea) instead of an egg.
to make a diluted vinegar hair rinse i measure a spoonful of infused vinegar to a cup of distilled water (or herbal tea). generally i leave the vinegar rinse in my hair for a few minutes. the vinegar softens my hair and helps soften dead skin cells from my scalp. letting the vinegar set on my hair a while makes it easier to massage unwanted impurities out of my hair.
i cleanse my hair with vinegar more frequently then i do with egg. i also use a homemade hair balm to shape my curls or style my hair into loose waves. the no shampoo experiment has been a success for me, i don't think i will ever go back to commercially made shampoo.
+
for folks with oily hair try a spoonful of baking soda (aluminum free) in a cup of distilled water (or herbal tea) instead of an egg.