Hair

January 19, 2014 Aside

After three weeks…

After three weeks of washing my hair with baking soda and conditioning with apple cider vinegar and argan oil, my hair is finally starting to look presentable. It is curlier than before (?) and it is not as frizzy. I don’t know why my hair was like that when I was using chemical-based products, but it has changed. I hope the change will continue to be positive.

I have cut back significantly on the argan oil, and that has been a good thing. I have started using a few drops only instead of a palm full, though I sometimes put more in before I wash for a conditioning treatment. This has been helpful.

In terms of budget, I have probably spent ₤13 in the past month on this new method of hair care, but hopefully that will stretch into the coming months. The argan oil will definitely keep giving back for a while, but I will have to replenish the baking soda and the apple cider vinegar soonish.

Hopefully soon my hair will be presentable enough to post a picture to show you the results.

January 8, 2014 Image

Trying to reduce consumption of hair products: no ‘poo hair maintenance

So it has been a while. I have been trying to rest and relax over the holidays, and now I am trying to get back into the swing of things, along with many of you. For me, getting back into the swing of things means making some changes. One of those changes is trying to reset my diet, and another is trying to reduce the amount of hair products that I consume. I have been trying out natural ways to cleanse and condition my hair for years, and trying to save money more recently, but I have been serious about switching from industrially produced shampoo and conditioner for the past week or so. I made a switch to farmers market-bought soap several years ago, and it has been much better than the stuff I used to buy even at the expensive beauty counters for body wash and soap. After years of skeptical interest, I decided to take the plunge after the New Year rung in.

Thus, the experiment of using no shampoo has begun. I have been reading blogs about using baking soda to cleanse hair and apple cider vinegar for conditioner.

It began with my trying an old friend on my hair, olive oil. Olive oil has historically been one of the better products that I have been able to use on my hair and skin. However, this time it wasn’t as successful, possibly because the brand wasn’t right, the time of the year was different, or whathaveyou. I then went to the grocery store and picked up some baking soda, or sodium bicarbonate, and apple cider vinegar.  The challenge was on.

On Day 1, I used too much water in my mixtures, and the result wasn’t pretty. I couldn’t even get a comb through my hair without difficulty, so I decided to apply some 100% natural argan oil to help me with brushing. I put way too much argan oil in, and therefore my dried hair looked wet.

On Day 2, I followed the ratio advice a little bit more closely and left the baking soda and the apple cider vinegar mixtures in for a couple of minutes each. This was better, and it left my hair feeling better and cleaner. However, I still used too much argan oil.

On Day 3, I followed the ratio again, and this was much better for my hair. Instead of using a palm full of argan oil, I used a couple of pumps from the bottle, and my hair didn’t look as wet even after it was dried. I need to figure out how much argan oil to use, or whether I should put a couple of drops into the apple cider vinegar mixture, or whether I should use a black tea rinse to condition as well instead of just the apple cider vinegar/argan oil method.

I will continue this quest for as long as I can! When my hair is actually presentable, I will post a picture here.

July 7, 2013

Beauty Treatments Found in the Kitchen

Over the years, I have been reading about the dangerous chemicals that have been used in hair care and beauty products, and this has left me searching for natural ways to cleanse and condition my hair, as well as other ways to incorporate natural products into my life ( i.e. products that I could find in my pantry, which are ostensibly more natural than the parabens in my products from the beauty counters/drugstore). So I began experimenting with various foodstuffs in my kitchen, which yielded mostly great results. This was also a result of the fact that I, as a student and unpaid intern, had a limited budget.

1) Olive Oil

Olive Oil, straight from the bottle, has made an excellent conditioner for my hair and moisturizer for my skin. This has been especially true when I am in the middle of winter or my hair is particularly dry due to overexposure to heat. I have applied this straight to my hair via my palms, and left it in for anywhere from 45 minutes to overnight. I have found this to be one of the best treatments found in the kitchen for me personally, and I have only used extra virgin olive oil.

2) Coconut Oil

Coconut oil did not work as well on my hair as it worked on my skin, but it did work rather well when the weather was particularly dry. It also made my hair a little shinier than normal, but it has a very strong smell, even after you have washed it out with normal shampoo. This might work well on other hair types, but olive oil worked much better on my hair. I also used this straight from the jar, as per the type that could be used for cooking.

3) Oatmeal

I have put oatmeal in my hair and on my skin, after cooking it with either milk or water. While it was good for my hair, it was a particularly good face mask. I still use this on my face for a mask when I am trying to avoid chemicals or paying a lot of money for a facial.

4) Orange juice/orange peel

I have put orange juice on my hair, and it has worked well. Moreover, the peel of an orange has a lot of oil in it that is good for the skin, though it is a little sticky.

5) Beer

Yes, I have poured beer all over my hair. It is a good conditioner, and it is good for making your hair shiny. It has a strong smell, however, so it is best to wash it out thoroughly.

6) Egg (yolks) and mayonnaise

I have found egg yolks and mayonnaise to be an excellent mask for my hair. I keep the egg whites in the mask, but I think that the egg yolk itself is excellent as well.

7) Black Tea

I have used black tea for hair rinses, and have also found this to be a good way to condition hair.

8) Cucumber slices

This is always a good remedy for puffiness under the eyes.