Natural Hair Care - dyes, shampoos, etc

[MissJessicaMary]

In my quest to cut more chemicals out of my beauty and skin care and such, I thought I would try to do that with my hair too. I have very long previously dyed regularly hair that is thick, but thin stranded. Anyway, I had switch to a sulfate shampoo a couple years ago, but now I am trying something different.

About a week and a half ago I tried the no shampoo (aka no 'poo) method for the first time. Basically you use baking soda on your head like shampoo to remove excess oils and such, without completely stripping the oils away like most shampoos, and then apple cider vinegar (in water) to condition. My hair gets somewhat oily at the roots so I was hesitant to believe it was going to work, but I tried it and it did. The one downside is that ACV, even diluted in water like they recommend, has a somewhat strong smell. Luckily, that smell did not last once my hair was patted with a towel and I did not notice that it lingered in the towel or anything either. My hair actually felt stronger afterwards and it was still fairly soft and not oily.

But I also wanted to try some shampoo bars. Dress Green, a local company with an online store, has these shampoo bars that mostly contain oils and other natural things. I thought I might try a couple in case the no shampoo thing stopped working or I actually wanted a scent in my hair and just because I was curious. Again, it got my hair clean, lathered up okay, and the scent was lovely (I tried the Pomegranate Juice). I think I might do the no shampoo during the week and then the bars when I was my hair for the weekend. I do think I will still use the ACV conditioner.

And I also dye my hair with henna (as a base) and indigo. It takes all day, and it is messy, but my scalp no longer itches for days after dying. I cannot get the jet blue black I used to do with my other dye, but I think I like soft black with red highlights even more. Plus, and this is the kicker for me, I only have to dye it once every 6 to 8 weeks because it somehow blends with my roots so that you really do not notice them. I naturally have a medium ash brown hair color that definitely showed with even soft black dyed hair in regular brands.

Does anyone else use natural hair care in one way or another? Has it worked out well for you? Be sure to share your hair type, too ^_^ /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

 

[ANielsen]

Good for you dumping the PPD laced black hair color - dangerous stuff. The darker the color the more likely it is to contain PPD, a serious allergen. There are reports of reactions so serious that one resulted in death. Noting to trifle with.

Yea too for using Henna and Indigo. Messy and time consuming, but worth it. 

I am a long time henna user and love it. I admit though that since I have fast growing hair and some grey I do cheat and use some box color for quick root touch ups - but - I have found that I can blend in some saved henna into my color and get the best of both worlds ( I make a full batch of henna then freeze in small containers). The result is a semi-permanent color that is super mild. I only use this on my roots and do a henna bloss 

I belong to the online Long Hair Community and have learned many helpful methods there. One of those was the BS method (baking soda) and the other the CO method (conditioner only). 

I am a wavy/curly and quite thick. I have found the CO method to be my holy grail. I no longer have frizzy, snarly unmanageable hair and I would have never grown to this length (I am at about 4' of hair now) had I not found this hair care alternative.

I also like baking soda for clarifying and removing any mineral build-up , but since I use this on my length (no more than once a month) I mix it with conditioner and only leave it on for one minute before rinsing out.

Lastly, Coconut Oil had been one of the best things I have ever tried. Wavy and curly hair really needs something to help seal in moisture and smooth the cuticle and raw coconut oils is the bomb. Get the solid kind, not the liquid. It only takes a tiny amount for great results.