I have dry, frizzy, naturally curly, unruly red hair. I have struggled with it well into my adult life. Growing up, my mother was a hair stylist; giving me all too easy access to every chemical I wanted to tame my mane. Anything I tried just made it worse. My tresses have endured a barrage of perms, relaxers, dyes, flat irons, curling irons, hair dryers, shampoos, conditioners, mousse, gel, and hairspray. Finally, after my college years, I came to the realization that the best thing for it was to just let it be. My hair seems to do whatever the hell it wants anyway so why fight it?
By limiting myself to just one gel (currently Kiss my Face upper management), I also discovered that my hair does not need daily washing. I used to shampoo and condition twice a day every day. No wonder my hair was dry and frizzy! Just because the back of a conventional shampoo bottle tells you to use daily does not mean you have to. It is a myth folks, no really, it is. You actually do more damage than good by daily washing. I am not saying you should be sporting dreadlocks either, just rethink what clean means. An added bonus of giving of hairspray is a cleaner bathroom. You know that crusty film that seems to blanket everything from the sticky cloud descending on your head? Gone! My counter top, mirror, bottles, floor, toilet, everything in a 5 foot radius had this dull film on the surface from spraying hairspray. Boy am I glad that is gone. Now my bathroom shines!
I made the switch from Pantene to Dr. Bronner's liquid castile soap over a year ago. It is all I use as a body wash, to shave, and shampoo my hair. It works wonderfully for all three. I can even clean the shower with it! Dr. Bronner's is all natural, made with certified organic oils, is certified fair trade, 100% vegan, and comes in a 100% post-consumer recycled plastic bottle. While all of that is great, the real reason I love it is that my hair has stopped falling out. I used to lose handfuls of hair in the shower while using Pantene. Gross! Unclogging the drain, double gross! It seems to me the sole purpose of shampoo is to clean your hair, keeping it healthy and on your head. What's up with that, Pantene? Have you ever read the ingredients on the back of your shampoo bottle? You should. METHYLCHLOROISOTHIAZOLINONE What? SODIUM LAURETH SULFATE Bless you.
METHYLCHLORO-ISOTHIAZOLINONE •Asthma - Reversible bronchoconstriction (narrowing of bronchioles) initiated by the inhalation of irritating or allergenic agents: Yes; •Skin Sensitizer - An agent that can induce an allergic reaction in the skin or lungs: Yes; Known human immune system toxicant; Human skin toxicant - strong evidence.
SODIUM LAURETH SULFATE •Irritation (eyes, skin, or lungs); Human irritant - strong evidence; One or more animal studies show skin irritation at very low doses.
Does this sound like something you want to touch with your hands and massage into your scalp? Yeah, not me. For other frightening facts about the products you use, grab a bottle and head on over to Environmental Working Group's Skin Deep Database. There you will learn more than you ever wanted to know about the things you are putting in and on your body.
After making the switch to human, animal, and planet friendly shampoo, shave gel, and body wash a year ago, I continued to use a not so friendly conditioner. Mainly because I was still using a big ass gallon of it I have had since college, but also because I am less willing to give this one up. Curly hair without conditioner is not a good thing. Well about a month ago I ran out. Time to shit or get off the pot. Ultimately I would like to go the no 'poo/ACV rinse route, but not during the winter. Dry, dry, dry. So I tried a natural conditioner. Baby steps.
Picked up a bottle of Aubrey Organics Island Naturals, replenishing conditioner at my local food coop. While it is not cheap, it works for me. The ingredient list sounds more like a grocery list:
INGREDIENTS: Coconut Fatty Acid Cream Base, Organic Aloe Vera, Wheat Germ Oil, Almond Protein; Extracts of Fennel, Hops, Balm Mint, Mistletoe, Camomile and Yarrow; Organic Coconut Milk, Jojoba Butter, Organic Shea Butter, Horsetail Extract, Coltsfoot Extract, Aubrey's Preservative (Citrus Seed Extract, Vitamins A, C and E), Vegetable Glycerin, Organic Rosemary Oil, Pimenta Leaf Oil, Allspice Powder, Organic Sage Oil, Carrot Oil.
The consistency and smell took some getting used to. It looks like Tom's of Maine toothpaste and has an aroma reminiscent of Chai-spiced cookies. Yum! Makes me crave them every time I use it. So far so good. I have found that if I skip the gel and let my hair air dry it is SUPER soft when using this conditioner. Even on days I do use gel and blow dry, it is still very soft. I cannot keep my hands out of it! Aubrey Organics are made in the USA, conduct no animal testing, are vegan, and use 100% natural ingredients. In fact, they claim to be 100% natural since 1967.
In 2009 I hope to eliminate a lot more plastic from our lives and this will have to go. But, for now I will ride out the winter with the Aubrey conditioner. Once summer rolls around I spend most of my time under a hat in the garden and bad hair days will not matter. I will give the no 'poo method a go then. Baby steps, baby.
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4 comments:
Shampoo was the one thing I just couldn't give up. Deodorant was no problem since I found a fabulous substitute. But shampoo scares me for some reason. One of these days....
This is TOO funny- my mom was a hairdresser while I was growing up. So, I too had my fair share of products on my head. I think I had this idea so far ingrained in my head of what products needed to be used on a daily basis.
I tried to do the no poo/acv rinse thing back in september. my hair got a little tangly and i resorted back to using the shampoo/condition we had bought in bulk from whole foods. i figured i would try to rid my routine of the post-shower hair products first. i was using a gel/ wax/ hair spray ( I have naturally wavy hair with a mind of its own). So now I am using a homemade gel of flaxseed reduction and a whole lot of headbands. I plan to try alternating with the baking soda solution every other day or so. But I also want to see if I can find a homemade conditioner to go along with it.
I tried making my own shampoo from castille soap, and it just didn't work for me--my scalp itched and my hair was greasy. So I used the store-bought organic stuff. I'll have to try that coniditioner. I have an aubrey facial moisturizer that smells really weird by works great. That database is AWESOME, btw.
I used to use the Aubrey conditioner too. Man, that stuff is so thick, you can add water to it forever and it retains the same consistency. Love it.
I usually just do a vinegar rinse now after shampooing but I don't have curly or unruly hair. ;-)
And unfortunately, I just cannot give up hair spray. I use a natural brand. I think it's Aubrey's too but I'm too lazy to go look. Still, us straight hair gals sometimes need something to hold everything in place.
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