Natural Hair Care solutions has become a bit of an obsession with me lately.
I have pretty normal hair. It is blond and a little thin and frizzy sometimes. I used to just wash it with whatever shampoo and conditioner was on special or caught my eye...I never bought into the whole expensive shampoo thing...except when I was working for REDKIN on a magazine and we were all given a goodie bag as a way for us to bond with the product (the best perk I ever got as a designer)
But as I have been getting older and older I am finding I am needing to be more and more picky with what I use...and having 2 girls with longer hair and one with eczema I am trying to make to find a solution that will get the job done, for a reasonable price, that smells nice, makes our hair feel like silk, isnt too thick, doesnt sting our eyes...oooohhh the features go on and on...LOL
In the past I have done the Coal Tar shampoo thing at one stage for dandruff and a little bit of eczema in my hair...it smells and isnt really the nice indulgent experience I like it to be. I have also tried just washing with water. I got past the week four stage (your hair goes like a big ball of oil and then seems to return to a really even balanced stage eventually)...BUT again..I missed the nice smelling shampoo part of the whole experience. When I started using Miessence I really understood the wonderful results you can get when you use something natural.
I have to talk about the Miessence experience in more detail....The first few weeks of shampoos I did with Miessence was a bit weird...my hair felt really dry and almost like straw...I have since found out that it was actually what they call a detox ...which happens when you STOP use shampoos with silicone in them (alot of supermarket brands basically coat your hair with silicone) The Miessence doesnt so eventually it clarifys your hair ...and this dry stage improves very quickly though and then it goes like silk!! I tried the lemon myrtle (my favourite) and dessert flower (which smelt a bit like wet dog to me personally)...then I had my next child and had to start watching the pennies again so switched back to the old faithfuls.
This lead me down the merry trail of silicone based shampoos for another few years till I tried Organic Care. I was hoping that for the price, easily accesibility and heaps of flavours...that this was going to be wonderful...alas...this product makes my scalp really tender and sore...whatever they are not putting in it is fantastic...and I am sure it works for alot of families...but annoyingly... whatever they are putting in it and not telling us on the label...effects me dreadfully (and my husband).
 |
| Organic Instinct (was Natural Instinct) PLUS my little girl showing you her green apple!!! |
So that is when I decided to start looking again seriously at good natural shampoos. I tried Natural Instinct (now named Organic Instinct) and I really liked the product but got a lot of feedback about the company being not revealing all they were using on the label (again with the poor labelling in Australia issue) I was also using alot of their other products so I decided to skip them becuase it annoyed me that they were not necessarily being honest with me! I also tried SUKIN...smells great, is easily available, is very thick so you can water it down and it will go a long long way..but I eventually got dandruff (so too did a lot of my other facebook friends)...I am now currently using a combination of Ecostore baby shampoo..and coconut oil. The Ecostore is an interesting one...when you put it on...it almost feels like you have poured egg over your hair...you know how egg feels slippery and silky...but the smell is nice...and it feels good afterwards!.
 |
| SUKIN Shampoo and Conditioner available at most chemists/Priceline |
 |
| ECOSTORE Range I am trialing at home. Baby shampoo far left. |
Yes thats right..you heard me...coconut oil..it is an organic, cold pressed version..you can use it to cook with, moisturise your face with and condition your hair. I buy it at the local health food store...a small jar for about $10..but it lasts a while and has soo many applications it is well worth it (be sure to get the organic one so it has no pesticides in it...and I will talk more in detail about what else I use it for like whitening teeth in another post soon) Someone originally suggested it to me when I was trying to find something natural and gently enough to use on my 3 year-olds knotty hair. I now regularly dry condition my hair with it (which is where I basically rub a spoon of it through my dry dirty hair and leave it in all day..then wash out with 2 rounds of shampoo at the end of the day) It makes my hair smooth as silk and not fuzzy for a day or so...LOVE THE STUFF!!!
 |
| Coconut Oil bought from the Health Food Shop for about $10 |
I also recently watched a TV program where I picked up a few other natural hair treatments...I have not tried any of them..but they sound pretty safe and reliable.
The first one treats Frizzy Hair. You mix baking soda and water and spritz it into your hair and leave it on for an hour or so. It apparently reduces the frizz..The second one is an old japanese common sense recipe to detox your hair. You use the old rice water from boiling your rice (it is high in VITAMIN E and Amino acids) and you also add some ginger. This warms your scalp and removes any residue and dirt build up.
So there it is...my research on natural hair treatments that won't cost a packet and won't damage your hair with toxic chemicals! I am sure you all have many more that I have missed...or overlooked...let me know...I am always in the hunt!!Cath
No comments:
Post a Comment