Natural Hair, Take 1

I have always had dry hair. I've read this comes with having curly hair and add to that the fact that I dye my hair, and well, you get the picture. Because my hair is so dry I can go several days without washing my hair and no one would be the wiser. I wouldn't notice either if it wasn't for the itching. Usually by half way through day two my scalp starts itching like crazy. Sorry if that's over-share.

Also, although my hair is rather curly, it straightens easily, and not the way I want it to. The first few inches from the scalp are straight, then it gets rather curly, and then the ends straighten again. Not pretty! I'm confident it's a mix of chemical build-up and dry damage that is stealing my curls. So I end up putting a bunch of product in my hair to keep the curl and I know that can't be healthy.

For awhile I've been reading up on natural ways to take care of your hair and there are a lot of opinions and ideas out there. I've decided to go the basic baking soda wash route, but first I needed to repair my scalp. Here's my game plan, which I started last week...

1. Scalp Repair: I bought a bottle of aloe vera gel and massaged it into my scalp before washing my hair. After I rubbed it gently into my scalp with my fingertips, I let it sit for about 10 minutes, and added a little more to the spots that seem to soak it up faster (I could tell this because certain spots started to itch quickly).



2. Baking Soda Cleansing: Here is the recipe I used:

2 quarts boiling water
1/2 c. baking soda

Boil water and remove from heat. Add the soda to the water and stir until dissolved. Allow to cool and then pour soda water into container. In the shower, apply liberally to dry hair and scalp, shaking first if necessary. Massage into scalp, focusing on trouble areas, then rinse well. (source)

3. Apple Cider Vinegar Rinse: I found a recipe here, but I could instantly tell my hair did not like the rinse. I used to swim competitively as a child and after this rinse my hair felt just like it did those childhood summers, dry and chlorinated. I changed the recipe the second time around to have a bit more moisturizer in it. Here's my recipe:

1 c. water
1/4 c. apple cider vinegar
2 T. aloe vera gel
1 T. honey
1 t. olive oil
8 drops peppermint oil
8 drops tea tree oil

Combine all and shake well. After cleansing, squirt all over scalp and hair. Allow it to sit for a few minutes. Rinse well.

I noticed that even with the other ingredients involved I still could smell the vinegar. But as my hair dried the only smell that prevailed was the peppermint which was so nice!



In the past week I have "washed" my hair only twice. My scalp is still itchy but I definitely see an improvement already. Also, once my hair is dry, I can feel that it is getting softer.

The biggest problem I face right now is that I can't comb through the wet tangles after my shower so I'm letting my hair dry up in a lose bun which isn't so bad with the toddler running around. Once it is dry I then brush through it. I'm currently researching a natural spray leave-in conditioner and will post my findings here soon.

So, how about you? Have you ever tried a natural hair care routine? What did you use and how did your hair react to it?

**Addition: I have since added a 50/50 white vinegar rinse to my regement before the baking soda cleanser and sometimes I use premade conditioner because my hair was really tangly sometimes. I have also ditched the hair dye and have started using henna, WHICH I LOVE!!!