My Healthy Hair Care Routine

My Healthy Hair Care Routine

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Did you know that I have only used homemade shampoo and conditioner on my hair for over 3 years now?

Did you also know that I only wash my hair once a week without it getting greasy?

In my journey to give my family a chemical-free lifestyle, I have changed over almost every product in our home to homemade.

And that includes hair products.

One of the problems with conventional shampoos is they strip your hair of it’s natural oil. Which might seem like a good idea if you struggle with greasy hair. But all it is going to do is make your hair work harder and harder to produce the oils it needs.

This is eventually going to make it so that you have to wash your hair every day to keep it looking nice. Which really isn’t good for it.

So if we can get our hair back to it’s healthy baseline of oil production, by using healthy shampoo and conditioner and not washing as often, then it will be able to regulate the amount of oil it makes and it will be able to grow faster and feel more silky and soft!

It was definitely difficult to find a recipe that worked well for my hair. I tried the “no-poo” method which has great results for some, but it had disastrous results for me. If you have coarse hair that isn’t naturally oily, this method may be great for you!

And it went through a very tough phase for the first several weeks after I made the switch.

But I have to say…

It was so worth it!

My hair feels so healthy and it grows so fast, and it saves me hours being able to wash it once a week!

So if you stop using these products and switch to washing your hair with castile soap (or homemade soap bars too) it will very likely take your hair some time to adjust.

Most transitions last between 2 and 4 weeks, and it’s very normal for it to last longer. Initially, your hair may feel greasier than normal. After a couple of weeks, your hair may even start to feel drier than normal. Some hair takes to this routine right away with no transition, which is great!

But if you are like most, you may need to withstand a few weeks of bad hair in order to reach the promised land.

Watch this on YouTube!

My Healthy Hair Care Routine

This hair care routine is insanely simple, and yet it works so well.

I wash my hair once a week, or even once every week and a half if it is still feeling good and I’m busy (which is the norm…cause I’m a mom, who lives on a homestead…and runs her own business).

I brush it every morning (at least most of the time ;)) and if it is needing help making it to a week without getting a little greasy, I’ll use some of my homemade dry shampoo.

Hair no-no’s

I keep in mind a few no-no’s for my hair. Things that are unfortunately quite common, but I notice a HUGE difference in my hair health since I have stopped.

1. I don’t blow dry or or use hot irons on my hair

Yup, I let it go all natural, baby!

Blow drying your hair can damage it severely and dry it out.

The extreme heat from hair dryers (and from curling irons) causes the water under the cuticles (the outermost layer of the hair) to form bubbles that stress and break the hair.

What is the result of this?

Split ends, breakage, and brittle hair.

Not pretty.

2. I don’t color or bleach my hair

Hair dye can also dry out and damage your hair, making it become brittle and more likely break if you overdo it on chemical processes.

Especially if you are bleaching your hair, which is what happens when you dye it blond or another color lighter than your natural hair.

Bleach works by going into the hair shaft and reacting with the stable pigment molecules, breaking them down into components that will wash right out of your hair and down the drain. But when it does that, it also breaks down the natural fatty acids on the hair shaft, weakening the strand.

Scary stuff.

I used to blow dry my hair often when I was younger and I dyed it blond once. So I’m here to tell ya that if you are currently doing those things, you can definitely recover your hair.

Shampoo

When it comes time to wash my hair I use my own homemade shampoo.

I’ve used my homemade coconut oil soap bars before which works great. But I find it is easier to just pour liquid shampoo over my hair, instead of rubbing in a soap bar.

So, for about a year now I have been using diluted castile soap for my shampoo.

Castile soap is strong enough to cleanse the scalp thoroughly and clear out any product build-up, but gentle enough to not leave the hair stripped and dry. That makes castile soap a great alternative to commercial shampoo.

And man, I gotta tell ya.

I love it!

Listen to this on your favorite podcast app!

I mix approximately 1/4 cup of castile soap and 1 cup of water in my little pitcher I keep in the shower.

Then I just start pouring over my hair and rubbing it in with the other hand until I feel like I have enough to get a good lather everywhere.

After it’s all washed well, rinse it out to make way for our fabulous homemade conditioner.

Super simple.

Liquid castile soaps clean your hair and scalp amazingly well, but they can also leave your hair feeling tangly and matted. This is because the outside of your hair is made up of cuticles. Layers of cells that lay over each other like roof shingles. Washing with our soaps disturbs these cuticles but an acidic conditioning rinse will fix the problem beautifully: it tamps these cuticles back down and gives your hair a soft, silky feel.

This is a general rule but it’s not universally true. Some folks find that their hair feels fine washing with just soap, and they don’t need an acidic rinse. Others found success after combining castile soap with some coconut milk, and shampooing with that, so that they don’t require a rinse either.

If my specific routine doesn’t work out for you, this is something you can play around with and find what works for your hair.

Cause everyone is different.

How conventional shampoos work

Conventional shampoos and conditioners (which are nearly all of them… even the ones that claim to be natural, botanical, etc.) usually contain silicones and waxes that coat your hair and artificially give it that smooth feeling.

So, without the artificially waxes to coat your hair, normally you will need something like my homemade conditioner to help smooth it back out after the shampoo. So don’t be freaked out if your hair feels a little odd after washing. It’ll calm down after we condition it.

Conditioner

Ok.

Now this is another very simple recipe.

You guys, I love simple recipes.

I use a 50/50 ratio of raw apple cider vinegar to water. We have a 16oz bottle in the shower that I mix it in, and then I add in about 5 drops of rosemary essential oil, and 10 drops of lavender. Both of those oils are fabulous for hair health. It’s not crucial to add the essential oils, if you don’t have them or just forget (like I do sometimes ;)) it will still work just fine.

Why is AC vinegar good for your hair?

Apple cider vinegar is a very popular home remedy for many conditions. I literally use it almost every day.

It is great for things like dry scalp, and it can balance the scalp and hair’s natural pH.

It also works as a hair detangler and revitalizes your hair. This leaves hair soft, smooth, and shiny! It softens and cleanses, without removing the scalp’s natural oils. Which is why it works as such an excellent conditioner!

I get my apple cider vinegar from Azure Standard. It is my favorite raw vinegar that I have found and it also has a great bulk price! It contains the vinegar mother which gives you all the wonderful benefits you want!

Soooo good for your hair.

I do both of those things, shampoo and conditioner, once a week, and that is it!

My hair is not constantly being stripped of it’s natural oils so it feels nice and healthy!

I hope these recipes and ideas work out well for y’all as well and don’t be afraid to change it up!

And blessings.

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