The Great Hair Experiment, at 8 months
So, around 8 months ago, after reading No More Dirty Looks, I switched up my hair care routine. (Earth shattering, I know.) I ditched almost all of my various shampoos, potions and lotions, and pared down to some simple stuff.
The Short Term
I searched around a bit in local stores, and while there are a lot of ‘organic’ and ‘natural’ shampoos out there, almost all of them contain a bunch of chemicals that I would prefer to avoid. In fact, none of the local places had a shampoo that didn’t contain at least some of them. Eventually, I decided to give Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soap a go (at least partially because I already owned a big bottle of the Peppermint variety).
At first, it was a bit rough. I tried it, without reading the directions, as is right out of the bottle. Tip: DON’T DO THAT; my hair was clean, smelled great, and was a big snarly mess. So, after a couple days of that, I read the directions — they say to dilute 1/8 in water. I made a cup of water with soap for my next shower, and voila! Clean, mostly un-snarly hair.
I also tried a couple of various suggestions for natural conditioners (oils, mayo, avocado, etc.), and all of them were way too heavy for my hair. Thankfully, Burt’s Bees does make very good conditioner that met my needs, so away I went.
On the Go
Over the next several months, I experimented around. Diluting the Dr. Bronner’s more or less, conditioning before or after, combining with the color depositing conditioner (the Madder Root conditioner for my dyed red hair). Some stuff worked, some stuff didn’t.
Diluting the soap even further made for even foamier shampoos. Leaving the very tingly Peppermint soap on my hair for a few minutes seemed to clear any sort of scalp sensitivity I had. The soap made my hair less shiny, so more frequent conditioner use was needed. My hair was thicker and more manageable, but also more prone to static.
Occasionally, I’d slip back to a more traditional shampoo to smooth my hair out a bit — it almost always made my scalp itchy the next day, but for a week or two, my hair would be shinier.
Setting a new routine
For the most part, things are pretty settled now. However, the one thing that has been nagging at me has been the conditioner. I’ve never really been satisfied with conditioners - the ones that detangle well are always too heavy, and the ones that aren’t too heavy leave my hair either tangled or prone to static.
Searching around, I’ve seen a lot of recommendations for home-conditioners, a lot of which I’ve tried over the years. However, one I hadn’t stood out to me: Apple Cider Vinegar rinse. I have some of that in the house, so decided to give it a go.
Like the Dr. Bronners, this stuff needs to be diluted and poured onto your head — thankfully the one routine means that I have the stuff in the shower for the other. After shampooing, you pour on the cider rinse, massage for a bit, then rinse it out. The vinegar smell mostly washes out, and the rest dissipates when your hair dries. Being fairly close to your hair’s natural pH (unlike soaps or baking soda, which are alkaline), it is supposed to help smooth cuticles and degunk your scalp.
Simply put, this shit is amazing. It smoothed out my hair and completely got rid of any static. It isn’t heavy (since there’s no fat involved), so my hair is shiny, manageable, and not at all oily.
Net Gain
I didn’t really start out doing this to save money, though that has been a very nice byproduct. A giant bottle of Dr. Bronners costs me $9 at the store, and often less at the co-op, and lasts for about 7 months (likely more, now that I’m not over-using it). Apple cider vinegar is cheap at the store as well - a pint for $3 is likely to last me at least two months.
In the ‘almost priceless’ category: how my hair feels. Static? Gone. Itchy, sensitive scalp? Gone. Fine hair - not as thin. Even my color-treated hair seems to hold reds longer, which is just about the holy grail as far as that’s concerned. I can’t see myself trading this for my old shampoo/condition/product routine again any time soon.
