As of right now I have long, waist length hair. My hair has grown softer, quicker and stronger since I ditched shampoo and conditioner. It might sound gross when I say I only wash my hair once a week, but unless I do a particularly strenuous workout or get buttfucked by the sun on an unusually hot day, it really doesn’t need to be washed more than that.
If you’re sitting there thinking “not me, I have greasy hair. I have to wash it every day,” well I thought I did too. When I was using shampoo (and nice shampoo from the salon, not crap you buy at the supermarket) I literally would have to wash my hair every morning or it would be a disgusting, greasy mess. Don’t even get me started on conditioner. When you have hair as long as mine, it’s easy to go through a bottle of conditioner a month, sometimes two during summer. Girl. I was spending well over a hundred dollars a MONTH just to keep my hair looking bare minimum decent. Factor in on top of that leave in conditioner, sun protector, dry shampoo, highlights and trims… needless to say I was spending money I didn’t have on alcohol to try to forget how much fucking money I was spending on my hair.
Then, as always, I got chewed out by my mother. My mom, for lack of a better word, is a hippy. She’s not gross or anything, but she’s the ultimate DIY mom. Literally everything in her house from bread to toothpaste is homemade. So she, the DIY Queen, could not believe I was spending so much on “bullshit chemicals.” After she forced me to throw away my products, my entire life changed. Not to sound dramatic or anything.
First of all, fuck shampoo. Throw that out. You know what cleans your hair well? Water. Water cleans your hair well. Rinse it every day and your scalp will adapt to it. Once a week or after a really intense work out, use a few drops of Dr. Bronner’s liquid hemp soap lathered only to the roots. I use the sweet almond but honestly the lavender is also great to helping you fall asleep if you tend to take your showers at night. This soap is liquid gold. I also replaced my body wash, face wash, and shaving cream with this same bottle. It has pretty much just all different types of oils and no sulfate. I even use the tea tree scent on my dog and it keeps his fur ridiculously soft and helps repel fleas.
After rinsing, pull your hair into a pony tail. Using a little bit of coconut oil, if you keep a small bottle of it in the shower it should be warmed to a liquid, and gently saturate your pony tail with it. Add a little extra to the ends if you have long hair. I also premix a little hydrogen peroxide and lemon juice to the oil to lighten my hair. Leave in your hair for at least three minutes and rinse well. Once a week I will also rinse my hair with organic chamomile tea which sounds extra af but is really refreshing.
After you are out of the shower, if you want your hair to stay extra hydrated and soft, you can add more oil. I fill a 2oz spray bottle with hot water and a tablespoon of coconut oil (and some hydrogen peroxide, because I am a slave to having blonde hair) and mist everywhere but the roots. Adding salt to this mixture can also create a beach wave look, if that’s what you’re after.
If you’re making the shift from shampooing everyday, you’ll probably experience your hair freaking the fuck out. At first it will get really greasy for a few day and then really dry. For when it’s dry, the spray on oil works wonders. When it’s greasy, it’s gross but power through. Brush out your hair thoroughly to get your natural oils distributed throughout your hair. Then you can apply your favorite dry shampoo or make your own with 1 cup warm water, 1/4 cup unflavored vodka (or witch hazel, if you can’t bring yourself to waste your precious Burnett’s), 1/4 cup cornstarch and a few drops of whatever essential oil you’d like to smell like. Spray directly onto roots then brush out hair. This is a good recipe for blondes, but I heard you can mix coco powder if you have dark hair.
The end result is naturally beautiful, strong, healthy hair that can go a day without getting gross. You also will lose the somewhat waxy feeling you get with products. Oh, and it’s wayyyy cheaper..
Image via Shutterstock
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Blue-eyed-blondie
Blondie excels at being an underachiever. She is currently trying to add an extra year onto her undergrad so she can continue to down $7 bottles of wine in an environment that encourages her erratic behavior. After graduation, she has big plans to flunk out of a prestigious law school. Email her compliments and Netflix suggestions at blue.eyed.blondie.tsm@gmail.com EDIT** if you suggest Black Mirror she's already seen it. So stop suggesting it. Seriously. Please stop suggesting it.
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