And so the quest starts!
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I’m diving right into the au naturale experiment and have
been doing research into what natural products are out there to experiment
with. Thankfully, I’m no complete stranger to using some natural stuff on my
hair. I’ve included things like avocado oil and glycerin in my products quite
early on. But it turns out there are even more deliciously useful and
accessible items out there to try. How do I go about choosing them? I’m going
to start at the beginning and assess what my current needs are.
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My hair
‘problems’ at the moment are that it’s; dry, thinning, coarse, gets easily
tangled and my scalp gets itchy. Of course I’ll also want to have some help in the
growth department and for my hair to be strong. From this, I began to do some
digging as well as some further reading into some of the natural products I
currently have in my routine. There are so many products out there that are
naturally great for our hair and some of them may or may not work on mine but I
had to decide on a few. I based my following shopping list on what my problem
hair areas are, accessibility to these products in South Africa as well as
price. Some things were just too expensive or required a lot of effort on my
part to get a hold of but there were always cheaper and more easily attained.
Here is my
shopping list along with some of the known benefits relevant to my hair:
- Cocoa
butter – as part of my butter. Helps
with detangling, thickening of hair, helps relieve dry and itchy scalp - Coconut
Oil – as part of my butter. Helps to seal in
moisture,strengthen hair and scalp. - Vanilla
Essential Oil – to make my butter and spritz
smell yummy! - Tea
Tree Oil – as part of my daily spritz.
Helps to combat dandruff, itchy scalp and as a mild preservative to keep
my spritz fresher for a little longer. - Flax
Seed – to produce gel. Packed with omega-3 fatty acids
which are great for hair growth and scalp health. - Coconut Cream – as part of my deep conditioner. Packed with
protein, it’s thick and helps to strengthen damaged hair.
Already in my cupboard:
- Avocado
oil – a great liquid oil (as opposed to coconut oil which
solidifies quickly). It’s a light sealant that contains amino acids and is
absorbed quickly by the skin. - Castor
oil – as part of my daily spritz. Stimulates hair growth
and thickness. - Glycerin
– as part of my daily spritz. It’s an affordable humectant that draws
moisture to the hair. - Aloe
Vera juice – as part of my daily spritz.
Helps to condition hair, as well as reduce dandruff and promote growth. - Extra
virgin olive oil – as part of my deep
conditioner. - Bicarbonate
of soda – as my cleanser. Bicarb is a
well known cleaning agent used for a variety of purposes. It lifts build
up from hair and scalp. - Apple
cider vinegar – as my post cleanser rinse to
get my hair’s PH level back to normal. It apparently has the closest level
of PH to hair than any other vinegar.
So off I go on my quest to
even more natural hair. Do any of you use all natural products? Do share your
fave recipes!
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Hello, loving your blog!!
I've found that natural products make my hair feel much better. My favourite oil at the moment is jojoba oil, it is light, but locks in the moisture very well. I'm also documenting my journey, check out my blog =)
http://sheni-kare.blogspot.co.uk/
Ooh, we are on the same journey. I'm trying to go au naturale (or as close as possible) in an effort to generally detox my body (I'm changing my diet too). So far I use natural oils, shampoo, and hair gel (flaxseed) but I'm having a hard time finding a natural conditioner that works well. Thanks for sharing!
You're right! You can base our journey from natural ingredients. Check on my blog, I do my DC with rhassoul and mango butter!
http://madebyme23.blogspot.fr/2013/09/une-petite-barre-pour-un-grand-soin.html
Honey? Egg? My deep conditioner!
Bentonite Clay.
Tried a homemade mud wash myself last Sunday and it was amazing. Only other ingredients necessary: oils, honey and Aloe Vera Juice.
My hair loved it.
Hey, I've found success with my hair after over two years with being minimalist. I use only three products, and my hair loves it! I wash and condition weekly with DermOrganics Hydrating Shampoo and Intense Hair Masque (Vegan products). Then on wet hair, I twist with Avocado butter, from camdengrey.com. Nightly I spritz with water and retwist, and every few days I seal the water with Avocado butter. Shea butter is great too, but the Avo butter, has a nicer consistency. Less is more. Good luck!
Hi there.
Where can I find vanilla essential oil and coconut cream? It's really difficult to both these products.
I think us naturals need to go on a protest march, not enough friggin products for natural hair… whhhhhhyyyyyyyyyyy 🙁
I'd also recommend shea butter, especially over cocoa butter. Shea butter has much softer texture and seems to penetrate and soften hair better than cocoa butter. Shea butter also doesn't clog the pores as cocoa butter is known to do.
I have used bicarbonate of soda to cleanse my hair and scalp in the past and found it to be very harsh. If you're looking for a no-poo way to cleanse your hair, clays (such as bentonite and rhassoul) are much, much better. They cleanse without being drying and rinse out easily. They also don't shrink up the hair like shampoos.
(In case you're wondering, I have fine 4b, kinky hair that is 14-18 inches long. My hair has always been natural but for a long time, I couldn't seem to get past 6 inches.)
Hey Ayesha! I'm a fan of natural products as far as you can manage/afford it – there's nothing like it! I'd recommend shea butter too… it has a ton of benefits for natural hair. Vitamin E oil is also great for your scalp health and works as a preservative in all the butters and spritzes I make 🙂
Just some advice… be wary of using bicarbonate of soda (strong alkali) immediately before/or apple cider vinegar (strong acid) as the pH swings may damage your hair further.
All the best with your natural product journey 🙂
-Char.
This is a thought provoking piece! Will research more on the products listed and might go natural with my products too. Thanks Ayesha!