Homemade Shampoo and Conditioning/Detangling Rinse

I've been "poo' free for over two years now and I absolutely love it. So does my scalp, my hair and my wallet. My hair is twice as thick, has tons of body and is super shiny. I never have an itchy scalp and my hair is always manageable (and I have a TON of it). It's much softer and I no longer use any kind of hair product, I don't need too. It's probably one of the biggest favours I ever did for my hair, that, and of course using henna a couple times a year. You'll find recipes below for both hair cleanser and detangler/conditioner. 


Hair and scalps that have been stripped by using commercial shampoos for years *may* go through a sort of detox/transition phase. You  may notice your hair gets oilier for a while, but once your scalp figures out it doesn't need to compensate for being stripped of ALL oils, it will settle down and regulate its oil production. I can now leave my hair unwashed for 3-4 days, sometimes longer. I typically don't, but the point is that I COULD. I had really oily hair before, and 2 days was a stretch. There are adjustment explanations included to use as a 'tweaking' guide to help you find the best ratios for your hair/skin type.


You know what else is really cool? This is a safe alternative for your pets! Next time Fido needs a bath, leave the chemical laden 'doggie shampoo' on the shelf and reach for this! I would personally leave the baking soda out when washing your hound though, unless (s)he's a smelly mutt or really oily and even then, scale it back to about 1/2 the amount. If your cat needs a bath, DO NOT USE ESSENTIAL OILS. They are toxic to cats.

**Your shampoo will be watery, not thick like the commercial stuff, that's why I recommend using a squirt bottle (condiment bottles from the dollar store work well and a lot of them have measurements on them). It will also have no foaming action due to the lack of detergents and sulfates. It's more of a cleansing rinse than a traditional shampoo, but you don't need the foam to get clean hair :). It may take some getting used to, but it's so worth it!


Shampoo

In a squeeze bottle (even an old shampoo bottle) use approximately 8 oz of either black tea, herbal tea, soapnuts liquid or water and add 2 TBS or so of baking soda and any essential oils (if you want). The baking soda will cleanse all build up and oils out of your hair, it's too base to just leave so be sure to follow up with an apple cider vinegar rinse. This is what I use as the post shampoo rinse, it smooths/conditions the hair cuticle, acts as a shine enhancer and restores proper pH to both hair and scalp.

Saturate your hair, massage into scalp, you can leave it for a couple minutes if you like, then rinse.


Rinse or Conditioner 

Mix approx 6 ounces of water and 2 ounces of cider vinegar in a squeeze bottle and add essential oils of  your choice if  you like. You WILL NOT smell like vinegar once your hair is dry :).

Apply rinse to hair, you can leave on for a few minutes or just rinse out.

If your hair is really fly away, use less baking soda in your 'shampoo' or go heavier on the rinse (add more ACV). if you hair still seems oily, use more baking soda in your shampoo or ease up with the vinegar blend :) May take a little trial and error, but I'd NEVER go back to regular shampoo and the "natural" ones are SO overpriced. You're still paying mostly for water. And most of the 'natural' ones are NOT chemical free.

All of this is SUPER gentle on the scalp. I add essential oils to my rinse only. Mostly peppermint and rosemary. Sometimes Lemongrass, so nice!