The Modern Hippy

     Several weeks ago I started to experiment with my hair care. So far my hair experiments include washing my hair every two days, using conditioner only on the day I wash my hair. I also mix a blend of essential oils and witch hazel to increase hair growth and decrease oily scalp.
     So far it’s going wonderfully. Other than when I’m on my period, my hair is rarely oily, looks healthy, and is very shiny. I did accidentally discover that not using the witch hazel-essential oil blend allows my hair to become more oily again. I ran out of a couple essential oils and wasn’t able to redo the blend for a few days. The next day my hair was more oily than usual. Progressively it got worse over the next few days until my essential oils were delivered. Using it again, I’ve noticed a change – less overall oil again. So I’m convinced, even if my hair never gets thicker, it’s worth it.
     As far as more hair growth, yes I want thicker hair. It seems to fall out whenever I’m stressed, or even with dramatic seasonal changes. It does grow back however; I’d rather have too much than too little if I can help it.
     While I was is school several of the teachers mentioned that the essential oils such as rosemary and ylang ylang really do work. I’m sure it will take awhile to notice anything. I am using a couple of the oils that are older so they might not work as well for that. That’s fine though, as long as it works for decreasing oil production I’m happy and am willing to wait.
I also ran out of apple cider vinegar and haven’t used it in a week or more. I did notice that using it the day after I shampooed, while it was shiny, it did seem more oily, which was annoying. Perhaps trying it again on a day I wash my hair might be a good idea.

     Something new I’ve started is when the ends of my hair seem a little dry – they have been since it got really cold. By the end of the day I have enormous dreads. According to my hair stylist whom trimmed my hair recently, it’s fairly common in the winter. So I’m using the oil blend I made for my faceon my ends. It is jojoba, avocado, and olive oils along a few essential oils.
     I’m still not using product. Giving my scalp a break, letting it do it’s job without a lot of unnatural things seems like the best idea for me. Also, at the beginning of the 2010 summer I plan to cut a lot of my hair for Locks of Love. The healthier it looks the better. I am mildly concerned about having short hair and not using product. But as something I’ve noticed, while my hair is rarely greasy, its own natural oils seem to work like a gel sometimes, making it shiny and manageable. Our co-op does seem to have more natural product alternatives. Something will work. I might even be lucky enough to find something that will further help to nourish my hair. Until the next hair experiment!

     (August)
     In the last few months I’ve noticed my hair getting more brittle and looking less healthy. I’ve had very little spendable money in the last few months so I put off doing anything. Then I had a chat with a friend whom brought something back to my attention. She says that washing your hair daily is hard on it. I’ve heard this but never worried until recently. She washes her hair only a couple of times in a week. To clarify, she only uses shampoo a couple of times in a week. She still gets it wet and runs her fingers through it to spread out the oils. Her hair always looks fabulous. So, while we were camping I tried it out. The first shower I didn’t wash my hair with shampoo. I had washed it the night before we left so there was no product in it. It didn’t seem too gross – though I could still feel the oil. The next day I did wash my hair and could tell not all the oil had washed away. My hair was super soft and shiny. About a week after we got back from our trip, while I was twiddling my thumbs – work hours were cut back to nothing – I decided to give it a good try.
     My friend said that after awhile of washing every other day, her head produced less oil. Then she let it go 2 days before washing and it gradually adjusted the oil production again. At first it was gross and super oily, but her body regulated itself. I had heard of this relating to body oil, such as on the face. I have super oily skin, no problem with dry skin here! When I was going through puberty I washed my face too much and it got grossly oily. After I stopped washing it so much it decreased a little, to something more tolerable – though still pubescent oily.
     My friend also mentioned that her hair doesn’t tangle anymore. The natural oils seem to keep her hair silky and knot free. I want that! Sometimes I have dreads on the bottom layer of my hair at the end of the day! I don’t want dreads, they aren’t for me. Some people can pull them off. I am not one of them – nor do I want to try. So letting my hair oil up a bit may be worth the constant breaking from untangling “knotty” hair.

     I’m about 6 days into my experiment. It’s easy to comb through my hair now! I love that! I’m on an every other day regime. The no wash days have been interesting. I’ve felt gross, but perhaps it’s just my obsessiveness, not actually being gross. The days I don’t wash I rinse and massage my scalp. Rinsing my hair helps to distribute the oil through my hair. I do use some conditioner as an extra guarantee that tangles will come out. Yesterday was my first glimpse into what sort of hair I may get at the end of this. It was so healthy looking that Rick noticed it. My hair isn’t tangling at all now. It’s so exciting!
Aside from not using shampoo every day I’ve tried not to use any hair spray. I did one day, a no wash day – that was the disaster day that I used too much conditioner. The fly-aways are tolerable. I’m rediscovering things to do with my hair that don’t require spray or that won’t show how greasy I feel my hair can get. Braids, pigtails and little messy buns help to control my long hair now.
Stay tuned for an update on my hair experiment. I want to try to give it thorough cleaning using oil! Haha, sounds crazy huh? Well, we’ll find out!

     Current:
     It’s in November, I’ve been doing my hair experiment so long that is it no longer an experiment but habit. I’m washing my hair every two days now. I feel pretty good about it. My scalp is producing less oil. Sometimes the second day I don’t wash I feel a little funky but if I remember to work my natural oils through the whole length of my hair it’s fine. (I have super long hair, so when I’m lazy, it’s challenging to make sure I got my whole head massaged and natural oils distributed.)
     I recently did the “oil cleaning oil” experiment. Several placed mentioned that using something like jojoba or coconut oil can help to further clean the scalp in a safe, non-drying way. Since jojoba isn’t actually an oil but a liquid wax resembling our own natural sebum (oil) I thought it might be the better choice. So I took a really long shower. First, I applied the oil to wet hair and worked it all over my scalp, taking care to make sure everything was even and massaging it in. (Massage helps with desquamation of the skin. Got to get those dead skin cells off so new healthy stuff can surface. It also increases circulation which is paramount for healthy tissue and thus scalp and hair.)
     Then I just went along with my shower normally. At the end, I massage my scalp, worked it all through my hair and then used shampoo to remove. After a few shampoos, perhaps four, all of it was out and I applied conditioner to the ends of my hair just in case.
     The result: If there was any build up from product, it felt gone. In fact, my head felt naked. All the washing got rid of the jojoba and my oil, which may my hair feel very strange, almost dry. As far as I remember there was no problem with over production of oil the next day due to the washing or jojoba. In about a month I think another oil treatment might be a good idea, this time with essential oils.

     Other things: I’ve almost completely stopped using product. Perhaps, I may replenish my stock with more healthy alternatives, but I don’t need them now. As weird as this sounds, the natural oils in my hair seem to act as “gel” allowing my part to stay where it should. But I have to make sure that I spread the oils all throughout my hair and not forget, or my scalp will look oily.
     For the last two days I’ve been using an essential oil blend I made awhile ago. Though it is a little old, there should be some benefits. Once it’s gone I’ll make new, probably in a spritzer. The blend contains rosemary, ylang ylang, cedarwood or cypress( I can’t remember which), maybe some rose? It’s supposed to be good for oily skin, and hair growth. Not that I am actually loosing my hair but so much of it falls out that it can’t hurt to try.
     I also recently read a “blog post” from a friend of a friend whom mentioned that she uses apple cider vinegar on her hair. Doing my own research, I’ve found it fairly common. Apple cider vinegar is supposed to balance the pH in one’s scalp. Tomorrow, I’ll give it a try. The blog post I read said not to use it more than say once a week because it can dry it out a little. Also dilute because straight vinegar can be irritating. Also, making an herbal infusion/apple cider vinegar rinse is on the agenda. Being the herbal junky I am, my shelves are packed with home grown herbs, though adding a few more to my arsenal would be fun and beneficial.
     This journey on a more healthful road has been exciting and frustrating. Overall, my body is healthier and happier than it’s been since I was a child. All of my failed or forgotten experiments have been worth it. I’m cultivating my independence from – dare I reference the over-used term – “the Man”. I don’t need to run to a doc every time I sneeze (I’m sick at the moment, but getting better really fast). I don’t need to spend $100 on skin care products that contain ingredients that probably would show up stored in my fat and may or may not cause cancer. It’s exciting to be “rediscovering” things that maybe were common knowledge 50 or 100 years ago, that we forgot about, because we stopped trusting our instincts and started trusting narrow minded science or medicine. Don’t think I’m crazy enough to not believe science (I love science), but it’s a fact that it’s always evolving to include “new” things that we didn’t know about before, or forgot about. Until the next post about more modern hippy adventures.

     A couple of days ago I realized I was almost out of my Avalon Organics shampoo and conditioner. At the same time, odd because that never happens. So I went off to the store in looking for another alternative to rotated into my hair care. I found that Central Market carried Beauty Without Cruelty products. I found shampoo and conditioner, along with hair spray and something else. How exciting. I’ve been using their face products off and on for the last several years. I love them!

     So after looking at the three options at the store I decided, in part because of scent and purpose, to get the Lavender Highland Shampoo and the Moisture Plus Conditioner. The great thing about these products is they smell like the “real” thing – because they actually contain real ingredients and rarely sensitizing ingredients. They aren’t perfect, I learned recently that one of the common ingredients, ascorbic acid or vitamin C, is actually synthetic, not what comes from oranges. However, it’s a start and has not caused me problems. I applaud this company for providing cost effective decent products that are usually vegan (thus cruelty free) and less harsh that other common brands commonly found in stores.

     My opinion after the first usage this morning is: I’m a fan of both. They both smell wonderful. My scalp or hair did not feel stripped. The consistency of the shampoo is thinner than a normal shampoo, which is not a negative or positive. The conditioner was not too thin and coated well. Some natural conditioners can feel too thin. I did have to wash my hair more than once – that however, is not out of the norm. After washing and conditioning I could comb through my hair easily. We’ll see what happens after a week or more. Basically, I am glad I bought it.