Having used my natural shampoo for about three months now my hair is feeling absolutely amazing! I would, however, like to warn those who are wanting to make the shift to the natural way that it wasn't always so.
What I have discovered from reading various articles is that commercial shampoos contain silicone which coats your hair, making it feel silky, but leaving a residue. When you wash your hair, the surfactants in the shampoo strip your hair of the residue quite effectively, but they also strip your hair of all the natural oils. Not such a great idea... This is why most people need to use conditioners - that's right, add some more chemicals to your hair to moisturise it and make it feel like hair again!
One of the results of washing your hair with shampoos that contain surfactants (surface active ingredients) is an over-active scalp which produces excess natural oil to make up for the regular stripping. So if you don't wash your hair often it becomes greasy. When you wash with natural shampoo your hair retains all the natural oils. But it does take time for your body to get back into balance. So don't give up after the first few tries. Your hair might feel oily for a couple of weeks. But it comes right! And you will then probably be able to go longer without washing your hair and still look good.
Also when you switch to using a natural shampoo it takes some time to get rid of the residue build-up, because there are no detergents in the soap. So your hair may feel sticky and even dirty after you have washed it. To assist this process you can complete each wash with an apple cider vinegar rinse. That is, rinse your hair in a dilute solution of apple cider vinegar - about a tablespoon of vinegar in a jug of warm water. Some websites even suggest beginning and ending with a vinegar rinse when you are going through the detox period. After that, you can go back to only using the vinegar as a final rinse. The vinegar basically helps to remove any soap residue from your hair. For the first couple of washes I made quite a strong vinegar solution and then rinsed it out afterwards. You must just experiment and see what works for you. My husband and kids don't rinse the vinegar out at all and it leaves their hair soft and silky.
A word of caution: even with the vinegar rinse your hair may feel a bit icky after the first couple of washes with natural soap. Everyone is different. Some have a great result immediately, while for others it takes a couple of weeks. Persevere! You will be grateful in the long run.
After using natural shampoo bar soap (the Mein Herr Luxury Hair and Body Bar Soap) for about two weeks I went to my hairdresser for a cut and he was amazed at how wonderful my hair felt. He said he could notice the difference immediately. He was so taken with the feel of my hair that he asked me to bring some of our soaps to his salon to sell to his clients. That was enough to convince me that the "bad hair" struggle had been worthwhile!
One of the results of washing your hair with shampoos that contain surfactants (surface active ingredients) is an over-active scalp which produces excess natural oil to make up for the regular stripping. So if you don't wash your hair often it becomes greasy. When you wash with natural shampoo your hair retains all the natural oils. But it does take time for your body to get back into balance. So don't give up after the first few tries. Your hair might feel oily for a couple of weeks. But it comes right! And you will then probably be able to go longer without washing your hair and still look good.
Also when you switch to using a natural shampoo it takes some time to get rid of the residue build-up, because there are no detergents in the soap. So your hair may feel sticky and even dirty after you have washed it. To assist this process you can complete each wash with an apple cider vinegar rinse. That is, rinse your hair in a dilute solution of apple cider vinegar - about a tablespoon of vinegar in a jug of warm water. Some websites even suggest beginning and ending with a vinegar rinse when you are going through the detox period. After that, you can go back to only using the vinegar as a final rinse. The vinegar basically helps to remove any soap residue from your hair. For the first couple of washes I made quite a strong vinegar solution and then rinsed it out afterwards. You must just experiment and see what works for you. My husband and kids don't rinse the vinegar out at all and it leaves their hair soft and silky.
A word of caution: even with the vinegar rinse your hair may feel a bit icky after the first couple of washes with natural soap. Everyone is different. Some have a great result immediately, while for others it takes a couple of weeks. Persevere! You will be grateful in the long run.
After using natural shampoo bar soap (the Mein Herr Luxury Hair and Body Bar Soap) for about two weeks I went to my hairdresser for a cut and he was amazed at how wonderful my hair felt. He said he could notice the difference immediately. He was so taken with the feel of my hair that he asked me to bring some of our soaps to his salon to sell to his clients. That was enough to convince me that the "bad hair" struggle had been worthwhile!
I'm definitely convinced that I need to give this a try :)
ReplyDeleteWe have not used anything else for several months! we use the shampoo and the vinegar rinse on both our kids as well (2 and 5 years old) and its great!
DeleteSoaps are available from some shops in Durban now!! ( http://meinherrbrand.blogspot.com/2015/03/go-and-get-it.html )