I wholeheartedly believe that what you put on your body is just as important as what you put in it. This concept became undoubtedly clear a couple summers ago while grooming my horse a local stable. One of the other horse owners annoyed with the flies in the dead of summer doused herself with Pyranha fly spray. This particular spray is an industry leader and contains some of the worst chemicals. For years I've sprayed my horse repeatedly throughout the summer months with various sprays never giving any real thought about how it was being absorbed into the skin, after all our skin is porous and our largest organ. That leads me to today's post about homemade shampoo and conditioner.
I've been using homemade shampoo/conditioner exclusively for two months now and the results amazing; strong, silky, and thick hair. Today I noticed golden strands gleaming in the summer shine.
The first few washes I mixed roughly 2 teaspoons baking soda with water and worked into my scalp and spritzed with apple cider vinegar. After the fizzing stopped I worked my hands through my hair making sure all my hair was coated. Then rinsed like normal. I did this every couple days for maybe a week. You want to allow the baking soda to strip the build up of hair product and artificial oils from your hair. Just be cautious that baking soda will dry your hair out if you are using too much.
Over the week you may notice your hair becoming oilier then normal this is because your natural oils are coming out and are no longer stripped from commercial shampoos. If you notice this reduce the amount of baking soda and increase the vinegar. You can also use a small dab of vitamin E or apricot oil after your final rinse.
Now that I am past that and feel free to skip the previous stage if you'd like. What I use daily or every other day as needed.
Seeing how I am deployed my measurements are estimates. Using a water bottle I took good size drink and for hydration and made my mix.
Mix 1 tbsp baking soda & 2 tbsp Dr. Bonners castile soap dilute to a bottle of water and shake. Add your ingredients to a spray bottle. I use a spray bottle to apply. The castile soap gives the shampoo and nice texture for working a lather into your hair. Depending on the type of hair you have and damage you might decide adding additional castile soap is right for you.
Apple cider vinegar is great for leave in or rinse out conditioner. The smell disputes while your hair dries. Not only is apple cider vinegar a great conditioner it is a natural detangler.
From time to time, I use a dot of vitamin E or apricot oil to add additional hydration to my hair. I'm currently in a high humidity climate so these treatments are few and far between.
I'll post additional shampoo variations in later posts.
Cost Savings:
Apple Cider Vinegar: 16fl oz $2.22
Baking Soada: 13.5lb bag $6.00 (Costco)
Dr. Bonners Castile Soap: 32fl oz $14.99
Take a look at this site for a list of commonly used shampoo ingredients.
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