s/o: Now About Hair . . .

[eaglei]

In an earlier post about uses for vinegar and baking soda, Katia wrote this:

 

"And many people do not use shampoo, but instead wash their hair with a paste of baking soda and water, rinse it all out, and then 'condition' their hair with a mix of vinegar and water."

 

Can this be done with permed hair and not ruin the perm???

 

TIA!

 

:)

[forty-two]

Baking soda can be a bit harsh on hair, and permed hair is generally more delicate than some, so I'm not sure I'd want to use it frequently.

 

But I actually just use water and vinegar on my hair, period, and it works well. Not harsh at all, even on the very delicate ends of my knee-length hair ;).

[eaglei]

Baking soda can be a bit harsh on hair, and permed hair is generally more delicate than some, so I'm not sure I'd want to use it frequently.

 

But I actually just use water and vinegar on my hair, period, and it works well. Not harsh at all, even on the very delicate ends of my knee-length hair ;).

 

So you actually wash your hair with water and vinegar? And it feels clean? I'd really like to use more natural items and if this works, I'll try it!

[forty-two]

So you actually wash your hair with water and vinegar? And it feels clean? I'd really like to use more natural items and if this works, I'll try it!

It does work! I've been doing it for over 4 years. The key is using a strong shower spray to help the oil move down the hair shaft (or you can soak in the tub for 30-60 min). Here's what I do:

*Pre-shower, detangle hair and massage scalp for a few minutes (helps loosen up dead skin cells). Sometimes I massage with olive oil (plain or with tea tree oil or lavender essential oil added) if my scalp is extra flaky.

*Thoroughly wet down my hair, and massage it a bit under the spray.

*Turn off the water and pour a water/vinegar mix on my head. Make sure all the hair is completely soaked. You can also plug the sink, fill it with water, add vinegar, and let your hair soak in it for a minute or two, pre-shower, instead. Massage the scalp, making sure all parts have the vinegar mix on them. Then I put my hair up and put on a shower cap.

*Turn the water back on, and wash the rest of you, plus any other shower stuff.

*Take hair down and rinse it thoroughly under the spray. I first flip my head over and massage scalp under the spray. I then run my hands through my hair several times. Then flip hair upright, and rinse, with lots of scalp massage and running fingers through. I then part my hair down the center and rinse each side, b/c it is pretty thick. I do it till it feels clean.

 

That's it!

 

It can be a wicked transition at the beginning, though - my scalp is quite oily, and I had to kinda retrain it. After I quit stripping off all the oil with shampoo (which prompted my scalp to go into overdrive with oil production, thus leading to yet more shampooing, etc.), my scalp settled in nicely after 4-6 weeks. I was actually going straight water-only at that point - using vinegar makes the transition a bit easier, I think.

 

I'm really happy with the results, though. Cheap, quick, easy, yet better, more consistent results than when I used tons of products.

 

(One note - I'm not sure just vinegar is enough to clean your hair if you use hair spray, mousse, or other products on your hair, though; you'd probably need baking soda to get all that off.)

 

HTH

[Geo]

What ratio of water to vinegar do you use?

 

Geo

[eaglei]

It does work! I've been doing it for over 4 years. The key is using a strong shower spray to help the oil move down the hair shaft (or you can soak in the tub for 30-60 min). Here's what I do:

*Pre-shower, detangle hair and massage scalp for a few minutes (helps loosen up dead skin cells). Sometimes I massage with olive oil (plain or with tea tree oil or lavender essential oil added) if my scalp is extra flaky.

*Thoroughly wet down my hair, and massage it a bit under the spray.

*Turn off the water and pour a water/vinegar mix on my head. Make sure all the hair is completely soaked. You can also plug the sink, fill it with water, add vinegar, and let your hair soak in it for a minute or two, pre-shower, instead. Massage the scalp, making sure all parts have the vinegar mix on them. Then I put my hair up and put on a shower cap.

*Turn the water back on, and wash the rest of you, plus any other shower stuff.

*Take hair down and rinse it thoroughly under the spray. I first flip my head over and massage scalp under the spray. I then run my hands through my hair several times. Then flip hair upright, and rinse, with lots of scalp massage and running fingers through. I then part my hair down the center and rinse each side, b/c it is pretty thick. I do it till it feels clean.

 

That's it!

 

It can be a wicked transition at the beginning, though - my scalp is quite oily, and I had to kinda retrain it. After I quit stripping off all the oil with shampoo (which prompted my scalp to go into overdrive with oil production, thus leading to yet more shampooing, etc.), my scalp settled in nicely after 4-6 weeks. I was actually going straight water-only at that point - using vinegar makes the transition a bit easier, I think.

 

I'm really happy with the results, though. Cheap, quick, easy, yet better, more consistent results than when I used tons of products.

 

(One note - I'm not sure just vinegar is enough to clean your hair if you use hair spray, mousse, or other products on your hair, though; you'd probably need baking soda to get all that off.)

 

HTH

 

THANK YOU! I appreciate so much that you took the time to give details. That gives me more confidence to try this.

 

I don't use stuff on my hair anymore. I'd really like to have the kind of perm I had years ago, but it just doesn't work that way anymore. My hair is rather fine, so without a perm it is almost impossible to do anything with it. The perm is all I use on my hair. I don't even use the shop shampoos - I buy cheap stuff in the dollar stores and have had much better results than with the stuff the hair dresser sells. Vinegar is much more appealing to me, especially if I can use it without ruining the perm.

 

You mentioned massaging oils into your scalp (tea tree, olive, e.g.) - do these by any chance have any affect on helping hair grow in thicker? I've heard there are things that can make a person's hair grow thicker. The only *proof* I ever saw was one older lady whose hair was quite thin. She began drinking a raw egg in a glass of milk daily. Her hair definitely grew in much thicker. BUT, I would NOT. EVER. drink that combination just to get thicker hair! :eek: So I'm wondering if the olive oil, or others would do the job? Rosemary oil is the one I think I heard is supposed to work for thicker hair.

[LaxMom]

Jumping in here... I think you'll find that your hair feels thicker just by going "no poo". At least, that is what I've heard from many people who describe their hair as generally thin or limp.

 

You can also use jojoba oil in the way forty-two described, instead of the olive oil. Jojoba oil is good for combating sebum build up and has antioxidants that may help stimulate growth. (But will not help in cases of genetic hair loss)

 

Finally, if you do perm, I have found that coconut oil is great as "product" for keeping my hair from getting all frizzy (my hair is curly, knee length, thick). I just melt a little on my hands and run it through while my hair is still wet. It is never greasy, and the coconut oil works better than any commercial anti-frizz product I've ever used.

[forty-two]

What ratio of water to vinegar do you use?

Anywhere from 1/8-1/2c vinegar, in a 16oz cup that I fill close to the top with water after the vinegar is added. I don't measure - I just pour some in - using more if my hair feels esp dirty, less if it doesn't. I've had decent success with much more dilute solutions, though, if I soak in them a bit. I use either white or apple cider vinegar. White emphasizes the ashy brown, winter-y quality of my hair; apple cider brings out gold and red highlights.

 

You mentioned massaging oils into your scalp (tea tree, olive, e.g.) - do these by any chance have any affect on helping hair grow in thicker? I've heard there are things that can make a person's hair grow thicker. The only *proof* I ever saw was one older lady whose hair was quite thin. She began drinking a raw egg in a glass of milk daily. Her hair definitely grew in much thicker. BUT, I would NOT. EVER. drink that combination just to get thicker hair! :eek: So I'm wondering if the olive oil, or others would do the job? Rosemary oil is the one I think I heard is supposed to work for thicker hair.

Well, eggs are full of protein.... :tongue_smilie: Certainly scalp massage is thought to help with hair thickness - increasing blood flow, keeping the scalp clean, and whatnot. I used to be a member of a long hair board, and a lot of them used essential oils to promote growth, but I don't know much about them. I use tea tree oil and lavender oil b/c they are supposed to be good cleansing oils, and good for dandruff, and that pretty much exhausts my knowledge of essential oils :tongue_smilie:. (I also use a lavender spray - just a few drops of the oil - 3-5 - in 16-24oz of water in a spray bottle on my hair for a cleansing pick-me-up on non-wash days.)

 

I *have* experienced an increase in thickness by frequent (1-3x/week) scalp massage with a protein-based conditioner (all-natural, from Aubrey Organics) before showering, though that wasn't my goal with the practice. (I was also taking some supplements for hair help - some GNC hair vitamin, biotin, MSM, evening primrose oil and flax oil. They probably helped, a lot, but I'm not sure anymore about the advisability of taking lots of supplements.)

 

You can also use jojoba oil in the way forty-two described, instead of the olive oil. Jojoba oil is good for combating sebum build up and has antioxidants that may help stimulate growth.

Jojoba oil is good stuff - I used to use it. I just use olive now b/c we always have it around.

 

(Just a note, I'm going to be out of town till late Monday, so don't take it personally if I don't post any more till then ;))

[eaglei]

I am just amazed at the wealth of information you ladies provided! Thank you! I will be checking into some of the products you mentioned, as well as trying the vinegar, olive oil, etc.

 

(As an aside - I am not on the board here every day [life is *heavy* these days], so I don't always respond quickly - but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate all the responses/responders, and help!:) )

[mommy2be]

I wanted to bring this thread up again...

 

I have an oily t-zone on my face and oily hair. I'm wondering if it is actually overly oily due to to much washing with harsh soaps...

 

So, I tried the vinegar wash for my hair, and no soap for my face. The face is fine, I'm good with that... the vinegar for my hair however...

 

It did make it feel really nice, but it still seemed oily afterwards and smelled strongly of vinegar... so, what else can I try? I ended up shampooing it after the vinegar mostly to get the smell out and I could still smell it!

 

Are there any other natural products for washing oily hair without overdrying it? Any very mild natural (cheap) shampoo or something like it? I know someone here knows the answer! :D

[LaxMom]

You can use the baking soda and add a drop or two of honey for conditioning (too much can really weigh it down). I generally do straight baking soda paste on my scalp, but slather honey on the ends; any honey in the paste makes my hair heavy and dirty feeling, and mine tends to be dry! Ditto, if you are using apple cider vinegar, you really need to rinse it out thoroughly, or it will weigh down your hair.

 

Also, you can still smell the vinegar until your hair dries. Then, it goes away.

 

There is a definite adjustment period for most people, especially those who shampoo frequently with products for "oily" hair, while their scalp adjusts.

 

I rinse my hair (after the vinegar) with a cooled "tea" of chamomile, mint, sometimes rosemary. It makes my hair super shiny and is calming to the scalp.

 

For your face, you may want to try OCM (oil cleansing method). Without going into a novel here, the basics are that you massage oil into your skin, then wipe it (and the "dirt") away with a steaming hot wash cloth. Again, there is some trial and error involved, as you sort of need to work out what combination of oil works for you. Castor is very astringent and will make my skin feel very dry/tight right after washing (like using a bar of soap) but then it will get oily later as my face tries to replenish the natural oils. I generally found that about 2:1 olive oil to castor worked well. It is also imperative that you get all the oil off (read: do not do this in the shower and feel like the rinse in the water stream is adequate). Otherwise, you will have breakouts.

[mommy2be]

I wanted to ask if anyone has ever tried No Nothing...? Just water...

 

Also, as I have mentioned, I have oily hair. I can usually go with washing it every other day, but I usually wear it up on the second day because it will already be looking a little greasy. If I haven't washed by the third day it looks like you could wring oil out of it...

 

Should I was it every day while my hair is detoxing? Or still try to stretch out the washes?

[mommy2be]

Bump

 

:blush: