Saturday, July 23, 2011

Natural Hair Care Solutions: Part II - How I survived hair care war!

I have to say that the hair care solution was a little bumpier of a
transition than I anticipated. In fact, it kinda felt like raging a war!

I had build up, knots; once I even stripped the color from my hair by using
baking soda for a shampoo rinse! It got a little hairy there for a minute
and I have to say that rather than freak out about putting shampoo out
of a plastic bottle, i.e. store bought, loaded with the SLS chemicals and
packaged in plastic bottles on my skin/head, I stopped washing my hair
but maybe once a week! It was like a hair care battle field man! Aren’t
you glad you have me at the front lines to test for you!?!
Onward Eco-Soldier!

The first natural shampoo I tried was African Black Soap and Oat Straw,
which is pretty much what my hair felt like when I was done!

Momma Green Bird Black Soap Review :
"And talk about the WOW factor! You can use this stuff for just about
ANYTHING on the whole family!"

Then I made a Castile shampoo and used a hot Sunflower oil treatment before shampooing.
Who says we have to condition AFTER we wash right?
My hair felt great…
after two days of rinsing to get the oil residue out!

The second Castile experiment added water and a drop or two of
Sunflower oil. I mixed it all up in my Honey Bear and went to squirtin. It
worked best out of all the homemade concoctions, but still left my hair
feeling brittle, unmanageable and a little sticky.

Well, I thought maybe there didn’t have to be a soap, maybe baking
soda will work as a rinse.
It took this dye job:
And STRIPPED it! Thank Goddess my dye is gentle!

My hair was beginning to get pretty upset at this point, so I went back
to what mainstream stuff I had here for a washing/conditioning or two(that’s 1-2 weeks).
NOTE: throwing all your “chemical” stuff down the drain to saturate the
Earth with said chemicals is NOT the recommen
ded method of disposal.
Gradually using up what you have
already purchased and reusing the containers for your homemade stuff
is the most Eco-Friendly method in most cases.

Out of sheer frustration and just needin to whine to someone I called
on the Highest and most Knowledgeable Source on Natural Living in my life.
MY MOM!
My mother was born in 1932 to Tiny Fitzhough Cartwright. Granma Tiny
raised 8 other children through The Depression and Mother had so
many miraculous Reduce/Reuse and Natural remedies and ideas I
could hardly keep up! It was a necessary way of life for them! As an
aside, I asked her to write them down for me!


Mom gave me some great ideas and some of them I loved so much I
use on a regular basis! She reminded me of that plastic cup in the
bathroom no matter what house we were in. And that we didn't have
much, but it never seemed like we were in lack of anything. Because
we were VERY self sustainable. Country Folk can Survive, I guess!
...Dang, I outta write a song about that...

Natural Hair Care Solutions: Part I - Why Bother?


Greetings Fellow Green Goddesses! Can you believe my Little Bird has turned ONE already?!? Walkin, Talkin, Playing music and singing. Wow! Time flies when your havin fun I guess!

Anywho, that’s where I’ve been the past couple of weeks, and after a great celebration I am happy to be back with a new series for you. Natural Hair Care.

I have been asked many times by my Long Locked Goddess buddies what I use on my waist length hair. So, I thought I would put together a sort of guide for you, with recipes and ideas on natural shampoos and conditioners as well as product such as hair gel, wax and some frizzy hair pudding!

But, why bother with changing my mainstream hair care routine you ask?
For a number of different reasons, some of the largest being Health and Environmental positive impact and happy little side effects like Convenience, and Cost vs. Value. I.e. saving money!

Most mainstream soaps. I.e.Shampoo, Bubble bath, Dish soap, Laundry detergent contain a member of the Sodium Laureth Sulphate family.
"The substance may be toxic to skin. Repeated or prolonged exposure to the substance can produce target organs damage."
Repeated exposure to a highly toxic material may produce general deterioration of health by an accumulation in one or many
human organs."

Check out some other blogs and websites on the topic:
You can find more solutions and information here, including a recipe made with staple ingredients!
Eco-Friendly Multipurpose Cleaner and SLS Info.

The Green List has information from The Journal of the American College of Toxicology report

The Case Against Sodium Laureth Sulfate
"Narelle Chenery, Director of Research and Development for ONE Group and formulator of the world's first certified organic skin and body care products, Miessence, and member of the Australian Society of Cosmetic Chemists looks at the much maligned and often misunderstood chemical, sodium laureth sulfate." She claims, "Whilst SLES is often claimed to be natural because it can be derived from coconut oil, it is the manufacturing process that bears looking into."

And as far as Cost VS. Value and Convenience, when you purchase a product that has many uses around your house, in other words it works hard for you, then it is worth the "pay" or cost to purchase that item. Two such items are Apple Cider Vinegar and Baking Soda. Those two items have uses in nearly every aspect of life here. Food, health, beauty, medicine.We call them "staples".
Not only are they cheap and come in sustainable/reusable packaging but they are also OF the Earth. There for Earth Friendly! Do the math in your situation. Need a little help? Shoot me an email Mommagreenbird@gmail.com
THIS is how we Go Green without Going Broke peeps!

*Stay Tuned for the second segment in Natural Hair Care Solutions "My Journey".