Thursday 18 June 2015

I have stopped...

Using hair conditioner! Yep for more than a year now, I have been washing my hair then using about a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, in a pint or so of water followed by a couple of jugs of water to rinse it off.

My scalp has always been so itchy and I had a near permanent storm of skin coming off whenever I scratched or the wind blew. I have mild dermatitis on my scalp And it was getting embarrassing. I just itched all day and was well and truly fed up.

I had tried shampoo from the doctor, over the counter, dandruff shampoo, baby shampoo etc, all to no avail. It probably doesn't help that I have highlights done every 12 weeks or so, though they are put on using a cap so the dye doesn't get on my scalp - uncomfortable but necessary in my case.

My hairdresser frowns at using vinegar but for me, it has brought my itchiness down to around 10% of what it used to be and I am happy with that. To be honest, it is at its worse after she washes and conditions my hair after colouring it! About 2 washes later, using vinegar, it all calms down again.

I also use a special shampoo for a dry scalp which seems to help as when I use another shampoo just in case my scalp is better, off it goes again.

After shampooing, my hair feels like it does for everyone else pre conditioner, but after the vinegar and rinsing water, it feels smooth and silky. Apparently vinegar helps close the scales on each strand of hair. I usually let it dry on its own but occasionally use a dryer. I rarely have tangles and it just feels great.

At its worst, I could peel of what felt like huge pieces of skin but in reality were less than 1cm which left my scalp very sore, now, I don't seem to suffer from that so I am sticking with it.

Herewith some photographs although the colour on my hair seems odd, don't know why:

It might not look very shiny as it was a dull morning when the photographs were taken but it is and so soft!

Now I have that side of hair washing sorted out, I want to get rid of using shampoo as well (I have tried soda, too harsh for me). Most people seem to talk about using 100% pure soap so I shall have to investigate that side of shampooing and see how it goes.

I am really trying to get rid of all chemicals in my hair routine (apart from the hairdresser visiting). Home is cleaned with simple home made products (apart from polish which I need to look at). It has to be better for us and our home and more importantly, the environment.

20 comments:

  1. My son suffers from eczema which affects his scalp and gives him bad dandruff. It's cleared up since we started using E45 dry scalp shampoo, which I'm sure you've tried.

    I have terrible chemical sensitivities and allergies (I break out in enormous hives from head to toe and my throat swells up - takes 3 days for all of it to calm down) and despite going grey, I refuse to try any hair dye or highlights, although I would love to get rid of the grey hairs!. I don't wear any make up and can't tolerate any perfumes. I only use a small amount of bleach occasionally in the loo and a tiny amount of basic cream cleaner in the shower. I know someone who just uses washing up liquid for cleaning as she has terrible reactions to chemical cleaners. To clean the oven, we use vinegar and bicarb.

    I have a friend who massages olive oil into her scalp before washing her hair. Have you tried this?

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    1. Oh dear, poor you! Yes, I use E45. My scalp is itching at the moment as I recently used a sample bottle from a hotel - big mistake, DB is finishing that off now!! I plan on going grey eventually but not just yet. Yes, I have tried oil on my scalp but it takes so long for me to wash even a small amount off:(

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  2. Castile soap can be used as a shampoo - it is what I use, followed by cider vinegar rinse (your hair looks in great condition by the way). I did a post on my blog last week about simple castile soap and using it as a shampoo. It might give you some food for thought even if it is not exactly what you are looking for.

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    1. Thanks for that, I have had a read and will have a good think about it.

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  3. Eight acres has just done a really interesting blog post about not using shampoo, don't know if you've already seen it or not?

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  4. Yes I did and thank you for the reminder.

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  5. I stopped using conditioner a couple of years ago and cut down shampoo to just a tiny smidge. My hair is so short and going white/grey and haven't stepped in a hairdressers for 10 years - but I am a bit weird!

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    1. Not weird at all, my hairdresser nearly fainted when I mentioned that someday I will stop dyeing!

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  6. Have you tried Coconut Oil on your head when the itchiness is at it's worse, it really helps for me.

    My hair is dyed and I find that when it is longer (which is still shorter than yours) and holding two sessions of dye, I have to use conditioner to make it softer. The only one that works is the new Head and Shoulders for 'Itchy Scalps', if I don't have any in I just use some coconut oil.

    When I get really stressed, as I did after the death of my Dad which coincided with our house move before this one and my son having marital problems my scalp went to pieces ... literally. The only thing that helped was not dying it for a while and a special shampoo from the chemist, if only I had found out about coconut oil then.

    Your hair looks lovely by the way, it's funny the way cameras alter colour isn't it, I struggle sometimes to get things looking as they are in 'real life'. And why hide your pretty face with your hands just do as I do and grab a cabbage ;-)

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    1. Might get some as I have read quite a bit on it. No cabbages unfortunately!

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  7. I admit I rarely use conditioner. My hair is oily, extremely oily and the hair strands are fine. If I use conditioner I have to wash my hair twice a day. So I use the smallest amount of shampoo possible. In the days of old people did not condition their hair.

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    1. My nana did. She either used stale beer as a conditioner or a beaten egg as a pre wash tonic. All her early life she used rainwater. Had problems Started once she moved into a city.

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  8. I wash my hair every day using baby shampoo, followed by a rinse of my own making (chamomile flowers steeped in hot water) and that works brilliantly for me.
    I have a very occasional grey hair peeping through, but most of it still grows out the same dark blonde that I have been all my life, good going at 58! Of course DH reckons it's because he's such an easy person to live with....come to think of it, he is very laid back!
    My best friend, who I met on our first day at infant school, is still naturally pale blonde, perhaps it was something in the water when we were growing up!

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    1. I started going grey late 30's! Our family goes very quickly. I sometimes use a rosemary steeped water.

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  9. I wash my hair a couple of times a week and condition it once a week. My old hairdresser went on and on about me going grey, and I had a few streaks of colour put round the front twice, but never bothered again. I don't mind the grey/white hairs, and having seen how much it costs K and KL to keep themselves blonde/ blonder than they really are I know that I just couldn't afford the upkeep and wouldn't want to start messing about with it myself. My great gran's hair was still mostly black when she died, with just a few greys around her temples( she definitely didn't dye it!), my gran kept her brown hair, and my Mum's is still dark blonde, so maybe there is something in the genes and I'll stay fairly brown myself; it doesn't seem to be going grey very fast as it started at least 10 years ago!

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    1. You are very lucky. We go grey very early, off my dad's side I think.

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  10. I've never dyed my hair but during the menapause I did get a very itchy scalp. I cured mine by making double infused rosemary and thyme oils which I mixed together. I would oil up my hair once a week, let it sit for an hour, then washed it out. I've not had an itchy scalp since and no dandruff. I use the Boots own coconut oil and conditioner - relatively cheap and does the job.

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    1. Glad it works for you. Can't really remember when it got worse all of a sudden. Shall have to slowly try out some new things.

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  11. Have you ever considered trying a shampoo that is SLS free? (sodium lauryl sulphate)

    I cannot tolerate it in either shampoo or shower gel type products.

    I can't be doing with conditioner but I do use a hair oil which are excellent. A little goes a long way ans they really make the hair shine.

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    1. I have wondered about SLS which is why I want to try real soap or real soap products.

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