Make your own shampoo and conditioner
Why make your own?
I don’t know about you, but I have to use tons of conditioner in my hair in order to untangle curly knots! But as I’m trying to find a way of doing things more earth consciously (producing your own food, water, energy, no waste) I’m slowly phasing out each of my chemical products and replacing them with DIY biodegradable alternatives that make the water suitable for watering the plants.
Firstly, let’s explain where commercial shampoo and conditioner comes from: most of the time, it is made by a mega-multi-national corporation (eg. Unilever) by mixing petroleum-based chemicals into plastic bottles derived from petroleum… a lot of fossil fuels have gone into the raw materials, manufacture and transport to get this stuff to you.
Another thing is that the chemicals in hair products (eg. Sodium Lauryl Sulfate) are actually carcinogenic and harmful to our bodies (link)
If that’s not enough to motivate you, know that making your own can have major cost savings!
For 350ml shampoo and conditioner:
Shop bought (cheapest Palmolive brand) = R22
Biodegradable homemade version = R4
That’s over 80% cheaper!
Having said that though, these watery products will run out much faster than the thick soapy/creamy concoction you can buy in stores...The next step is to brew your own apple cider vinegar (from apples and sugar in water) and then see how
DIY Shampoo
You will need:
An empty shampoo bottle to reuse forever
A small funnel (to minimize spilling)
Bicarbonate of soda
Water
Essential oils of your choice ( I used lemongrass because it’s cheap and smells super fresh)
The recipe it very easy and will depend on the volume of your bottle:
Add 1 part bicarbonate of soda (I used 100ml)
Add 3 parts water (300ml)
Add 5-15 drops of essential oils
DIY Conditioner
You will need:
An empty conditioner bottle to reuse forever
A small funnel (to minimize spilling)
Apple cider vinegar
Water
Essential oils of your choice (Thyme, rosemary, lavender etc.)
You can even infuse it with citrus peels, rosemary sprigs, chamomile tea…endless applications here really
Add 1 part apple cider vinegar (I used 100ml)
Add 4 parts water (400ml)
Add 5-15 drops of essential oils
Verdict
I’m currently in the process of weaning my hair off commercial hair products (washing it with the new recipes once a week, then twice a week and then every hair wash).
Week 2: so far and it’s looking good! It’s a bit strange at first: the shampoo is grainier than I’m usually used to but the conditioner is fantastic. With my curly hair I was very surprised that the conditioner does indeed work to get my hair knots out and there is no smell after my hair has dried (although its still quite a strong smell in the shower, so it wouldn’t hurt to add more delicious-smelling oils or alternatives)
Week 4: I’ve gotten compliments on my hair looking more curly from some of my super curly friends! It’s working!!!
Proof:
*Please excuse my weird/tired faces, these selfies are in the name of science! :P
The top 2 pictures show the results with chemical shampoo (I used Tresemme). You can observe large, thick and voluminous curls, which is good...although I do have more of a frizz halo sticking up around my hair. However, the next morning after sleeping, my hair was a much bigger mess with random strands of hair sticking out of my curls (exhibit A: fringe frizz, exhibit B: hair sticking up and straight/wavy).
Comparing to the natural hair results, you can see more defined curls (see fringe) and perhaps less volume. What you can’t see is my hair feeling softer and moisturised. The resulting bed-head from the next morning still has the defined curls (fringe without random out-sticking strands) and my curls being more compacted ringlets (see left side of my hair compared to chemical result).
These recipe still have room for improvement -like the shampoo is not the best at getting excess oil out of my hair - BUT it has stopped me having dandruff ^_^
I can’t claim that this recipe will work for everyone, but it’s definitely worth a try in order to think in terms of biodegradable water for reuse. Gotta love water (we need it!)
Additional resources:
http://livelovefruit.com/12-toxic-ingredients-to-avoid-in-shampoo/
http://lifelessplastic.blogspot.co.za/search/label/shampoo
http://dontwastethecrumbs.com/2015/02/diy-homemade-conditioner/
For more recipes:
http://styles101.homestead.com/nathairrec.html#anchor_35820
