Blow dryers. Curling irons. Towels. Pools. Cold wind. Dry desert air. Hot daily showers. Hair ties…….
Our hair suffers a lot of abuse. Show it some love. Don’t worry about buying some special “hot oil treatment,” though: caring for your hair naturally is as easy as the purchase of one oil: coconut. Depending on where you live or what season it is, coconut oil comes solid or liquid (it’s melting point is 76 degrees) and is generally easy to get into a form easy for slathering on your head. If it’s too firm, warm it up a bit in the microwave or as a chunk in your hand. You don’t need to use much, just enough to lightly coat all your hair. Simply wrap your oil head in an old towel and let it sit for as long as you can stand. Want a little more bang for your time? Add some rosemary essential oil to the mix for extra hair/scalp health. This deep conditioning CAN be difficult to wash out – so plan ahead and maybe wait until a day you don’t need to dress up for a fancy, oil free head occasion.
A tea or rosemary and sage flowers and leaves makes a great hair rinse when mixed with apple cider vinegar.
You may also be interested in my hair polish recipe: a simple blend of rosemary essential oil and jojoba, halved. Straight rosemary oil smells amazing and adds great shine to my hair while the jojoba conditions. I keep this in a tiny vial in my bathroom and drip just a few drops on my palm in the morning and rub it first on my hair’s ends, and work it up focusing on the frizzy areas.
There are a few products that i can back whole heartedly. Holistic Body Therapy has a great product called “Scalp Stress,” a blend of jojoba oil with rosemary extract and lavender, tea tree and sandalwood essential oils. I like to massage this into my itchy scalp before bed and wash it out in the morning. I also use a teeeeny bit as a hair polish for my dry ends during the day. Their recipe should be fairly easy to recreate if you have the essential oils on hand.
Check out these great websites/blogs for even more hair care information:
- An Austin Homestead on Hair Health (my old blog – and a fun post with tons of info!)
- Long Locks.com
- Natural Hair Treatment.net
- Nature Moms (about the no-poo method)
A word about jojoba. I use jojoba in my bar shampoo, but i’ll have to change my tune soon. The world is suffering a shortage of this precious oil that so closely matches our skin’s natural oils. Jojoba oil has become increasingly difficult to find, and it’s becoming increasingly difficult for me to overcome the knowledge that i’m using up some precious resource just to slather on my skin to reduce wrinkles. So, please be aware of the products you purchase, and consider changing your habits to non-jojoba based products. I’ll be sure and post my new favorite oil for direct hair and skin application, as soon as i can figure that out! (Hint, i bet it will be hempseed oil)
