My Poo life

Being 'poo' free is the shit( what a cheesy play on words huh? lol) But its true.I NEVER have to run to the store to get shampoo or conditioner cause I always have the stuff on hand.I can make the shampoo/conditioner to fit my hair style and personal needs.Its all natural and almost everything I use you can eat.I do not like to put things on my body that I would not put in it.So if I wont eat it chances are I wont use it.BUT the recipes I use for my 'shampoo' and 'conditioner' have essential oils in them.MOST that I use are safe for consumption ( however tea tree and neem oil should not be ingested).But other than that everything I use is right there in the kitchen.What I use to wash my hair I make up everytime I need it.The conditioner I make ahead of time and let sit.I have used the conditioner mix right after mixing and its ok but letting it marinate for a while makes it so you get all the goodness out of the herbs.I like to let mine sit in a cool dark place, for atleast 2 weeks, giving it a good shake everyday.
Hair is not as dirty as people think.Unless your rolling around in the mud ( ohh fun!) or something equally as messy, then you hair isn't all that 'dirty'.From what I have read, heard from others and dealt with personally I can tell you that if your hair is extra oily, then its your hairs way of rebelling against the product you are using on it.It feels the need to kick out oils to protect whats being done with it.Like someone who commented in my last post I used to have unbelievably oily hair at the root but it was dry as a bone on the ends.What I was using was stripping my hair of its all natural oils and so it was producing tons to replace it and I never gave it a chance to right itself.
I shouldn't even say that I wash my hair because that's not very accurate.What I wash is my scalp.My hair gets washed in the process but I don't 'wash' it.And I only 'wash' my hair about 2 times a week, the rest of the time I only use the 'conditioner'.On the off days I just rinse my hair as if there was shampoo in it.Its called water washing it.Its not healthy to cleanse your hair everyday.I was weary of this in the beginning and of my hair not getting clean enough, so if anyone is reading this and sitting there thinking ewwww, just know I was in your shoes before I switched also.I couldnt get my mind to switch from a bottle telling to 'wash, rinse and repeat'... to no bottle, no lather and more rinsing than washing.The lack of lather was what took me the longest to get used to.I used to think lather was what cleaned my hair.I'm glad I know better now.
At the end of this I'm going to post what herbs work best for what hair type and hair issue, so you all can personalize your mixes.Here is what I use and how I use it.Just a heads up I have hair to the middle of my back, you might need more or less mix for yourself.

For my 'shampoo' I mix:

• About 4 cups of very warm water ( Not too hot that you burn your scalp)
• About 2 TBSP of baking soda
• About 1/4 cup of my homemade Orange Oil Cleaner
  
• Sometimes I add a drop or two of Tea tree and Neem oils
  

That's it.I mix the orange oil and baking soda together ( cause I like to watch it bubble and fizz lol) then I add the water.The baking soda and orange oil cleans the hair like you would not believe! You dont have to use the orange oil cleaner, but its super easy to make and does work better.Baking soda and water will work as well.But I love how the orange oil cleans and plus I love the orange smell :) The white vinegar in the orange oil cleaner practically dissolves dandruff and keeps it at bay.Its amazing! I mix this up, take it to the shower and scrub my scalp while I pour it on.I grab my hair and squish it through my hair like I'm milking it.Then I let it sit for a minute or two and then rinse.Now, for me anyway, when its in my hair my hair feels very matted and I was scared the 1st time I used it.I don't know why this happens but its something I had to get used to.I just wanted to give you a heads up in case it happens to anyone who tries this, don't freak out.It goes away :) Ok so after its sets I rinse, scrubbing while the water runs through it.You have to rinse very thoroughly with this.If you leave any left on you will be able to tell.Next step is to condition.Now this recipe is for MANY conditioning treatments and this is what I let sit for atleast 2 weeks.You can use right away too if you wish.

For my 'conditioner' I mix:

• 1 bottle of Apple Cider Vinegar
• Whatever herb suits your needs, I'll post some of them later.

I add rosemary,sage,chamomile,catnip,lavender and the essential oils Neem and peppermint to mine.I use more of some than of others but its usually a big handful of each per large jug of Apple Cider Vinegar.I really pack them in there.I'll post the properties of the different herbs at the end of this.I have, in a pinch, just used apple cider vinegar alone.
I apply the conditioner by using a old condiment bottle.I strain the vinegar mix into the bottle about 1/4 to 1/2 way up the bottle and then fill the rest with water.I use about 1/4 to 1/2 of the bottle each time I use it.I coat my hair with the mix and scrub it into my scalp same as I do with the shampoo.And I milk it just like the shampoo.Then I let this sit for atleast 3 minutes.Since I have curly hair I pick my hair out with the conditioner in it to help detangle it and make sure it worked its way through.To keep my curls intact I NEVER pick my hair out any other time then that.Not after I get out of the shower or when its dry.I will finger pick it if I need to, but pulling on curls takes the spring out of them.So after the conditioner has sat a few minutes I rinse but this time I don't rinse as thoroughly as I do with the shampoo.I want some of this to stay in.Just to warn you there IS a vinegar smell, I have come to like it and it does not bother me in the least.Don't be scared of this.It goes away completely once your hair is dry.I went to one of my sons track meets last year with my hair still wet.One of the boys on his team asked me if I had been eating Salt and Vinegar chips lol The same day people there were having a terrible time because of gnats or some little bug flying up in their faces.They must not like the smell of my hair cause I didn't have one bother me :)
If anyone has any questions please let me know.I will answer them as best I can and if I dont know the answer I will get it for you.Now there were some people who left comments in my other poo post ( lol that sounds funny ) who were concerned about ethnic hair.When I started out researching this MOST of the info I got was from sites for natural ethnic hair care.My children are multi racial, my sons hair is very thick but my daughters hair is thinner than mine.So my family's hair goes from thick to thin.This works on us all.I have also seen women with bone straight baby fine hair who have a very similar hair care regime.You just need to find out what works for you, and tweak your recipes accordingly.Some might need less baking soda or more to cleanse their hair.You will just know and it wont take long to figure it out.There also was another comment about dandruff.Seriously if you do not wish to go all out and go this natural just use a treatment of white vinegar.Mix 1/2 vinegar with 1/2 water and let it sit in your hair for a few mins, scrub then rinse.You will see the difference right away.I told you in my other post that I tried many recipes in the beginning of my natural hair journey that did not work for me.I was going to post those here but I can see how long this post is getting so Im going to pass for now.If anyone wants to know those just leave me a comment and I will put up a post with those recipes.
Ok here's a list of herbs and their properties.Some research on your own will pull up more but this will start you out.

• Burdock: root helps prevent dandruff

• Catmint/Catnip: leaves encourage hair growth and soothes scalp irritations
  

• Chamomile: flowers soften and lighten hair

• Lavender: antiseptic, antibiotic, stimulates hair growth, and degreases hair loss
  

• Parsley: enriches hair color and gives a nice luster

• Rosemary: tonic and conditioner, one of the best herbs to use, gives luster and body, also slightly darkens the hair
  

• Sage: tonic and conditioning, darkens the hair

• Stinging Nettle: tonic and conditioning and helps prevent dandruff
  

There are tons more but this is a good list to start out with.I was going to post pics with this but I think its long enough as it is.I will post one pic at the end because Hyla requested it :) Its the Aloe Vera that we use as our only styling product.Ok that's not true, sometimes I use coconut oil too.But not all that often.If anyone tries this out PLEASE come back and let me know how it worked for you.If you have decided to try this out please realize that it IS a process and like I talked about in the other post, there is a transition you have to go through but it is TOTALLY worth it.Unless your lucky like my daughter and switched over without a hitch, that lucky duck.Alright enough rambling from me, here's your pic Hyla.Just so you know its on the back wall of our walmart before you get to the pet dept.Its on the bottom row.( Hyla and I are neighbors so we go to the same wally world :D )

Merry Mixing!!!