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| Natural Hair Care |
| Before corporations and large cosmetic companies beauty was still important. Often beauty products came from the home, and hair care was no different. These solutions may or may not work for your hair type. They are more natural or possibly even cheaper solutions to our beauty needs. Soem of these may be listed for merely historical reference and will be marked with *s. |
| Shampoo: A quick note: for many shampoo or shower gel type recepies, table salt will be used. Salt increases the thickness of the shampoo and more or less will alter this! Liquid Shampoo and Shower Gel Base: (yeilds eight ounces) 3/4 cup distilled water 1/4 cup shampoo concentrat OR 1/2 cup unscented shampoo and increase salt to 1 teaspoon 1/2 teaspoon table salt Gel Shampoo Base: 3/4 cup distilled water 1/4 cup shampoo concentrate OR 1/2 cup unscented shampoo and increase salt to 1 1/2 teaspoon) 1 teaspoon table salt Coconut and Vanilla Shampoo: (yeilds nine ounces) Gel Shampoo Base ingredients 1 tablespoon coconut oil 2 teaspoons jojoba oil 10 drops vanilla frangrance oil |
| 10 drops coconut fragrance oil Warm the water and the shampoo concentrate. Stir well until blended and add coconut oil, salt, and vanilla fragrance. Stir the mixture with a wire whisk until the mixture becomes thick and smooth. Bottle; I recommend a plastic squeeze bottle so that it is easy to use! Peppermint Clarifying Shampoo: (yeilds eight and a half ounces) Good for the scalp and all hair types. Liquid Shampoo and Shower Gel Base ingreidents 2 teaspoons jojoba oil 1/8 teaspoon peppermint oil 1 drop red food colouring (optional) Warm the water and pour into a ceramic bowl. Add the shampoo concentrate and stir with a wire whisk until well blended. Add salt, jojoba oil, peppermint oil, and food colouring if desired. Stir until well blended and bottle. City Shampoo: Effective in removing impurities such as city grime and smog from hair Liquid Shampoo and Shower Gel Base ingredients j1 tablespoon dried thyme 1 tablespoon dried peppermint 1 tablespoon dried lavender 1 teaspoon witch hazel 1 teaspoon almond oil 7 drops cinnamon oil 3 drops ylang ylang oil Bring the water to a boil in a heavy saucepan and add the dried thyme, pepperming, and lavender. Remove the pan from heat and let steep for 30 minutes. Then, strain the herbs from the water and pour the herbal infusion into a ceramic bowl. Now add the shampoo concentrate and stir until well mixed. Add the salt, witch haze, almond oil, cinnamon oil, and ylang ylang oil and stir until thick. Bottle. Lemon Sparkle Shampoo: For daily use on all hair types. Liquid Shampoo and Shower Gel base ingredients 2 tablespoons dried chamomile 1 tablespoon dried rosemary 2 teaspoons sweet almond oil 1/4 teaspoon lemon oil 1 drop yellow food colouring (optional) In a saucepan bring the water to a boil and add dried chamomile and rosemary to the water and remove from heat. Let herbs steep for 20 minutes. Strain the herbs from the water and discard them. Add the shampoo concentrate to the water and stir until dissolved. Next add the almond oil and food colouring if desired and stir until blended. Add the salt and stir until mixture thickens. Let the mixture cool to room temperature before bottling! Herbal Shampoo for All Hair Types: For daily or as needed use; very gentle and mild, good baby shampoo (yields forty treatments) 2 cups (473 ml) distilled water 1 tablespoon (15 ml)calendula (pot marigold) 2 teaspoons (10 ml) rosemary 1 tablespoon (15 ml) nettle 2 teaspoons (10 ml) orange peel 2 teaspoons (10 ml) comfrey 2 tablespoons (30 ml) chamomile 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) essential oil of lavender 1 teaspoon (5 ml) jojoba oil (if hair is oily, only use half this) 1/2 cup (118 ml) all-natural baby shampoo Bring water to a boil and remove from heat. Add herbs, cover, and let steep for 30 minutes. Strain mixture into medium-sized bowl and add oils and stir vigorously. Add the shampoo and gently stir until throughly mixed. Pour into labeled bottle and keep refrigerated for freshness. Shelf life outside refrigeratoir is about one week. One tablespoon (15 ml) per appliction and shake well before use. Scalp Treatments & Rinses Dandruff Treatment: 10 aspring tablets 3/4 cup warm water Dissolve the aspring in water and massage into scalp after shampooing. Leave on for about ten minutes and rinse. Dandruff and Dry Scalp: (for both dry and oily scalps in all seasons) An overnight treatment. 10 drops rosemary 10 drops eucalyptus 5 drops tea tree oil 2 oz jojoba, almond oil, or other quality oil Apply generoualy all over hair and scalp and cover wtih plastic wrap. Shampoo off in morning regularly and use same combintaoion of ils in a quart of water as final rinse Repeate 2-3 times a week. Dandruff Rinse: Make an infusion of 1 ounce each of fresh or dried rosemary and sage in two cups of water. Let steep for 24 hours and use daily as a hair rinse. Scalp Treatment for Dry, Itchy scalp: To stop itching of the scalp. Fill a 2 litre container with fresh mint leaves. Cover the leaves with hot water, cover and leave to cool. Once cool strain the liquid into a bottle and use neat or diluted as a final rinse after washing. Store unused liquid out of direct sunlight. Will keep for up to two weeks. Lemon Verbena Hair Rinse: 6 tablespoons Lemon Verbena 2 cups boiling water Pour the water over the lemon verbena. Let steep until cool enough to pour over hair. Strain lemon verbena from the water and pour over hair as your final rinse after shampooing. No need to wash out and will leave hair soft and fresh and clean smelling. Conditioners Cleopatra's Conditioner: Prepare the day before use. Shake well before applying! Good fro split ends and broken hair and friz. Recommned for dark hair only. 1/2 cup honey 1/4 cup oilve oil Mix the honey and oilve oil in a jar. Cover tightly and shake thoroughly. Before shampoo, massage over all of hair briskly and leave on for ten minutes (cover your head loosly with a plastic bag to avoid mess and get best results). To remove, thouroghly shampoos two or three times. Conditioner II: 1 egg (2 for VERY long hair) 3 tbls wheatgerm oil 2 tbls honey Be sure to mix really well. Be sure to remember the egg. Apply to hair, wrap in a towel for 30 minutes to two hours and wash out as normal. Leaves hair nice and soft. Mayonnaise Conditioner: Best when used with natural shampoo! Shampoo your hair, rinse and towel dry. Apply regular mayonnaise (not veganaise or salad dressing) to the hair. Massage in and let sit for 10-15 minutes. Shampoo again lightly and rinse with an apples cider vinegar and water solution. Split End Treatment I: Mix 1 tsp honey with 2 tbsps oilve oil and beat in 1 egg yolk. Massage on hair in small sections. Wrap head with shower cap for 30 minutes. rinse and shampoo. Split End Treatment II: Massage hair and scalp with warm avocado or olive oil. Wrap securly in a towel. Leave oil on hair about eight hours or overnight. If left on overnight, put a shower cap over your head to keep things clean! Was hair and then rinse with vinegar/water solution. Hair Creams: Base - 2 tablespoons of Shea Butter 8 teaspoons of jojoba oil Add one of the following combinations: 20 drops sandalwood 20 drops bois de rose (rose wood) 20 drops lavender 20 drops cedarwood (Atlas) 15 drops rosemary 15 drops lavender 10 drops myrrh 17 drops ylang-ylang 17 drops lemon 6 drops ginger Exotic Perfumed Hair Oil: 30 drops bergamot 10 drops cedarwood 10 drops tangerine 10 drops myrrh 10 drops patchouli 10 drops rose (Combine then add 12 drops of that blend to 3 ounces of jojoba oil and massage a few drops into freshly shampooed hair and scalp. Colouring These are colouring rinses that work over a peroid of time to stubelly colour and add highlights to hair. To use them first wash and rinse hair, then pour any of these rinses over your hair 15 times, catching the excess and pouring it over again. Brunettes: I. Cook an unpeeled potato in boiling water and cool slightly. Dip a pastry bush or cotton ball in the cooking water, cover, and satruate hair, being careful not to get any on skin. Leave on ahir for 20 minutes then rinse out. II. Make a strong infusion of any of the following herbs and rinse as mention at the begining of section Rosemary Sage Raspberry leaves Parsley Ivy Berries Catnip Black coffee Black Tea (for chestnut highlights) Blondes: I. Marigold for golden highlights and brings out red and gold highlights in light brown and red hair. Saffron, tumeric, calendula, mullein, privet, and yellow broom and any yellow blossomed herb or flower will add colour and highlights for blondes. II. Rinse hair with a solution of one tablespoon of lemon juice to one gallon of water after shampooing. III. To restore hair that was once blonde, mix 10 grams of licorice root with 10 grams of oat straw and a pinch of saffron. Cover with water and boil to make an infusion. Strain and use as a rinse after shampooing. Let it to soak into hair, do not rinse out. IV. To bring out highlights and lightend steep 1/2 cup of chamomile tea in one quart of boiling water. Strain and cool. Shampoo hair until oil free, then rinse with tea infusion. Redheads: I Use strong black coffee as final rinse. II Use a strong rosehips tea III. Make a decotion of red hibiscus tea, use as a rinse. IV. Make an rinse from calendula V. Use an infusion of saffron for a rinse. For Grey Hair: I. Boil potato peels in water, strain, and cool. Use the strained water as an after-shampoo rinse to darken grey hair. II. Used consistently over time Sage covers grey. Simmer 1/2 cup dried sage in two cups of water for 30 minutes. Steep 2-3 hours. Strain and use as rinse on clean hair. Leave on until hair as dried and then rinse out. Hair Spray I Chop two lemons, add two cups water and simmer in a pan over low heat until lemons are soft. Cool, then strain through cheesecloth. Pour into a spray bottle, add one tablespoon vodka and shake. Dilute with water if it is too sticky. II Firm hold spray - beer or sugar water. In the 1940s when page-boys were all the rage many ladies used straight beer for their hair. This works great but leaves hair extremely stiff, you may want to add some water. |