This comment was posted at the bottom of an article I read recently about eco-friendly shampoos. I have long bought shampoo and conditioner in bulk and I think I’ve only bought two bottles of conditioner in my adult life. I have recently been trying to brainstorm a more natural solution to the supermarket no-name brands and I dug this girls comments:
I have been using the system below for the last year and am very happy with it. I have VERY thick, curly, frizzy hair, so my old routine involved shampoo, conditioner, and lots of products. No more!
I buy Dr Bronners by the gallon. And I buy lavender essential oil, since that’s good for calming the scalp. A gallon of Dr Bronners and a small jar of lavendar oil lasts a LONG TIME. So there is very little packaing involved. I make an herbal tea from rosemary & thyme from the garden, or just use leftover green tea from breakfast, depending on how much work I feel like doing. In a shampoo-sized plastic container (maybe half a liter) I mix:
20% Dr Bronners soap
50 drops lavendar essential oil
Fill with tea
That’s it. You have to shake it before using it. It is very liquidy, but I find it easy enough to squirt some on my head and work it in. I also use it as body wash, and find that a sponge is the easiest way to apply it. This shampoo leaves my hair feeling squeaky clean–which at first was strange but then made me realize what a weird nasty coating store-bought shampoos leave in to make your hair feel artificially smooth.
Conditioner? I was so pleased to learn that even for my curls and frizz, I don’t need it! I buy jojoba oil by the gallon. After I get out of the shower, I massage a small amount into my wet hair. When it dries, its not oily at all, but my curls are all separated and un-frizzy and my hair is shiny and beautiful. I get so many compliments on how healthy my hair looks since I switched to this. I also use the jojoba oil on my body instead of lotion (rub on in very small amounts while your skin is still wet). Jojoba oil is not as expensive as you think if you buy it by the gallon (see Amazon retailers). So that’s pretty much all the cosmetics I need. Except toothpaste… but making toothpaste is another post entirely!
Gloria in Altadena, CA
.: Be good to yourself and to others :.