Angela's Hippie Essential Oil Shampoo and Conditioner Recipe

In light of my recent quest to eliminate unnecessary toxins from my home, I have recently given up traditional shampoo. Not only is it full of additives, it strips the hair of natural oils, causing the hair to then over-produce oils, and then requiring a hair-washing every couple of days.

Since I am converting to homemade beauty and household cleaning products made with natural ingredients, a few months ago, I decided to give this new hair-washing method a go.

WARNING! It will take several weeks for your hair to adjust to this new method, as it will still be in oil-over-production mode, and will seem extremely greasy for about 3 weeks, but I promise, it will get better!

I started doing this method every 3-4 days, at first, and now I pretty much just wash my hair once a week, yet I still get compliments on it!!

Baking Soda Shampoo:

Ingredients:
(in a small bowl, combine the following)
- roughly 1/2 cup of baking soda (or more depending on amount needed for length and thickness of hair)
- 1 drop of some or all of the following essential oils: Lavender, Tea Tree (Melaleuca Alternifolia), Rosemary, Cedarwood, Ylang Ylang (Or whichever oils you prefer)
- Enough water to make a paste

Directions:
- Wet hair in shower
- Separate hair into sections, I personally start from the underside and work my way up, and scrub in baking soda to roots of hair.
- Let sit for a few minutes, I wash my face at this point while I'm waiting, and then rinse my hair completely.

I make sure I get the roots really well to clean the scalp, but I don't worry too much if I don't get every inch of the hair.

Apple Cider Vinegar Conditioner:

Ingredients:
(in a 2 oz plastic travel-size squeeze bottle)
- 1/2 oz organic, unfiltered apple cider vinegar
- 1 drop of some or all of the following essential oils: Lavender, Tea Tree (Melaleuca Alternifolia), Rosemary, Cedarwood, Ylang Ylang (or whichever oils you prefer)
- Fill remainder of bottle with water and shake to mix

Directions:
- Separate hair into sections, I usually separate into 4 sections, as if I was going to make a braid with all of my hair, but with 4 pieces
- Squirt a small amount into the bowl you used for the shampoo (after rinsing the bowl all out)
- Dip ends of hair of one of the sections into bowl and then dump the rest onto the hair
- Repeat for each section of hair
- Let sit for a few minutes; at this point I bathe with my homemade body wash
- Rinse completely with COOL water, as that is supposed to help lock in moisture

I make sure I get the ends really well to add moisture back to the hair, as the baking soda can dry out the hair.

I hope you are inspired to try this natural method of cleaning your hair! It's been about 3-4 months for me, and, aside from the initial 3 weeks of greasy overload from my hair adjusting, so far, so good! :-)

If you're interested in incorporating essential oils into your wellness routine, you can enroll here: http://yl.pe/tt3

Thanks for reading!
-Angela