I did a post on my skin care routine back in May, and Maggie asked if I could write about my hair care routine as well—so here we are!
Let’s start with what I’m working with. My hair is long, thick, and straight. If you’re into “hair-typing” I’m probably a 1b, but maybe a 1a. It’s generally quite well behaved, and I don’t have any major hair frustrations. I’m also very determined to have low maintenance hair, which is likely a self-fulfilling prophecy. I don’t have my hair cut often, but when I do it’s generally long layers with a touch of shaping around the face.
I wash my hair with whatever all-in-one bar I have in my shower at the time (I just polished off a bar of my Mojito Soap). I don’t distinguish between shampoo and soap bars in my house. I generally wash my hair every 3–4 days, though it’ll vary depending on the season and how much exercise I’m getting. In the past I’ve been pretty dedicated to stretching out my hair washes, but I’ve found frequent heavy cardio and 7 day wash cycle don’t really mesh for me. I figure it’s better to get more exercise than to wash my hair less, so meh. I’m not hugely fussed. As long as I’m not washing my hair any more often than every other day I’m happy.
My washes are followed up with an acidic rinse, which is 100% necessary. Homemade soaps/shampoos are basic (because they’re made with highly basic lye), which raises the scales of keratin that make up hair. An acidic rinse smooths them down again. If I don’t smooth everything back down again I’m left with coarse, tangly hair. Ugh. I love this rinse at home, and this when I’m traveling.
Nice and clean. Lovely.
For detangling I’m all about wooden combs. I have this one from The Body Shop, and it’s still going strong after three years (I broke one from Goody in half after a couple months of use). Wooden combs don’t breed static like plastic ones can, and they have no seams from the mould to catch on hair. I like the wider set teeth for gentler detangling, and as an added bonus, wood is rather pretty.
When I’m feeling particularly affectionate towards my hair/have some free time, I love to brush it with a boar bristle brush. I’ve got one from Goody that’s been going strong for at least 7 years by now, as well as two beautiful antique silver ones. The antique ones rattle a bit when I use them, so I tend to stick to the newer one out of fear of breaking them, but there is something wonderfully old-world lovely about using the old ones.
For styling, braids are my go-to. I’ve learned some great things from Annie this year, though I have way more hair than she does, so I often have to improvise the end of the styles. I’m a big fan of French braids and Dutch braids, especially when I’m exercising. Otherwise ponytails are delightfully easy, as is piling my hair on the top of my head and securing it with a big spring-loaded clip. If I’m feeling a bit fancy, I usually turn towards an Edwardian-style up-do.
To get a bit of texture the damp + overnight methods are my favourite. Pin curls or sleeping with my hair in braids are the two main ones, but I find the texture rarely makes it to lunch, so I generally can’t be bothered.
To tame static or flyaways, I love my hair mist. If my hair’s quite dry I’ll usually turn to my hair balm or serum (I have found that a need for these usually means I need a trim, though). I’ll also use dry shampoo when I need it, though that’s not as frequent now that I’m not super militant about stretching out my washes.
So, that’s what I do. Here’s what I don’t do, or rarely do:
- Bleach my hair. Never have, and I have no intentions of doing so.
- Perm it. I’ve thought about it, but it’s just so harsh it’s never gone further than a wee mental flirtation.
- Use anything with “cones” in it (dimethicone, etc.). After they finally peeled out of my hair after ~6 months without them I don’t want them back!
- When I go to the hairdresser I don’t let them use any products (I do go with clean hair to be nice, haha).
- I never use anything to wash my hair other than my soaps/shampoos
- I rarely heat treat my hair (blow dry or straighten/curl it). Maybe 10 times a year? Most of those are blow drying for those times I failed to think ahead/am surprised by an event where I need both clean and dry hair in a very short period of time.
- I’ll occasionally dye my hair with Manic Panic. Their dyes score a 4/10 on Skin Deep, which isn’t amazing, but also isn’t horrible. It washes out over the course of a month or two and is a nice bit of fun for the summer.
Ok! That’s my hair care style. What’s yours?
Hi Marie, I love your hair.. I have seen your hair in photographs ;). I am trying to follow similar hair care routine as you have mentioned.. But as you have said you avoid using blow dryer.. So how do you manage your hair in winter before going to work?.. I usually have headache if I keep my hair wet in winter.
It’s very simple—I wash my hair before bed/well before I have to go out and let it air dry before stepping out into the cold 🙂
Thanks Marie! This was very helpful
😀
My daughter has the same hair you have (she’s 7 and it’s half way down her back, light layers all the way through, no bangs). We use “bad” shampoo and a serious detangling conditioner – I’m trying to figure out shampoos bars, but after three months I can’t get out of the dirty hippy phase even with an ACV rinse. Claire only washes her hair once a week, maybe twice a week for special events. We use a large tooth plastic comb (wood combs are on my list) and a boar bristle brush for shine twice a day. I made a quarter batch of your hair balm (she loves the cocoa butter + lemongrass smell) that I use on her ends about every other day. THANK YOU!! That stuff totally saved us. Since we started using it a year ago she went from hair trims every 8 weeks to every 16 weeks, and then only because she really likes her stylist, lol. And even when her hair gets “stuff” in it (paint… food… she’s 7) it combs out easier and cleaner. Braids, pony tail, or a loose bun some days, but mostly she wears it down. Elastic bands cannot have metal binders, and must have some kind of cloth or silk covering.
Hi Sherry! Two tips that might help with the greasy hippie stage for you: the first would be dry shampoo, which is super helpful! The other is to keep the ACV rinse away from the roots, as it’ll make hair look dirty, faster.
From what you’ve written it sort of sounds like her hair never got clean with the natural shampoo? It should be clean for a day or two after washing, as it would be from washing with storebought stuff. Can you clarify?
Also, read this 🙂
I’m so glad the hair balm is doing so many amazing things for her hair, that’s just fantastic! I rarely get trims, either, and that stuff is a lifesaver 😀
I’ve been using my soaps as shampoo bars as well. I’ve made a couple of shampoo bars but my current favorite is my baby bar made with milk and pureed carrots. It’s got a thick lather and rinses clean. I’ve been using your acidic traveling hair rinse since you first posted it and LOVE IT! I’ve made similar rinses with bamboo and sunflower extract with honey and LOVE THEM! I also use a wooden comb. I’ll never go back to commercial shampoos again. 🙂
I love your recipes and always read your posts via email and Facebook. ALWAYS! I just got into soaping a couple of years ago and I did it because I have chronic kidney disease. My research showed me that a lot of the commerical products use chemicals that cause liver and kidney damage. Thank you for giving me the courage to try. Within six months after making and using my own toiletries and soap, my kidney function went up from the bottom of Stage 3 to Stage 2!
I started out making hot processed soaps but a couple of weeks ago, I ventured into cold processing. I’m actually encouraged how easy this was, inspite of the cure time. My mocha soap came out glossy and shiny!
Anyway, you make being safer, healthier, cleaner a lot of fun and you are very inspiring. Again, thank you.
Hi Cathryn! Thanks so much for reading & DIYing with me 🙂 I’m so thrilled to be helping (in some small way) you live a healthier life 😀 Yay for natural and DIY!
What do you use for a solubilizer?
Depending on the use I’ll choose either Polysorbate 20, a blend of Turkey Red Oil and Guar Gum, or high proof alcohol. Read this for an overview of the second method, and this for an overview of the last.
Hi Marie!
I’ve been meaning to share with you how I have changed my hair care routine because of your site. I thought it might be interesting or at least helpful to readers because my hair is much different from yours.
My hair is naturally curly, fine in texture but thick, because there’s a lot of it. I grew up in the 1980’s with a dad that was fearful of the burgeoning punk era and therefore refused to let me use hair product. His mother went to her “beauty operator” once per week to have her hair done, so he also had ideas about having smooth 1950’s hair. So I had to brush my hair with a synthetic bristle brush otherwise not unlike your boar bristle. You can imagine the frizz. Also, the tangles. In elementary school, I’d get a rat’s nest in the back of my hair and became an object of pity for adults and ridicule for peers. Clearly, I don’t have a great relationship history with my hair.
As a grown up, I started using products, but somehow the line between enough so it works but not so much it looks like an oil slick was blurred.
Ultimately up until I found you, I was using Aveda, primarily the Be Curly line. I also had a pot of their silicone in the form of Brilliant. Be Curly shampoo, conditioner, curl enhancer, and their gel. The silicone on days I was super frizzy and also cared. I’d wash one day, it would be curly that day. I’d brush it and it would be wavy the next day. The third I might try to make it straight, but by the end of the day it would be greasy, or I would have washed it.
So, I switched to your gel that disappoints you so, but it is perfect for me. Holds down the frizz, slight hold without being hard. I added the hair mist at times, and I made the pomade. Then I jumped into soaping, with your encouragement. Then, I decided to give soap as shampoo a try. My favorite is the Eucalyptus and Peppermint, but I started with the Chai Latte and it’s great too. Apple Cider vinegar rinse from your shine and detangle with a little thrown in from the other recipes depending on my mood. I never had the greasy change over time. My hair bounces right up into lovely curls and I can always run my fingers through them. I’ve made the crazy hair pudding and some other conditioning things (something I’ve historically NEEDED). While they’re lovely, now that I use the soap and rinse, they’re a bit more than necessary.
Now, I wash and rinse my hair. I put the gel in it, and I let it air dry. Often (but not every day) I’ll brush it out at night and sometimes I remember to put the hair serum in it. Often I put it up in a bun out of habit, but not always. By morning, it’s lovely and curly and no split ends or friz, and not greasy at all. I literally do NOTHING with my hair. That lasts three to five days before I decide to wash my hair just because I want to. It isn’t greasy or straight and weighed down. I just feel like it.
I use your dry shampoo sometimes, but more often because I need to color my roots and have been too lazy (I use Lush’s caca line–the only thing I buy for my hair anymore), and I can cover up my gray really well. Sometimes my bangs get greasy before the rest of my hair. I can quick wash them in the sink and blow them dry really quick.
My hair pretty much always looks awesome. It feels great, and I don’t have to get it cut as often. (I used to have constant split ends. I haven’t seen one since switching to your stuff several months ago). I get compliments from strangers on my long curly hair, and I put no effort into it (other than coloring).
I cannot thank you enough!
Kathie—your story puts the biggest smile on my face! When I first read it I handed the email over to my aunt straight away so she could read it as well… I might have been bragging a wee bit by sharing 😉 I’m so glad that the things I’ve made and written about have revolutionized your hair! Stories like yours are exactly why I do all of this 😀 I’m so thrilled (and rather jealous of your curls, frankly!).
There was a time I would have been jealous of your straight hair. I’m glad you shared with others, and you have every reason to be proud and brag. I know I encourage everyone I can to check out your site. This site is amazing.
You’ve also revolutionized my gift giving. Everything is homemade, and 99% from here. My husband loves his shaving soap and aftershave lotion, as an example.
I’m just amazed at how much better homemade stuff is for EVERYTHING–your eye shadow and skin care especially too–than the expensive store bought stuff. Thanks for letting my unexpressed punk express herself through eschewing corporate beauty products and hygiene. I’m sure my dad prefers that over the mohawk I never got to have.
😀 Your comment makes me so happy, Kathie! I think you’ll like the Christmas gift type DIYs I have coming out soon 🙂
Oh my goodness! I too have curly to wavyish hair and currently use mousse daily. Unfortunately when I have attempted to move away from the mousse, well let’s just say unsightly frizz. Ugh! I’m at the beginning stages of wanting and trying to make natural body butters, etc and of course came across and am intrigued by natural hair care. I absolutely can not go to work with frizz head, but have not been able to figure out what to use (store bought) to give me soft touchable curls without frizz! Even the anti-frizz serums don’t do the trick. So natural… Kathie, do tell what gel, etc recipes you use (I couldn’t find them here)!? I’d love to start with here before soaping, etc. 🙂
Been trying to find info and keep getting conflicting stuff everywhere you look, thought you may be able to fill me in. Been trying for awhile to go no-poo, but can’t get out of the super greasy stage. Have tried multiple shampoo bars (I do make my own soap etc) but even if I dilute them down to 8-10 parts water to 1 part soap, my hair feels immediately greasy. Have tried to bring down ph as well, no help. I do have extremely hard water where I am which I’m thinking may be part of the problem? Any thoughts would be much appreciated, I can’t be the only one going through this. By the way, my hair is fine, but have lots of it so not overly problem prone. Hope this isn’t too long to post, and keep up the great work, absolutely love your site, my go-to for ideas and recipes!
Hmm. Are you trying to go no-poo (no more washing with anything) or natural poo? And why are you diluting your soap/shampoo? I’m a bit confused. I just use mine as a straight bar, and rub that right into my hair. From what you’ve written it almost sounds like your hair never gets clean… are you trying to clean it, or just waiting out the greasy stage? Are you using an ACV rinse on your scalp?
Sorry, to clarify, just trying to go all natural. But when I try to use shampoo bars (I’ve tried 2 different ones) straight like you do, my hair feels super heavy and greasy, and feels less clean after washing. I don’t use the ACV on the scalp (I know that makes it greasy), just on the long part of the hair. I exercise a great deal (hence lots of sweaty mess time) and am looking for something that does get my hair clean (I still only have to wash it every 3 days or so), but main concern is all natural, trying to get rid of detergent/surfactants on my hair if possible. Don’t know if I’m just not giving it enough time, haven’t made it past a couple of weeks before having to go back to shampoo (which is still SLS/paraben free) because I’m going somewhere that I simply can’t look like an unwashed child, lol! Any thoughts would be great. Thanks alot!
Hmm. Speaking from my personal experience (and in no way doubting your ability to wash your hair!), when this happened to me it was because I wasn’t actually washing my hair thoroughly enough. Commercially purchased shampoo is SO strong that I never had to do a super-thorough all-over scrubbing of my entire scalp and the length of my hair, so it took me a while to learn how and form the habit. Sometimes I’d miss a patch and have a section of my hair that was gross and greasy while the rest of it was clean, haha. So… could that be it? Probably not, but I thought it was worth mentioning.
Also, have you tried clay washing? A reader commented on my hair mud and said it’s working for her after all other no-poo methods failed. It could be worth a try 🙂
Hi Marie! Long post ahead! I need your help!
I’ve been on and off using homemade bar soap and acv rinses for the last year but can’t commit since i travel a lot. Ever since your dry acidic rinse I’ve thought it through and decided to try to stick to a non-store bought hair care routine.
I started with my pure olive oil soap bar, rinsed and did one more wash whith my vanilla – rose water bar. Then I used a rinse. I steeped a couple bay leaves, a big pinch of mint leaves and another of nettles in 500ml of water(to help with my sometimes itchy and regularly oily scalp and strengthen my hair which had a tough last year when 1/3 of it fell out). When it cooled i strained it in a 750ml bottle and added almost 1/4 teaspoon citric acid and 1-2 drops mint essential oil.
It immediately detangled my hair and it felt soft and sleek and brushed easily with a wide tooth -alas, be it plastic- brush and i had a fresh scalp from the mint for the next couple hours. BUT, when it finally dried it was actually dry! No amount of oil would make it soft, and the next day it was difficult to detangle. Now, my hair hasn’t had dry ends in a loong time, I had a cut recently and no split ends. What could be the culprit?
Did the 2 washes strip the oil from the length of my hair? With store bought sls shampoo i need to wash it twice to get my scalp clean. Maybe only one thourough wash focusing on scalp is enough now?
Is it the herbal mix? It could be very mineral rich and the acid wasn’t enough? Where I am at the moment the water is hard and i always have a problem with the most moisturising store bought shampoos unless they have silicones.
Is it possible the rinse was too acidic?? Thanks for your awesome recipes!
My first thought is that the double wash was just too much for your hair. Was the second bar very high in coconut oil?
The other thing could be that your hair isn’t dry—it may just have it’s scales up from an acidic wash that wasn’t acidic enough. That can leave your hair feeling very coarse and tangled. Perhaps try and ACV rinse with 1 part ACV : 4 parts water and see if that helps?
Thanks for reading & DIYing with me!
Thanks for the reply. Hmm I can’t recall the ratio for the coconut oil but it’s a rather soft bar and very moisturising. I guess i used too much soap alltogether and I couldn’t wash it all away properly, combined with the fact that I didn’t distribute the acidic rinse well in the hair. I’ve been washing my hair 2-3 times a week since then and it has gotten better. I use half the rinse and comb my hair well with my fingers, almost massaging and then rinse well with water. Then i use the rest of the rinse, distributing with the fingers and leave it in.
My hair is softer now. At first it got oily in the crown of my head but it gets better. How do you wash your hair? Do you stand straight in the shower? I always found it easier to bend over and wash my hair because i wouldnt have trouble with all the hair sticking all over my body, but i find my hair is shinier and more ruly when i wash them standing..Pff long hair problems!
I’m glad things are sorting themselves out! I do wash my hair standing in the shower (bending over in the shower is a great way for me to hurt myself, haha). I find baths just aren’t conducive to getting this much hair clean, so they are just for relaxing (and leg shaving, if I’m up to it, haha).
Hi Marie!
Thank you so much for such inspiring blog!
I have a super thin blond hair that I had to wash every day with store-bought products, otherwise it would look disgusting! I switched to homemade products and I have been using homemade shampoo bar with vinegar rinse at the end. After some time I noticed that my hair stopped getting so greasy and it looks clean for 2-3 days (that’s insane! 🙂 ).
But now I have a little problem. The day I wash my hair, it is soft and shiny, but the next day it gets quite coarse and a little rough. Am I doing anything wrong or my hair misses something? I tried to apply some hair balms, but since my hair is very thin they leave it very greasy.
Thank you!
Hi Darya! Thanks for reading and congrats on your journey into natural hair care 🙂 What’s the general state of you hair? Has it been bleached/permed/heat treated much? Also, check out some of my hair mists—they’re great for fine hair!
Hi again! I never bleached or permed my hair. I only use a blow dryer from time to time. I haven’t tried yet your hair mists because I don’t have solubilizer yet (but I’m looking forward to give them a try soon 🙂 ).
Instead, I made some hair conditioner with argan oil and BTMS-50 as emulsifier. Also, I added some lemon juice to the water phase to drop the pH to 3.5-4 (is it a right thing to do?). So I removed the vinegar rinse step and simply applied this conditioner to my hair after washing it. It looks and behaves much better now, even the days following the washing 🙂
Thank you so much for your blog. I feel really inspired into transitioning to entirely natural and homemade products!
That’s awesome! I have really been loving homemade hair conditioner lately (along with my hair, which is softer than I can ever remember it being!). Woohoo handmade everything! 😀
Thanks for being such an inspiration to me for natural skin and hair care! I’ve always loved stuff like Badger Co. but never envisioned myself making my own products (and now I do and they’re perfect for me because they’re made by me!).
I’m around month 6 in my now strict natural hair care adventure (I was washing with just soap a while ago but was still using salon styling products to tame the mane) and I have to say my best investment was a boar bristle brush and a wooden comb. Amazing how it keeps it all under control!
I’ve discovered my body tends toward the acidic side naturally so I reduced the amount of acid in my rinse and voila, frizz-free, grease-free hair! (cranberry juice is my new best friend).
I’ve also started experimenting with styling products that aren’t too oily but are still soft enough to apply to hair. I think I’ve *almost* got it, I just might have some whipping to do with this last one I’ve created (similar to sticky coconut lip balm, if you’re curious). Still looking for that ideal spray gel, but I’ve gotten pretty close with mine! Rose water, honey, silk, and arrowroot starch, to help dry it out after it gets on my hair (so the honey stops being sticky after it dries). *ALMOST* there! Will let you know how those turn out! If you have any suggestions, I’m listening!
Can’t wait for your book!
So cool! I love how hard you’ve been working on this and am so thrilled that you’re getting the results you’ve been wanting 😀 For gels, perhaps take a look and xanthan gum and guar gum as an alternative to the plastic type gels most hair gels use? I did an experiment a while ago and curly haired ladies loved it, though it did very little for me. Happy experimenting!
Hi Marie,
have you ever tried making a cleansing conditioner like wen? I really love the product but I feel it’s just too expensive and would love to make my own. Or if you know someone who has made one, can you please point me in the direction
THX!!!
I’ve got a conditioning shampoo recipe coming out soon 🙂 It lathers more than a cleansing conditioner, but is more conditioning than just a shampoo… I really like it! I hope you will, too 🙂
Hi Marie! I love your site so much and have tried a ton of the crunchy recipes! Thanks to you, i have switched to all homemade skin and hair care and am so happy and amazed with how easy and fun it has been! About a month ago I started washing my hair with the all in one soap and then I use a homemade kombucha rinse which I spray with a fine mist sprayer. I have longish wavy/curly, fine hair. In the past week, I’ve noticed my hair seems thinner and dryer, albeit longer, than it’s been in a long time. Do you have any advice for keeping my hair moisturized? I’m trying to stick to the crunchy recipes for now, mostly because the crazy amount of half-used butters and oils I have is taking up half my pantry and I feel I just can’t justify continuing to grow the colllection right now!! Thanks for all of your help and your amazing site!
Hey! So, there is a very good chance your hair just doesn’t like being washed with soap. The science on hair care does not support using high pH products (like soap, like this recipe) for cleansing. There’s no denying that. Give this great post a read to learn more. To make a shampoo bar that’s acidic it would have to be a syndet bar, like my snowflake shampoo bar. Soap absolutely cannot be acidic.
Personally—I used high pH products on my hair for years with perfectly lovely results. The science of hair doesn’t support that at all, but my hair does, oddly enough. My only issue with CP soap as shampoo was buildup, but the hard water in my area may have also contributed to that. I haven’t used CP soap as shampoo for close to two years now as I’ve been experimenting with syndet things, and I can’t say I’ve noticed any difference in my hair. I do seem to have very tolerant hair, though—I have heard from many readers (and you may be another) who had absolutely no luck using CP soap/shampoo. Obviously this is all 100% anecdotal, but that has been my experience. I liken my experience a bit to that person we all seem to know who is weirdly fit despite never exercising or eating vegetables 😛 (Side note: I would much rather be the fit doritos lady than the lady who can use soap in her hair, LOL!)
So, basically, syndet is the scientifically backed way, and that’s what I’d recommend trying next if your hair is unhappy with soap. And don’t feel bad about soap not working for you—the science is on your side!
I hope that helps!
I notice you don’t include a conditioner in this routine. If I were to use conditioner, would that go before or after the viniger rinse?
By vinegar rinse I mean the acidic rinse. I see so many of them done specifically with vinegar I forgot what they were generally called. Lol.
Shampoo – acidic rinse – conditioner 🙂