Shampoo that won't send my scalp into a flat spin

[MrsD'ville]

Does anyone have a recipe for home-made shampoo that is everso everso gentle on the scalp? - sorry, my daughter wanted a quick look-in there!

Normal shampoos make my head itch like mad, but I find a chamomile and vinegar rinse helps. I did put rosemary oil in it, but now I'm pregnant I have to be a bit careful with essential oils.

If anyone has any suggestions I'd be very grateful. Thanks

[Milims]

I've begun using Oliva olive oil soap for my hair. It's lovely, very gentle. not too drying and makes your hair squeeky clean! In fact - I just use it all over it's that lovely!

[kittiecat]

I've started using the (slightly vague) recipy on this site http://www.naturemoms.com/no-shampoo-alternative.html

I found it really good. The only thing that touches your scalp is bicarbonate of soda and water, I'm no chef, but I suppose that since we eat it, it can't be that bad.

I was slightly sceptical of it at first, and I had read somewhere that hair can take up to 2 months to stop being greesy after you stop using shampoo. So I waited until my hair was greesy before I tried out my new shampoo alternative, to see if it could actually get rid of the greese and from the first wash my hair was absolutly fine. No greese at all since day one :)

[Ellendra]

I've started using plain lemon juice as my "shampoo". It works nicely, cuts both the grease and the dandruff without making my scalp itch (I have that problem too).

My only warning would be that the first time you use it, you will find EVERY tiny scratch on your head!

[kittiecat]

Does using lemon juice as shampoo change the colour of your hair?

[MrsD'ville]

Thanks, I'll try those out and see which one I get on best with. Perhaps a lemon juice 'wash' (just neat lemon juice rubbed through damp hair?) followed by a chamomile and vinegar 'condition' - I'll be blonde in no time!

[Ellendra]

Does using lemon juice as shampoo change the colour of your hair?

I'm not sure really, some sources say yes and others don't. My own hair seems to be in a state of color flux at the moment. I used to be blond, dyed it red for years, went back to being blond, now its started getting darker and turning red on its own!

[MrsD'ville]

Weel, am still fiddling around trying to get it right. A lemon juice sluice didn't make much difference, so this morning I just rinsed my hair very thoroughly with water and then poured chamomile tea and cider vinegar through it. It's still itchy I'm going to try the bicarb recipe next in the hopes I can break the cycle. Because my scalp itches I scratch it (though I do try not to, at least in polite company!), so after two or three days my hair looks awful so I wash it, and away we go again

[mrsflibble]

lemon juice will only change the colour of your hair if you sit out in the sun with it applied, then go rinse 2 hours later.

Tea and coffee however will send white or light blonde hair darker.

[nemain]

Hello! I'm new here but stumbled on this thread.

You could try using soapnuts as a decent shampoo. Theoretically you shove a handful of the nuts (say, 6-8) in a bit of water and boil it for anywhere between 10 and 20 minutes. You can then use the water as a shampoo (might be worth keeping it in the fridge though if you're going to make enough to last a while).

I've tried it and it works ok, though to be honest I had even better success grinding the soapnuts up, mixing with a little rosemary essential oil and applying that.

Messy as hell, and completely fails to lather in my hard-water area, but works a proper treat. Also pretty darn good for conditioning your hair/scalp and (allegedly) naturally anti-dandruff.

[MrsD'ville]

Sounds interesting - I've got soapnuts lurking somewhere. I'd have to avoid the rosemary atm though as I'm pregnant, but until then I was using it and it did help.

I think my problem might be the water rather than what I add to it as nothing seems to stop my scalp being itchy. I plan to try bicarb as a dry shampoo next, the only problem being that it's getting my hair wet that turns the Bellatrix Lestrange look into well-behaved curls! I'm also going to get a wooden comb as I've heard they work wonders. I'll report back!

[StripyPixieSocks]

I found a basic soap recipe last week as a basis to start with, maybe you could add your own ingredients from there. The recipe was:

4oz Castile soap flakes
950ml hot water

Pour hot water on the soap flakes and leave to melt, stir and decant into a bottle with a tightly fitting cap when cool.

You can either make it with water and add some Essential Oils or you can use the hot water to steep some herbs (or herbal teabags) in and add it to the Castile flakes and take it from there.

I haven't tried this yet as I'm still looking for Castile soap or flakes but as soon as I do I will me making some Lavender and Rosemary I think.

I like having a basic recipe that I can adjust myself depending on how I feel :)

[LBR]

I tried liquid castile soap and water. Tried adding glycerin, olive oil, coconut oil, Vit E., almond oil, essential oils. No matter what combination I tried I found the castile soap too drying. My hair felt like straw.

Have yet to properly test the baking soda/water mixture.

[farmerdrea]

After many years of the itchy scalp (not dry skin, just I T C H Y) thing, and having tried lots of the natural hair washes and rinses, I gave up washing my hair entirely nearly 18 months ago, thanks in part to this forum (there was a long thread about non-hair washing some time ago). Weeks 4-6 after stopping washing my hair was torture as my scalp's natural balance restored itself, but I've never looked back, and it's inspired my fmaily (spouse and 2 teenaged children) to also stop washing their hair. One thing we've noticed is that all our hair has gotten darker, and a lot of my husband's greys are coming back with colour. His grey hairs have brown roots!! Weird or what?

Worth considering.

Cheers
Andrea
NZ

[Louiseh]

Just wanted to mention a pure natural mineral called Rhassoul Clay, it is used for replacing shampoo's and soaps, as it is fantastic for cleansing hair as well as your whole body. I am a complete convert for using it as a cleanser, I could write a whole book on it!

You buy it in powdered form and mix it into a paste and apply to the chosen area!

If you want to replace shampoo and you have fine or thinning hair, then this is certainly the product for you, it does give incredible volume ! Which is why I do not use it for my hair, but my husband loves it! He is a little thinner on top (don't let him read this)

Also produces excellent results for the treatment of acne, I could write another book on that too!

Anyway a little goes a long long way and it is becoming more available as well!