For the couple years I’ve been seriously reducing on the amount of personal care products I purchase and also, how I use such.
The first step I took was to stop washing my hair all together. The way I figured it was people 100 years ago only washed their hair once a month (with egg whites I believe) and that’s just because women’s magazines promoted washing ones hair. Prior to the Victorian Era hair wasn’t washed at all as best as I can figure. Certainly correct me if I’m wrong here. But a major problem came in the form of dandruff. After about two weeks my head started to flake and itch but I soldiered on. At four weeks I couldn’t take it and washed my hair. I was so happy to have a “clean” feeling head again.
It was at that point I decided I would wash my hair once a week with store bought products. Sunday is the day. Still though, I really don’t want to be using expensive shampoos and conditioners on my hair which doesn’t really get all that dirty to be honest. But by Sunday my head is itchy and starting to flake and I *can’t* wait to wash it. I have a mini panic attack about it each week because I really don’t want to be putting petroleum on my head — which, btw, is what shampoos and conditioners are made out of. Sometimes I think it’ll just be cheaper to go to the gas station buy a gallon of gas and wash my head with it. — but I don’t know what else to do. I tried the egg thing and I couldn’t get a brush through my hair so that’s out.
As my bottles of shampoo and conditioner came to the end last month I decided I wasn’t going to buy anymore. But then my head got itchy and flaky so I bought two travel sized bottles of each until I make a decision as to how to wash my hair. The two bottles are almost out so when I went shopping with Wolf yesterday I stopped in the organic aisle to look at Burt’s Bees and other “natural” products. I checked the ingredients but couldn’t identify 75% of the ingredients. And at almost $8 for a small bottle there was no way I was buying Jason or Burt’s Bees. The inability to decipher the ingredients and the cost were just too prohibitive.
Allie, I believe, may have given me the solution to this shampoo and conditioner problem. A couple weeks back she reviewed The Green Beauty Guide which she loved so much she held a contest and guess who won the copy she’s giving away? Yep, me!
Allie said she’d be sending the book out and not too soon as far as I’m concerned. I was really beginning to wonder how I’m to handle my hair (which is getting pretty long. It’s past my bra strap now.) without chemicals.
I’ll keep you all posted!
Howling Hill 
I had read about people having success with not washing their hair, but I think you have to give it a whole hell of a lot of time to get to the point where it’s maintenance free. But I’m submerged in chlorinated water at least three days a week, so that’s never been an option for me. That being said, UltraSwim is probably my favorite hair-care product ever.
The itch just kills me. I can’t get past a month.
Hi. I’ve often used Dr. Bronner’s liquid soap to wash my hair, my dishes and my clothes when camping. I’m pretty sure it’s petroleum free, and it’s cheap. If you need to condition your hair, warm olive oil works well — and then a Bronner’s wash to get it out. I use body-art henna mixed with lemon juice once every few months to color and soften my hair – totally herbal, great for skin and scalp, and adds a nice reddish tone. http://www.mehandi.com/ is where I get that. Good luck, and please mention it if you find a great solution!
Julia: thanks for the advice. Dr. Bonners isn’t easy to find here in rural New Hampshire but it’s something to keep in mind.
How did you find HH?
Yes please keep us uptodate. I have long hair too and would like to begin reducing my shampoo usage. I think I may try the Dr Bronners and henna.
Tracy: I will!
I made shampoo for the first time last night. I used 8 oz of distilled water (I’m sure tap would suffice), I heated the water and added an herbal tea bag (pomegrate) but you could used herbs. About 30 minutes later I mixed it in a bottle with 4 Tablespoons of pepermint castile soap (purchased at a local natural food store). It smells good and it worked good Costing MUCH less and I am sure much heathier for you. I have also read that you can add olive oil too and I thought about adding in a dash of conditioner. I will continue to experiment.
Kim: How did you hair feel after you washed it?
It does not feel as smooth as store bought shampoo but I chased it with conditioner. My husband has short hair and he likes it and mmmmm does it smell good. I added a dash of conditioner to it today but I have not used it since. I will see in the morning how it works.
Definitely let me know!
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