Hair Washing

I can be very much a naturalist about a lot of things. I try to be very sustainable as well. I am a forager/wildcrafter and have been learning/practicing herbalism since I was 12. I’m more at home in nature then most other places. I’m also an avid barefooter. That all being said I am NOT a dirty hippy.  I like being very clean. I can go backpacking and get pretty icky but as soon as the trip is over I need to be clean. I also have long curly hair, I’m sure a photo of me will pop up on here someday, so how do I keep my hair clean?

Well it’s amusing. I’ve not used shampoo on my hair in years. When I tell people this most give me a weird look. If they are playing with my hair, I love people playing with my hair as long as you ask, they will suddenly stop. The fact of the matter is my hair is clean and not smelly. Even though I only clean it about once a week to once every two weeks during really dry winters. So what is my secret?

Well it’s not for everyone. Certain hair types it simply does not do. It works for me and is much more environmentally friendly so I go with it. I use the whole baking soda and vinegar wash.

First I dissolve a fairly concentrated solution of backing soda and water and pour that all over my head. I let that sit for a minute and scrub my body. Scrub scrub scrub. Then I scrub my hair with my fingers and rinse it all out very well. It’s usually fairly clean at this point but it needs conditioning. That’s where the vinegar comes in.

I prefer apple cider vinegar. Again I mix a fairly strong solution. This time it is vinegar and water. I pour it all over my hair and let it sit. After that I scrub all my hair and rinse it all out.

When I get out of the shower I massage in some lavender essential oil into my hair and am good for about a week on average, no more then two weeks.

And that’s how I keep my hair clean. My fiancee has straight thick hair and we have learned it doesn’t work as well for her. I’ll have to look at other things to try on her hair and eventually get her away from shampoo.

Warned you this blog will be about anything.