Natural Shampoo Alternatives

[lora410]

Yes, the soapnut shells is what I use! Are you able to find them locally?

I just ordered whole soapnuts and I could have gotten a ton of shells cheaper now how the heck do i use whole soapnuts I had to order them online, but I guess $20 isnt bad for 68 soapnuts; plus we plan to use them as a laundry detergent

[Finoriel]

My hair is not tangle prone at all as it´s stick straight and medium thick. So, I´m sorry catfish that I can not say if egg washing is improving for that aspect or not. For me it stayed the same > not tangling.
Chamomile and ascorbic acid rinse has very simple reasons. Lemons are reported to be drying, they are expensive here and most times you would not find them in my house. Ascorbic acid is something I always have at home for my animals and me when dealing with a cold. It has no scent and is very easy to dose exact.
Chamomile is because it´s a skin safe herb and is even supporting a healthy scalp and of course I like the smell, but it disappears as soon as my hair is dry. I think it also gives my hair a slight golden shine which supports the copper tone I like, but that´s very subtle and could also be wishful thinking . Something I also like is birchleaf tea (not recommended for blond hair) as a rinse base, when my scalp is dry and a little more flaky in winter. It smells very "green and herby" though.
In general my experience was that herb rinses do not do much for my hair, except subtly changing it´s colour sometimes... hibiscus gave me lilac-auburn which looked hideous with my skin tone. So I tend to choose herb teas for rinses after their effects on the skin. Happy scalp = happy growing.
The only "conditioning" I sometimes need these days is oil for the very last tips of my hair... about past classic. And about every other month I do a yogurt deep treatment, but it´s not really necessary more some sort of habit from the sulphate days. So depending on how stressed you hair is, it´s possible that you do not need much conditioning with this washing method.

[magpielaura]

My hair is drying after my first try at soapnut washing!

Fingers crossed... I found from other washing experiments that you never really know until it dries. Shampoo is easy - bung it on, it lathers, hair is clean (maybe too clean!). I've been CO washing for about 6 months and tried BS a few times too and have definately learnt not to just go out with wet hair and let it dry in public until you've sorted out your technique! I'm at home alone all day and if nessesary can devise a hairdo that hides any weirdness or even wash in again some other way this afternoon. It didn't really feel like it was cleaning much because there in no lather or "slip" and there wasn't the slightly squeaky feel I've got from BS but so far its looking promising. I followed it with a cider vingar rinse with a dab of honey and (because of the odd smell the soapnut liquid had) a couple of drops of lavender EO.

My hair feels quite thick and I found the ends difficult to comb through so I put a bit of coconut oil on (ends only) to ease detangleing.

Will report back further later!