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Thread: Natural Shampoo Alternatives

  1. #11
    Obsessive Oilaholic ChloeDharma's Avatar
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    Default Re: Natural Shampoo Alternatives

    Quote Originally Posted by Gilly View Post
    Where in Australia can I get soapnuts?
    Hiya Gilly
    Is there anywhere near you that has a large Indian population? If so check out the grocers there and you might find it, though it tends to be called either reetha or aritha xx
    The heart would have no rainbow, had the eyes no tears.

  2. #12
    I ♥ My Silvers mellie's Avatar
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    Default Re: Natural Shampoo Alternatives

    I found whole soapnuts at my local health food co-op. They are getting popular for doing laundry, so you might find it near the laundry detergents.

  3. #13
    salt & paprica Finoriel's Avatar
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    Default Re: Natural Shampoo Alternatives

    When thinking about natural Shampoo Alternatives most people think about:
    -herb washing (soapnut, yucca, soapwort) they clean chemically with rising the ph-level, lowering the surface tension and making it possible to dissolve grease and dirt better than it would be possible with plain water. In general the same way like shampoo, CO or soap do, just that the herbal detergent (saponin) is gentler and better for the environment because itīs gentler, faster degradable and without processing.
    - rhassoul powder, which basically is a clay our of silicium and magnesium ions and iron, aluminium and calcium oxides and cleans in a physical way. The particles of it take up fat and dirt and are rinsed out then.
    (Leaving out no-poo and soap on purpose as not natural ways of cleaning, imo.)

    Another method which is not as common, but works equally to herb or mud washing is egg-cleansing. The cleansing agent here is lecithin, it has an effective but balanced mixture of protein - fat - cleanser and there are some other beneficial things in eggs like sulfur which decreases shedding and stimulates growth.
    I wash my hair on and off with eggs since the beginning of ī06 and I used it as my one and only cleansing method since this year. Nothing else. My sebum production has constantly decreased since then and I now need to wash about every 13-14 days. One egg for my midtigh length hair is still enough to clean it if I do not oil heavily the night before, then a doubled recipe is needed.

    The basic recipe is: 1 whole egg mixed with one teaspoon honey - mix well until the honey is dissolved and then add a squirt lemon juice (or citric acid or ascorbic acid or any other ingredient which is acidic). Mix well again.
    Sometimes I add some henna or cassia to make it less runny and some skin-safe EOs if there are scalp imbalances of some sort or just for scent.
    I apply it to wet and already rinsed hair under the shower and let it sit for about 5-10 minutes, depending on how greasy my hair is. Rinse out with warm water. And following it with an acidic rinse, chamomile tea with a pinch of ascorbic-acid, in my case.

    Myths: Rinsing egg-shampoo with freezing cold water is not necessary, even if rinsed warm/hot it will still not cook in your hair! Regardless how hot I shower it never cooked on my head. If you do not change the ratio of the shampoo drastically, itīs impossible to happen. Egg protein becomes hard / denatures at about 60°C / 140°F and I doubt that anybody showers that hot. Adding acid to the egg lowers that temperature to some degree, but if you do not add too much, itīs still safe and the honey seems to buffer that effect somehow.

  4. #14
    I ♥ My Silvers mellie's Avatar
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    Default Re: Natural Shampoo Alternatives

    Finoriel, thanks for adding your recipe!!

    I tried an egg shampoo the other day and got little bits of egg albumen in my hair though....I didn't even use hot water, it was lukewarm. I think it was that stringy bit that connects the yolk to the albumen. Do you strain the egg first, Finoriel?

  5. #15
    Rags the ivory. HotRag's Avatar
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    Default Re: Natural Shampoo Alternatives

    Finoriel:
    Isn't there a risk to get protein problems if one is using egg?
    I mean problems like dry hair.

    When I use CO, I do not use conditioners with proteins in them, because my hair got drier and felt "harder" (in a bad way, "strävt" in Swedish but I don't know the exact English word for this, maybe "opposite to silky").

    I wonder if the egg white is doing anything good, or if that could been thrown away (or cooked and eaten) and one takes 2 yolks or something instead.

    I have tried egg yolk in SMT but not too often. The last time I CO:ed, my hair got "hard" (not silky) and felt a little dry.

  6. #16

    Default Re: Natural Shampoo Alternatives

    Quote Originally Posted by mellie View Post
    Finoriel, thanks for adding your recipe!!

    I tried an egg shampoo the other day and got little bits of egg albumen in my hair though....I didn't even use hot water, it was lukewarm. I think it was that stringy bit that connects the yolk to the albumen. Do you strain the egg first, Finoriel?
    Do you mean the membrane? I got that part stuck in my hair once and it was annoying to get out, lol. You can get most of it out with a fork before you put it in your hair. That's how my mom does it. She thinks that part is gross and won't eat it because it reminds her of an umbilical cord, so she always removes it, lol. *shrugs* I guess you could strain it, but I've never tried.

  7. #17
    salt & paprica Finoriel's Avatar
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    Default Re: Natural Shampoo Alternatives

    Yes the "string" connection between egg yolk and egg white (not sure about the English term) is a bit sticky, if it bothers you, just fish it out of the shampoo before using it. I´m too lazy to do that and just remove any leftover bits of it when my hair is dry again. I´m not bothered by them.
    Maybe that´s what some people think it is "cooked" egg

    The protein is not a problem at all in this recipe. Hair is protein. I do not get the whole rave about how bad protein is. It is not. There are oils like coconut oil which help to protect the hair from protein-loss when it get´s older and a little worn out with time. So not loosing/adding a tiny bit of protein is a good thing for hair. Maybe there is a difference in processed protein and natural ones. Processed protein like wheat or silk protein which are used in shampoos or conditioner tend to overcondition the hair, build up and cling to older/rougher parts of it, which can make them feel dry because they stick so good to the hair and oils or other conditioning agents can not get through that layer that good. Similar to cones, just not as persistent. At least that´s my theory
    I´m also not getting the point in just using egg yolk or just using egg white. Why? I mean what´s the reason? I know that many people seem to preach that the yolk is THE thing, but after having a close look at the components of it and many experiments, that´s just irreproducible for me. The balance in oils, lecithin and sulfur with yolk and white mixed is perfect for cleaning and conditioning scalp and hair. And what do you want to do with the leftover anyways? I do not like to waste food, so I avoid leftovers. And mind you this is supposed to be a cleaning method. Gentle but still cleaning the hair, not a mask or deep treatment. For this it may be beneficial to just use the yolk, but for cleaning purpose it´s not.
    I have experimented with yolk only and I also have tried egg white only, left out the honey and/or the acidic component. Just out of interest and to check my thoughts. All different options did not give results as good as the full recipe. And after using it one year, my hair is not stiff at all. Just make sure to rinse good after using and you should be fine.

    Hope that makes things clearer
    Last edited by Finoriel; November 5th, 2008 at 07:37 AM. Reason: forgot to spellcheck :o

  8. #18
    Rags the ivory. HotRag's Avatar
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    Default Re: Natural Shampoo Alternatives

    Yes, thank you, Finoriel.

    I will try this, but first try out soapnuts some more - adding amla and hibiscus, try different dilutions and so on.

    I think you may very well have a point with protein issues and processed protein.
    So at least I will try the egg wash for some time (after the soapnut testing).

    BTW, the leftover (the white). I am happy to eat it (cooked). Or give my dog (cooked). So nothing is wasted here either :-)
    I have not the facts about what eggwhite has in it (besides protein). I only know you should cook eggwhite before eating, because of avidin.
    Do you know what the white gives to the egg mixture for hair wash?

  9. #19
    A redhead brunette Heidi_234's Avatar
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    Default Re: Natural Shampoo Alternatives

    There's also the egg yolk shampoo. I tried it, and it made my hair very very soft.
    Since the alkaline is mostly at the white of the egg, when using the yolk only there's no need for acidic addition.
    So the recipe I made out for myself:
    Take 1-2 eggs, separate the white from the yolk and keep it aside for your home cooked Japanese meals. Take a cup or a bowl, and put the yolk in it. Add little bit of water (NO hot water! You'll cook the yolk! Lukewarm is fine), we don't want our shampoo be too runny. Optional: Add a tablespoon of olive oil. Mix all the ingredients (with a fork or the special thingy for mixing eggs).

    Soft hair that is nice to sit on - now I'm bragging!

  10. #20
    I ♥ My Silvers mellie's Avatar
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    Default Re: Natural Shampoo Alternatives

    I tried JaneyTilllie's rosemary/nettle egg shampoo with rosemary/nettle rinse on YouTube the other day:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aylex...eature=channel

    It worked well, (besides the little stringy egg bits) although I had some issues with my scalp burning (I think it was the rosemary which I might leave it if I were to try it again, rosemary has some safety issues, see my blog if you are interested). My hair was clean and pretty, maybe just the slightest tiniest bit greasy near my face, but I have very greasy scalp/hair.

    Also, it smelled wonderful!

    I do notice in the photos from my blog that my hair that day didn't seem as shiny as with the soapnuts though.

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