Natural Shampoo Alternatives

[catfish]

Oh Boy I Love This Place

Washing hair with egg? who knew, something I didn't know existed and now can't wait to try. This sounds so simple, tell me egg heads I mean that in the best way do you need a conditioning rinse or oil afterwards? I am having a lot of tangle/dry issues at the moment and don't mind adding a conditioning/ moisture treatment if it's needed.

Finoriel- you said you use a chamomile tea and acid rinse after, if you don't mind me asking, is it for moisture? detangling? or just as a nice smelly end?

I am reminded every time I come to these boards of the wealth of information here, come hell, or high water, I will have great hair.

[rose_in_bloom]

Catfish, I do egg washes occasionally, and they work really well for me. My hair is very fine thin and prone to tangles, but I haven't noticed any more or less tangling when I do egg washes. I have tweaked various egg shampoo recipes that I've found online. Here is what I do:

ERIN'S EGG SHAMPOO

-1 egg yolk
-juice of 1/2 lemon (or a whole lemon if your hair is very oily)
-about 1/2 cup water

Mix all the ingredients in a bottle and shake well. Store any leftovers in the refrigerator and use within 3 days.

(note: sometimes I substitute rosemary tea for the lemon juice)

I don't put in any oil because my hair is very oily already, so you might need a few drops of oil if your hair is dry. Also, my hair is short, so if your hair is long you will need 2 egg yolks instead of just 1.

To use: I thoroughly wet my hair, and then apply about half of the egg mixture. I massage it into my hair and scalp, and rinse. Then I massage in the rest of the mixture, leave it in my hair for 3-5 minutes, and rinse thoroughly. You can use a mild vinegar rinse if desired, but it's not necessary.

Hope this helps!

Erin

[mellie]

MagpieLaura, that's so cool!! Yay!! Keep us posted! :-)

[lora410]

quick qestion I am tryign to buy sopanuts but all i keep seeing is soapnut shells. Which one do I buy?

[mellie]

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

[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!

[mellie]

Lora410, the shells and whole soapnuts are usually the same thing (just different wording). Unless somehow you got actually whole soapnuts with the seeds still inside, but they don't normally sell them that way.

Did you look around locally? I have been seeing them at the health food co-op in the laundry detergent area!

MagpieLaura, I can't wait to see/hear your results!! :-)

[lora410]

Lora410, the shells and whole soapnuts are usually the same thing (just different wording). Unless somehow you got actually whole soapnuts with the seeds still inside, but they don't normally sell them that way.

Did you look around locally? I have been seeing them at the health food co-op in the laundry detergent area!

MagpieLaura, I can't wait to see/hear your results!! :-)

They actually are WHOLE..lol so I am assuming I need to de-seed them before soaking or using them? I haven't looked at our health food store because it is a bit of a cummute as well as our indian food store. Oh I coudl plant a soapnut tree