Secrets: Healthy Hair

A few weeks ago I was out running errands with my dad. One stop was the library to drop off a book of Stefan's and pick up one for me. I was feeling fairly fizzy that day. The sun was shining, it wasn't too cold, and I actually felt healthy from top to bottom. As I checked out my book, the librarian handed it to me and said, "Wow! You have really beautiful, healthy hair!" A big grin split open my face. It wasn't the first time I've heard those words recently. It's a fact; my hair has been getting healthier as I do. "Thank you!" I returned brightly, and left the library, truly feeling beautiful and healthy.

Truth is...

...my hair hasn't always been healthy. I've been growing it out for what seems like years and finally it's obliging by actually seeming longer than it's been when I started. When I first got sick, the shampoo I was using really started to bother my hair. It was a more natural brand that what I'd been using, but it left me with a ton of dandruff and actually felt as though it was burning my scalp. I literally remember scratching my head and being able to see white come down on my clothes or the floor, like a little mini snowstorm. I quit that product and tried another one. Four or five shampoos later, I was still having the same problem. It seemed to get better after making the switch from daily to every-other day washings, but the problem persisted.

The vicious cycle

At some point I learned about how shampoo and conditioner work. Shampoo works as a detergent, stripping your hair of its natural oils. Then conditioner revitalizes the oils with synthetic ones. Shampooing has to be done every day, or else we complain of oily hair. Really, this is just the body's attempt to over compensate for the fact that you are stripping its natural oils on a regular basis. So you're into a vicious cycle.

My journey from 'Poo to No 'Poo

My first attempt to stop using conventional shampoo (or "no 'poo!!" as it is known in the natural community) was to try conditioner-only washing. Instead of being dry and flaky my scalp became super-duper oily. It looked unhealthy. But I was committed to making it work, so I stuck with it for a while. I understood "the purge" concept - that after using certain chemicals for so long your body reacts when you remove them or change do a different product.

My hair looked so bad and I was still having to wash at least every other day that I thought maybe it would be worth it to try washing my hair with just plain soap instead of shampoo. So I went out and bought Kirk's Castile bar soap. This lathered well and was fragrance free, and I was determined to be happy with it. But it wasn't working. I was trying to wash my face with it as well and the skin underneath my eyes was itchy, burning, and overly tender. My scalp was a little better, but not much. I stuck with it for a few weeks and finally gave it to my mom and said, "I can't take it any more! You use it!" (She switched to using Kirk's Castile instead of body wash about the same time I started using it for hair.) Since this time, I discovered I am allergic to coconut, and since castile soap is coconut based, I have a feeling this is why this product did NOT work for me at all!

I then switched to another bar soap called Yardley which has been made in London since the 16th century. I did not try this soap earlier because I knew it contained fragrance, and I wanted something that was fragrance free. But despite my preconceived ideas, my hair actually did better with Yardley than it did with the Castile soap. I was close, very close. I wasn't using shampoo, I was down to washing my hair about three times a week, and it was getting healthier. Oh, and by the way - my mother also switched from Castile to Yardley. Although Yardley does not lather and foam as much as Castile soap does, it gently exfoliates and doesn't leave a scum residue in the bathtub.

And back to poo!

One day while in The Vitamin Shoppe with my mom, I decided to scour all the ingredient labels of the natural shampoos to see if there was one that was not coconut based and that contained no sulfates. And I finally found one! It was even on sale! I proudly brought home a bottle of Biotin Shampoo by Millcreek and tried it at soon as possible. It does not lather, and it is more of a liquid gel than most shampoos, but it works for me. I love the pleasing peppermint-y smell of this product!

I wanted so badly to be a "no 'poo" person, but it just didn't work for me. But you know what else? I've found a product that...

1.) Makes my hair feel healthy.
2.) Makes my hair look healthy.
3.) Nourishes my scalp.
4.) Costs me about $1 a month.
...and... (you might or might not believe this)
5.) Enables me to wash my hair - not once every other day, not three times a week, but once every four or five days!

If I would have told the librarian who checked out my book, I don't think she would have believed me. But it's true. I still condition (I use Suave Naturals, which has done very well for me for many, many years), and yes, I still use 'poo, but *shrugs* my hair is happy. My hair is healthier, shinier, cleaner, and more beautiful than its ever been, but I wash it less and spend less on hair care product.

Who knew? :)

Buy it here from Vitacost, or here from the Vitamin Shoppe. They have other kinds I want to try, but some of them contain sulfates, which I shun, so just check the ingredients thoroughly before purchasing if there are particular things you are wanting to avoid for yourself. :)

Do you 'poo or no 'poo?

~Nella Camille