as you all know if you follow my blog, i have been shampoo and conditioner free for almost 9 months now!
for those of you who appreciate organic body care instead of slathering your skin with chemicals, i have come up with a gentle alternative! also, for those that aren’t too keen on completely going ‘poo-less, this can be used as a shampoo alternative as well. WIN! the organic oils will strip away dirt and grease like none other!
what i used:
- dr. bronner’s liquid soap, 8 oz from official website for about $8 (any fragrance you like)
- pura d’or organic argan oil (optional yet suggested!!)- snagged on grupon for $24…. you could use extra virgin olive oil, too, if you have that!
- squeezy bottle from walmart – under $1
- water from the sink (bottled/distilled water might be preferred, especially if you have hard water)
(detailed instructions below)
1. fill 4/5 of the squeezy bottle with warm water from the sink (or more if you’re already no-‘poo)
2. fill the remaining 1/5 of the bottle with liquid soap (for those who are ‘poo less, use less! i definitely use less…about 1:8 soap to water mix)
3. (optional yet HIGHLY suggested) add 10-12 pumps of argan oil for added moisture for your skin and extra moisture/shine for your scalp/hair (OR about a teaspoon of olive oil!)
4. gently shake
5. use directly on scalp for shampoo (a small amount goes a looooong way); put on loofa/washcloth for body wash.
*6. if you need/want to, follow up with putting some organic coconut oil or argan oil on your hair, focusing on the ends. it helps frizz and dryness 🙂
(hair’s still damp, but you can see it’s almost down to my belly button now! woohoo!!)
IF YOU HAVE HARD WATER: the minerals in the hard water WILL react to the castile soap and leave a soap scum on your hair/skin. you HAVE to mix castile soap with distilled water. some people have found that their water is really hard and they have to rinse with distilled as well. i have hard water and mixing with distilled/rinsing with shower water worked for me. if your hair looks dull, feels heavy/waxy/gross after using this mix, chances are you have hard water.
how to fix the hard water problem if you’ve already got the nasty hair: double rinse with ACV (1 tablespoon acv mixed with 1 cup distilled water). rinse once, let it sit a few minutes, wash/gently massage out & repeat. that should take care of the soap scum issue 🙂
UPDATE: i had my boyfriend use the citrus mix (i made sure to not emasculate him too much with my rose one haha) and he said it cleaned his hair better than store-bought shampoo. he did use conditioner afterward because his hair was SO squeaky clean that it was dry feeling. he used about a 1:6 ratio of soap to water. for me, the soap/water mixture alone was really drying, even with 1:6 ratio of soap to water. i’ve switched to 1:8 and it feels so much better! and if you choose to add oil like i did, it will add moisture for your scalp and skin.
ENJOY!!