Hair Care Tips

Will I have to detox my scalp and hair?

Yes, if you have been using any hair product from whole foods, health food stores, department stores, spas, salons, trader joes. Maybe not if you have been usng a handcrafted bar of soap. Every soap is different. We created our own soaps because I could not find a real soap I liked that was pure. We have recently found out that Dr. Bronners soaps have been reformulated. They are not pure and completely natural anymore. This is what happens when others take over a natural company. It happened to Burts Bees, Jasons.... Lather is a petroleum chemical creation. Nothing in nature lathers like shampoo or chemical detergents. In ages past; people used soapwort or yucca root. These foam some with little bubbles; but there is nothing in nature like chemical lather. Castile soaps, soapwort or yucca root are not drying like the chemical lather. Which is why you will not need conditioner with our soaps. Castile soaps made with coconut oil and tallow foam better; but vegan customers do not want anything made with animal products. We reformulated our Castile Shampoo/Body Wash to remove the soy oil. We increased the coconut oil. This is increasing the cost of production since coconut oil is $.60 per pound more than the soy. HELP!! My hair feels heavy, gunky, and greasy!!! TIPS: Don't give up! You are getting there! IT TAKES TIME. You can use a vinegar rinse as often as you want. You do not have to use soaps to use the vinegar rinse. You will love what it does for your hair. It conditions, and help clean up your scalp. Most of that stuff is coming from the pores and follicles in your scalp. If you can use your nails and scrape junk from the back of your head, just think of where it is coming from. Your whole head is in the detox process; not just your hair. That stuff has been building up in there all your life. Now you are getting rid of it. Here are the hair care tips I give those who are struggling to detox: If you have long hair it can be a difficult switch to Castile shampoos, but worth it. I really recommend cutting hair short, donate to an organization that helps others and start with fresher non-chemical polluted hair for best results. Question 1: Are you using our Shampoo and Conditioner the correct way? You are to use the Shampoo for 8 - 10 washings before ever using the Conditioner. This is to clean the chemicals out of your scalp. Can you scrape gunk from your scalp? That is chemical buildup coming out. It does not work to do these all in one or two days. Those chemicals will take time to work out from the deep dermal layers. Question 2: Are you lathering twice? Use another dime size amount. More soap will not work better. It will not get washed out and will add to the gunkiness. Work from scalp down. Remember, you are cleaning the scalp; not the hair. This is very important with a natural castile soap. I can't stress enough how much the vinegar rinse helps this process. This helps get the gummy chemical residue out of your scalp. Use 1/2 - 1 cup plain white vinegar (apple cider or wine vinegar, if you prefer). After the two latherings, slowly pour through hair. Work through hair. Rinse. Question 3: Are you brushing your hair? Your hair needs the oils the scalp produces. You need to brush or comb your hair 25-100 strokes per day. Your hair will respond quickly; looking and being healthier. This will not cause you to lose hair. You will be stimulating the scalp; waking up the hair follicles and helping the gunk to get out of your deep dermal layers faster. Our BAR SOAPS…these seem to help get the detox gunk out easier than our liquid castile soaps.. Part of this is because you can't use too much of the bar soaps. And, they lather better than our liquid castile soaps, so it is easier to wash out. We recommend the bar soaps for all of our customers. Clarifying Shampoo…many of our new customers rave about the way our Clarifying Shampoo makes it easier to detox their scalp and switch to our Shampoo. Use this when you really need to get rid of the gunk for a big occasion during this process. Some customers use the Clarifying Shampoo without switching completely to our Castile soap. This is a better shampoo than commercial ones, but there is still some chemicals (the decyl-polyglucoside) in it.

Natural Hair Care Tips

You are here because you found out how toxic your chemical hair products are. Before you buy, remember: THERE IS A CHANGE-OVER PERIOD. Getting the chemicals out of your scalp and hair can take months; depending on your hair length; how long you have been using chemicals; and what chemicals you have been using. Your hair will feel heavy, greasy, and you will get lots of GUNK off your scalp; especially at the back of the head at the neck area. This stuff has been accumulating in your scalp for all your years. And yes, you will have this happen! I can't say how long it will last or exactly what will happen when you do. I haven't been in your life to know what chemicals you have used. There is also a LEARNING period while you learn how to use natural hair products. OK, You have purchased our Natural Castile Soap, Bar Soap and/or Natural Conditioner. Start weaning your scalp off your chemical products even before you get your order. Stop using anything except your shampoo. Use the vinegar rinse after your shampoo. It is very important to LATHER, RINSE, and LATHER AGAIN. Natural shampoos clean gently and the second lathering is very important to the cleaning process. Use very warm water to rinse out. Most people will not need to use the conditioner. As you start using the Castile Shampoo, use it 8-10 times before using the Conditioner. You will need to rinse with very warm water to remove all the soap from your hair. Gently work your fingers through your hair on the second washing while rinsing with very warm water. Natural Castile Soaps including our Bar Soaps are conditioning! It can take months using the Castile Soap before you have gotten all the chemicals out of your scalp. Use the Vinegar Rinse and Brush your hair 2 times per day. This will give you healthier hair and scalp. Be patient! Those chemicals in commercial detergents and conditioners are designed to coat the hair shaft (think polyurethane, like you would use on wood furniture)---this is why they claim you can use their product to instantly repair damaged hair. They also coat the scalp and work their way into all the pores and hair follicles in your scalp. If you use the conditioner--rinse with very warm water to remove it from the hair. Rinse for several minutes. Enjoy the de-stressing warm water while working fingers through hair to remove tangles. Your hair will feel different. If the weather is humid, your hair may feel heavier, thicker. It helps to use a blow dryer during these times. Your water can affect whether you get a lather and how much lather. It is not necessary to get a lather for cleaning. Remember, you are cleaning the scalp, where most of the oils and accumulated gunk lie. You need to use a wide tooth comb or brush when working with your hair. It is gentler and will untangle the hair better. This is vital…your hair shafts are desperately crying for those scalp oils…If you are losing your hair; your scalp and hair are not healthy…stimulate them to life with brushing… It is difficult to switch to natural soaps if your hair is longer than shoulder length. We recommend cutting your hair. That way you will grow healthy hair. Long hair has been "chemicalized" almost too much for castile soaps to reverse the damage. ENJOY HEALTHIER HAIR !!!

VINEGAR RINSE

There is no right way or wrong way to do this. Use full strength, any type vinegar. Just work it onto the scalp. It doesn't help much if it just runs off the hair. The best vinegar to use is the Apple Cider, but if you can't stand the smell, use the White Vinegar. OR Use vinegar diluted in water....50/50 more or less. Work into your scalp and down the hair. Rinse off. You can use the vinegar rinse without using soap. This will help cut the gunk. Vinegar helps stop itching! Scalp, or bug bites, or poison ivy. Apply alone or make a salt/vinegar paste. Can sting skin if it is irritated or broken. Vinegar helps heal wounds of all kinds. Been used as a disinfectant for thousands of years. Soldiers and doctors of old used vinegar to clean wounds and heal suppurating sores. Helps heal Eczema and Psoriasis issues. Gently clean area with wine or apple cider vinegar. Do the same with Acne problem areas. Use under arms to kill bacteria that causes odor. (These are the sweat-eating bacteria we need; but they can get out-of-control if we are toxic laden.) Clear slow drains....put baking soda down drain...if needed use a little water to get baking soda down to trouble area....Pour in vinegar....Use regularly to keep drains open. Clean toilets....use vinegar in a spray bottle. Spray all around. Use cloth or toilet brush to clean surfaces. Pour vinegar into toilet; for extra cleaning power put vinegar in also. Laura's (a customer with long hair) own experience switching to natural products:
I absolutely love your shampoo/body wash. I have it in Lavender Minty, and it is one of the best things I have ever smelled. I wanted to let you know of my experience in switching over to natural products with long (waist-length), dry, thick, course hair, since it might help others. I had planned a month or so in advance for the switch. I stopped using any extra products such as hair spray, gel, and serum in my hair and just used shampoo and conditioner for two weeks. Then for one week, I used shampoo only. After this three week period; I started using your natural shampoo. After the transition period, I found that I had no problem switching over, and it actually felt like your shampoo was what my hair needed. I didn't experience a lot of gunk removal and my hair looked and felt amazing nearly right away. I have been using your product for about two weeks now (about 7 shampoos), and have been following every shampoo with a vinegar rinse. I hope this information can help someone out there, especially if they have hair similar to mine and are a bit wary about switching to natural products. Thanks! Laura
Want to get chemicals and odd coloring out of your hair faster? Try: THE VOLCANO! Work baking soda into hair and scalp. Pour (full strength, any type ) vinegar slowly over scalp. Works best if there are two people. Lean over a large sink. Pour small amount of vinegar to start the foaming action. Let the foaming die down, then pour more vinegar on to scalp. Gradually cover the whole head. When the foaming is finished, wash hair with a gentle castile soap. You will probably need a conditioner or oil treatment for your hair. The volcano will dry out the hair and scalp. Great for getting rid of oily buildup and residue. This will not remove all the chemicals that are deep in your scalp. Only time will get all of them out. This will also work on acne and very oily skin!