Doing what they tell me
I am finally following the direction of many hairdressers over the years. It was hard for me,at first. I have to admit I was addicted to shampooing. Finally, after reading this book,
I am a clean freak. And while I have plenty of it, I have straight, finely textured hair. So it feels oily in the morning, or it did. Like most Americans, I thought you were supposed to shampoo and condition every day. Well that's what the product makers want you to do. The more stuff you buy, the more money they make, right? Well, I'm still doing something to 'clean' my hair every day, but I'm not shampooing it. I'll rinse it in plain water, or scrub my scalp/roots with conditioner, or even add a little cornstarch at the hairline. I tried dry spray shampoo but the cornstarch works better, costs less, and is better for the environment. The waterless shampoo liquid was awful, and didn't work.
Brushing well with a natural bristle brush is a must. This distributes any oil at your scalp, down the hair shaft. Now I'm shampooing a few times a week instead of every day. My hair has finally adjusted to this. I have to say it was hard for me to even try it. I had a real bias. But my hair looks better now, clearly. I can suppose the cuticle (scale-like surface of the hair shafts) is laying down on my hair because it's so shiny looking. The natural oils in your hair help with that, but they also lift each hair away from the head at the roots, making your hair look fuller, too. I don't heat style my hair much, so I don't condition it often either. And I've found that brands aren't as important as the companies will have you believe. I shampooed with baby wash yesterday and my hair looked just as good as when I use the 'protein' and 'volumizing' shampoo I usually get- Without conditioner. This is a good news for me, because I want to spend the least time possible on my hair and have it look good. And healthy, to me, is the best look. I'm happy with it.
On a side note, the laundry detergent works really well. My son was sick the last few days and we really put it to the test. Poor kid had a tummy bug and was getting hit above and below. Any laundry soiled with, let's just say, " bodily substances" goes immediately into to the washer at my house. Well, after the sick one is cleaned and made comfortable. The home-made laundry soap worked on the toughest (nastiest) stuff. Leaves me wondering if there's a way to do it without phosphates. I believe they are inherent, though.
