Homemade Hair Conditioner

Making your own spa-quality treatments at home is easy and surprisingly cheap once you know which ingredients matter the most. Because of my thick, curly and long hair, conditioner had long been something I allowed myself to splurge on to keep my hair healthy. Most conditioner recipes are one-time treatments or masks. Here's a quick and easy recipe you can use daily to save your scalp from chemicals and save your wallet some dinero.

Homemade Hair Conditioner
Old shampoo bottle
2 cups warm filtered water
4 tsp olive, avocado or coconut oil
2 tsp jojoba, grapeseed or sweet almond oil
5 drops essential oil of your choice

Combine all ingredients of choice and pour into the old shampoo bottle using a funnel or a measuring cup with a spout. 
TO USE: Wet your hair with warm water in the shower. Shake up your bottle of conditioner to mix and apply liberally to scalp, massaging it in. Flip your hair over and apply from the base of the scalp upwards. Finally, apply directly to the ends of your hair. Let sit for 1-2 minutes then wash out with moisturizing shampoo or baking soda rinse.

The coconut and/or olive oil are the real moisturizers in this recipe. Coconut, avocado and olive oil all have the same amino acid chains that the human body naturally creates to moisturize your skin, so they are exactly right to penetrate your hair. The more moisture in your hair, the less brittle it is and the more elasticity it gains.

The jojoba, grapeseed and sweet almond oil are lighter oils, known as carrier oils. These keep the heavier oils from sitting limply on your hair.

The essential oils are good for scent or for medicinal properties. If you have a sensitive or itchy scalp, add tea tree, peppermint or neem essential oils. If you're just looking to smell good, you might want to check out lavender, orange oil or patchouli. Cherry, vanilla and almond extracts also smell wonderful.

Enjoy your naturally luscious hair! And until next time, keep it clean!

Naturally Long Healthy Hair

Getting long healthy hair can be a bit of a struggle and takes a lot of time. Modern hair care products have provided a lot of shortcuts to healthy hair that take the work out of maintenance. But they also contain chemicals that are bad for the environment, that accumulate in the water supply and even accumulate and can be stored in your body (yuck). Modern products can also be a problem for allergy sufferers or those with sensitive skin, as it's hard to pick out from the long list of ingredients exactly what it is that's causing problems. There's a lot of hearsay out on the internet about the ins and outs of hair care. Here are a few practical tips to keep you gorgeous!

Use a wide-toothed comb
Yes, even if your hair is long, curly and thick! Brushes are good tools for styling, but for basic detangling of your hair they're pretty over complicated. The extra teeth in brushes can actually create knots, making you stretch and pull on your hair more to get them out. Combs help avoid stretching and breaking.

Avoid putting your hair up when you sleep
Tying your hair in place and sleeping on it seems like it would hold things together, but it's actually more likely  to pull hair out of your head or break it. Comb your hair before bed and leave it down so it can move naturally with you while you're sleeping.

Use a moisturizing shampoo
Volumizing, clarifying, hydrating... It's easy to get caught up in the marketing, but all shampoos are basically formulated to either strip the hair clean, add moisture or protect coloring. Modern shampoos use silicone to smooth the hair shaft and keep hair straight. This is not the case with natural shampoos, so when you stop using regular shampoo all of your hair's natural tendencies will be revealed! Most people deal with at least a little bit of frizziness when switching to natural products (especially if your hair is thick, curly or wavy). The easiest way to curb this is to use a moisturizing shampoo. You may need to do this every time you wash or maybe just once a week depending on your hair type.

Add oil to strengthen your hair
Ads will tell you that there are vitamins and minerals necessary to inject health back into your hair, but this is silly. Hair is dead, and once it's grown it is what it is. However, you can strengthen your hair by improving its elasticity. Just like with a good piece of wood furniture, your hair lasts longer, stays more supple and avoids breaking if you add oil to it. Certain natural oils contain the same lipid chains as the oil your body naturally produces, which allows them to soak into the hair shaft. The most popular choices are almond oil, coconut oil and olive oil. Try to apply it at least to the ends of your hair once a week for maintenance.

Avoid washing every day
The more you wash your hair, the more dried out and dull it can get. Even water alone can strip and change the composition of the oil that protects your hair. Keep it fresh with a dollop of styling product, dry shampoo or a few drops of essential oil.

Let it air dry

We all know heat styling can damage hair. Give it a break as often as possible by letting it air dry. Use a microfiber towel to soak up as much water as possible, then comb and let it hang. It will hold its natural shape and curl if you put a little bit of styling product in and leave it alone. Don't touch it or brush it while it's air drying as this can add to frizziness.

Trim regularly
Cutting your hair seems counter-productive when you're growing it out. But once you get split ends, and it will happen even if you're diligent, your hair can continue to split all the way up the shaft. There's no use in having super long hair if your hair isn't healthy! Cut it off at the source by making sure you trim it regularly. If you're growing it out, go to your stylist once every 3 to 4 months.

Enjoy your journey to beautiful natural locks! And until next time, keep it clean!