I used to like my hair. 10 years ago it was thicker, longer and looked much healthier. Six or so years ago that changed. Now my hair doesn't grow much, is very thin and just looks horrible all the time. My scalp is also always dry / itchy / sore. I think this is due to 20 years of daily washing.
I've tried various more natural shampoos and am really keen on the 'no poo' method (that's pretty much just washing with water, not shampoo), however I've been looking into it and that method doesn't mix with hard water as you get mineral build up from the water. I think hard water is the reason I've struggled so much with the various plastic free shampoos I've tried, which all leave my hair feeling waxy and disgusting!
Recently, I read about soap nuts being a water softener and therefore great for the no poo method if you live in a hard water area. I've used soap nuts for laundry for about 8 years now so decided I'd give soapnut shampoo a try.
I boiled 10 nuts and some rosemary (stimulates growth and reduces dandruff!) in 500ml of water, then strained it and bottled it in a glass spray bottle, ready for a first try in the morning. Ditching shampoo is not an overnight switch of course as hair has to re-balance it's natural oils and get used to the change but I'm hoping in time I can get my hair back to how it was years ago.
I figured now's the time to seriously start making changes as a) not having regular work means there will be days where I don't have to leave the house and b) autumn and winter brings opportunities to simply stuff whatever awful state my hair is in under a hat ... maybe by spring (if I can keep a new no poo routine going) I'll have hair fit for public viewing again!
I don't have issues with my hair, I haven't been to a barbers for about thirty years. Once a fortnight out come the clippers and everything on top is taken off to about 3mm.
@gamelee I've been cutting my own hair for the last 20 years, not that it needs doing very often these days! Shaving it all off and starting again appeals to me, but I'm not that daring, haha!
@flowerfairyann ah, I love them! They have a wide range of uses beyond laumdry. You can get soap nut salves too which I found good on my skin. Very environmentally friendly, really cheap and last so long (I buy a 1kg about once a year - though if the soap nut shampoo works, I may need a few more!). You also use them a few times before they're 'dead', so the ones I still boiled are fine for doing some washing with or making more shampoo. A few nuts in bag lasts 4 or 5 washes.
I was loosing my hair a couple of years ago, I have a few health issues and medications that will do it. It's a lot better now and grew back thicker again. My diet has changed and I am now taking what is called happy hormones to help with menopause and I believe that is what has done it. My hairdresser even asked what I was doing differently, she thought it may have been a different shampoo and conditioner. You may be lacking in something you are unaware of. I hope it starts to grow back for you, I was very concerned myself a few times. My nan and mum both lost a lot of hair as they aged.
@sugarmuser Thanks for that. I think mine seriously started when I began teacher training and had a really stressful time, 6 years ago. It has started to recover since then, it's now thicker than it was 2 years ago, but I think I need to give it a break from the constant stripping of daily washing to really get it back to my old hair... will see how it goes anyway.
@robz well, my first soap nut wash wasn't nice! I thought it had worked really well but once dried, my hair felt kind of waxy again... however, it takes hair a while to adjust after so many years of chemicals in normal shampoo and it's probable I didn't get the water to soap nut ratio right... trial and error. I can't go out with hair like this everyday, but I'll keep going and maybe try to gradually reduce regular shampoo and increase soapnut or plain water. It's a long haul!
@roachling The soap nuts sound interesting - I wonder if there is any other natural material that could be added to your mix to prevent the waxy after feel. Would lemon juice be any good? :)
