Help! Need advice on natural hair washes FAST!

[Naiadryade]

I'm posting this here even though I'm specifically asking about natural things because I need advice fast, and the Henna/Natural forum is pretty low-traffic compared to the Mane Forum. Sorry if that's not okay!

I got stuck at my boyfriend's place for almost a month without my Terressentials hair wash (http://www.terressentials.com/haircare.html) because my car broke down. Normally, I would wash with this every 1-2 weeks. I've been getting by with one water-only wash and hibiscus-rosemary rinse per week, and I've still been doing my regular oilings with EVOO on my length every 2-3 days and a castor/almond/jojoba oil mix with EO's on my scalp every 1-2 nights, because I have dry hair and scalp. My hair has gotten kind of dirty, but I've just been trying to ignore that and braid it a lot.

I finally got home last night, and was very much looking forward to washing my hair today. Last night I did a heavier oiling to prepare, and this morning I started catnip tea steeping, because I always do an hour-long catnip treatment after I wash.

But then, I looked in my shower and discovered a horror: I'M OUT OF MY HAIR WASH! I could have sworn I had one wash-worth left, but the bottle is empty! shudder:

Now, this is where I need your help. It will take a while for a new bottle to arrive, but I really need to wash my hair today. I do only all-natural hair care--what should I wash my hair with? I have M 2a ii/iii hair that tends towards dry and has lots of split ends already. It's decently heavily oiled right now (though not soaked or anything). I've used bentonite clay with a pinch of salt in the past with relative success, but I don't have any now.

This is what I have on hand:
- Eggs
- Baking soda (this has left my hair super dry in the past so I'm nervous to use it, though I haven't tried it quite as diluted as I've seen it recommended since)
- ACV
- LOTS of various herbs and spices for medicine, tea and cooking
- Coral White (http://www.1thinkhealthy.com/coralwhite-toothpaste.html) natural toothpaste (scroll down in link for ingredients list)
- A dry toothpaste mix I made in an herbalism class almost 2 years ago... I know it's mainly clay and salt so I'm tempted to use this, though it's got a LOT more salt than I used to use--It's nearly half and half, and I wonder if that's way too much salt. I think it also had mint, myrrh, stevia, and a few other herbs in small quantities.

The catnip tea will be ready in 3 hours, so I hope you all can help me figure this out fast!

Thanks in advance!!!

[natt i nord]

I'd try the eggs, maybe with some soda in it - but remember to rinse with cold water, otherwise you might have a problem afterwards :D

[ravenheather]

I'd do an egg wash as well.

[Naiadryade]

Should I use just the yolk, or the white too? How much baking soda should I add? Do I mix it with water? I've never used eggs on my hair before.

[GrowingGlory]

You can just beat the eggs and apply them to your hair. Wait a few minutes, then rinse. Or you could separate the eggs, coat dry parts of your hair with it, and wait. While waiting, put egg whites in a clean, dry blender and beat until foamy. Rinse hair with cool water, squeeze out excess moisture, then wrap it a towel until it is not dripping. Take off towel and apply egg whites to all hair, concentrating on oilier areas. Leave on for a while, then rinse with cool water. Rinse with extremely dilute vinegar rinse if desired. Air dry.

[Naiadryade]

Thanks, folks. I went with the egg wash since that was the consensus, and I'm delighted with the result!

I used 2 eggs (they're small, from the chickens who live in the back yard) with 1 tsp of ACV. I beat it all up super well, so it was way more mixed than I would usually bother for making scrambled eggs. I wet my hair in the shower before applying the egg, which I left on for 10 or 15 minutes. I rinsed it out with lukewarm water, and didn't have any problems with that cooking it. I strand tested the rinse temperature before hand to be sure! :laugh: Then I did my hour-long catnip treatment, followed by a 10-minute soak in hibiscus and rosemary tea as usual.

My hair is now dry and I'm impressed! Not only is it clean, with no trace of the oils, but it's soft and it doesn't feel super dry. There are a few flyaways, but I'm sure they'll calm down as soon as I put olive oil on them. My waves are quite pronounced now, too... and my hair even seems to somehow have more volume without being poofy or fluffy.

I'm still going to order a new bottle of Terressentials, but it's really good to know that this works well as a backup.

It feels so good to have CLEAN hair, after almost a month without washing!!! :happydance: And to think I once went a few years WO... of course, then I wasn't putting oil in my hair on a near-daily basis either. And my hair suffered for it. Thanks, LHC, and all who make you up! :grouphug::crush:

[Shepherdess]

That is great it worked for you!! ! I really should try that sometime! :D

[akilina]

Wow totally off topic but you posted a link to the tooth paste I have been looking for!!!
I want something with no flouride/no sls/ nasty bad things/ etc. I might consider using this one!!

That is awesome the egg wash worked! Ive never tried one but heard good things.

[Naiadryade]

Wow totally off topic but you posted a link to the tooth paste I have been looking for!!!
I want something with no flouride/no sls/ nasty bad things/ etc. I might consider using this one!!

That is awesome the egg wash worked! Ive never tried one but heard good things.

Yeah, it's a pretty awesomely unique toothpaste. In addition to not having flouride, it also doesn't have glycerin, which I've never seen in any other toothpaste, even flouride-free ones. Glycerin makes toothpaste foamy and gel-like, but it also coats your teeth. Your teeth have the ability to absorb calcium and minerals directly from food while it's in your mouth--but not if they're coated in glycerin. Remind you of hair care much? Coral White has ionic calcium from ancient coral (that's now on land), so it also re-mineralizes your now non-coated teeth.

Not only that, it can be used in a pinch to disinfect wounds, especially the tea tree one. With ingredients like hydrogen peroxide, goldenseal extract, tea tree oil, clove oil and cinnamon oil, it's an effective antiseptic.

[Nique1202]

Glycerin makes toothpaste foamy and gel-like, but it also coats your teeth. Your teeth have the ability to absorb calcium and minerals directly from food while it's in your mouth--but not if they're coated in glycerin.

Sorry, but there haven't been any studies (http://myfamilydentist.ca/glycerin-and-remineralization-of-teeth) that support this. There are good reasons not to use toothpastes (or many other products we use on/put in our bodies!) full of ingredients you don't recognize and can't pronounce, but glycerin and remineralization isn't one.

[Naiadryade]

Sorry, but there haven't been any studies (http://myfamilydentist.ca/glycerin-and-remineralization-of-teeth) that support this. There are good reasons not to use toothpastes (or many other products we use on/put in our bodies!) full of ingredients you don't recognize and can't pronounce, but glycerin and remineralization isn't one.

Regardless of what glycerin does or does not do, the ionic calcium in Coral White does help to remineralize teeth. I know people who have healed cavities using it.