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HairFaerie
March 9th, 2016, 04:02 PM
OK, I'd say two months was fair chance. I just can't take it anymore!

I started with shampoo bars from Chagrin Valley Soap & Salve. Then I bought the "Healthy Starter Pack" from the Morocco Method. I also used a few vinegar rinses.

i did go through a few week transition. It actually started to look and feel pretty awesome. Now, not so much. It looks oily or is flat and lifeless no matter what I do. I also get an itchy, nasty scalp! Ewwww!

i just saw on another thread "Do what your hair wants, not what YOU want for your hair."

My hair doesn't want natural shampoo and stuff. It wants SHAMPOO! As much as this makes me sad, I have to face the facts. I am going to do what my hair likes and looks good with. I am tired of it looking dirty, oily and just plain old yucky. I want my real hair back. I also miss the smell of shampoo! The Morrocco Method stuff all smelled like glue paste to me and one of them smelled like downright a$$. Hahahahahahaha!

Tonight I am going to take a long shower and bask in the sensous shampoo bubbles! Then, I am going to run my fingers through my soft, fluffy, awesome smelling hair! :)

Oops! Typo in title! Should say Natural!

MsPharaohMoan
March 9th, 2016, 05:45 PM
Did you have clarifying in your new routine at all? That could be why it suddenly went downhill.

HairFaerie
March 9th, 2016, 05:57 PM
Did you have clarifying in your new routine at all? That could be why it suddenly went downhill.

Just the vinegar diluted with rooibos tea. I am not really convinced on using baking soda on my hair. That kind of scares me.

Do you have any other suggestions?

Sweets
March 9th, 2016, 11:02 PM
Perhaps a combination of both? Your routine doesn't have to be all or nothing.

calmyogi
March 9th, 2016, 11:28 PM
I feel your pain. I have spent about 7 years wanting to solely use natural body products, sulfate free for about 4 years, but this last year I have broken down and used conventional shampoo and after a couple of washes my scalp felt normal again. I was able to stretch washes more than just every other day after going back to sulfates without the extreme itching and flakes. After I gave it a hard thought I realized that my "dandruff" issues came about after I started dabbling in sulfate free shampoo.

And honestly it felt almost comforting and nostalgic to crack open a bottle of just plain old simple shampoo. I love the smell of natural products and herbs and such, and do get nauseas at the smell of a lot of conventional products, but still It did bring on a sense of simplicity using regular old stuff from the good old days of chemicals, top ramen, and tang.... Before we were taught everything is bad and will kill you, *sighs*.

Shelley48
March 9th, 2016, 11:53 PM
What about using regular shampoo once a week to remove the build up that your natural shampoos can't remove? So you don't have to give it up completely.

I use "Calia Naturals" shampoo and conditioner and it works just like regular shampoo and conditioner. It's expensive but I would recommend that. It's all natural.

RavennaNight
March 10th, 2016, 04:28 AM
I think there are a lot of products and methods out there that are natural that maybe you haven't dabbled with yet. Have you tried Indian herb washing? With shikakai and soapnut powder? And Amla? It works well for some. Different brands of sulfate free? Or maybe rice water rinses? I wouldn't give up just yet.

That said, I use mostly conventional products, but also henna, indigo, and most recently the rice water rinses. Find what works for you. A lot of people insist on natural products, but not all work for all hairs and scalps.

lapushka
March 10th, 2016, 05:43 AM
i just saw on another thread "Do what your hair wants, not what YOU want for your hair."

It's about what your hair wants, not about what you want for your hair. That's actually what I always say, and my contribution to you all at LHC. I went natural too, and it didn't work for me. I wanted to CO-wash, and my scalp protested. I wanted to sulfate-free wash, and yes, my scalp protested. I have seborrheic dermatitis (SD) and my hair wants harsh shampoos and silicones and that's how it lays & performs best for me. So that's what I give it. I haven't looked back since. The harsh shampoos keep my SD at bay and calm and nice.

school of fish
March 10th, 2016, 05:59 AM
Echoing the sentiment! I have bigger battles in my life, I don't need to fight my hair ;)

As much as I would adore to have a 100% natural routine, my hair insists otherwise. It demands clear sulphate shampoos and thick conditioners with light silicones. It does also, however, love colouring with henna, light oil-rinsing with jojoba (on S&C days), and daily diluted acidic (lemon) rinses - so I've been able to infuse enough 'natural' into my routine to get my fix. I choose to be grateful and happy that I can have *some* natural in my routine, rather than being sad and dissatisfied that I can't have an *all* natural routine :)

ChloeDharma
March 10th, 2016, 06:42 AM
The point of going down the natural products route varies somewhat. For some it's political and environmental but for many it's because they think it works best and is most healthy.
If your reason is just that you want what is best for your hair and scalp then it becomes a much easier decision to make, just go with whatever works best for you. Also it doesn't have to be a case of ALL natural or ALL synthetic products. You can mix and match to find a balance that works for you and gives the results you want.

I have champoined the natural skin and hair care thing over the years and based on my experience it works very well for me however, for various reasons I do still include products like mane and tail, alpecin and even sulfur8 shampoo for clarifying every now and then. It just happens that right now I really like a fairly natural shampoo and conditioner combination with a herb infusion as my final rinse.
I tried poo bars, a CV one and it was just awful for me, maybe because I have hard water but my hair felt so nasty, like it was covered in waxy plastic stuff and the smell was like a wet dog that never got washed. It made me feel disgusing so I grabbed some sulphate perfume filled shampoo and scrubbed my hair and scalp with it then loaded on some cone filled and equally perfumed conditioner just to feel civilised again! That said, washing with shikakai and conditioning with herbs like fenugreek did work very well for me but the planning involved means I fall off the wagon with that and reach for a bottle just for convenience.

If you want to go natural then of course, experiment to find what works and what doesn't but if you want to use a regular shampoo and conditioner and like the results then there's no reason not to use them. This whole hair growing thing is meant to be pleasant, not a source of stress.

Ethelpea
March 10th, 2016, 07:40 AM
I completely agree and sympathize with you. For years I was only natural - homemade no poos, herbal cleansers, homemade conditioners - and they just do not work for me. While I try to maintain myself naturally on the inside by means of healthy living and natural foods and supplements, my hair just responds better to commercial products...and some homemade natural products like serums and leave-ins. Now, it is true that I just don't have the funds or the time necessary to extensively dabble and perhaps there are natural alternatives I've never looked into. That's fine by me. I know my hair is in better condition and my scalp healthier doing what I do now.

JustPam
March 10th, 2016, 02:53 PM
I much prefer conventional washing to natural, I've found a S&C that suits my hair to a tee, and it also has a 2in1 of the same line that's great for when I drag myself in from training at 10pm and need fed, showered and bedded asap. I've tried shampoo bars, teas, vinegar, herbal mixes, and whatever else this forum has enlightened me to, but honestly, it makes my hair look like crap and I just CBA experimenting with it all. The only natural thing I use is Kimberlilys defrizz spray which I always give a big thumbs up to.

HairFaerie
March 10th, 2016, 05:40 PM
Thank you all for your advice!

I washed and conditioned last night with Redken All Soft. My hair smells and feels delightful! I might try alternating with the Morrocco Method stuff. I just feel silly because I spent so much money on the MM products and hate the results! :( I don't want to waste them. I even diluted them 50/50! Ugh!

I will keep experimenting and find what my hair and scalp like.

MsPharaohMoan
March 10th, 2016, 06:13 PM
baking soda i believe is just about manual exfoliation. Not so good for the hair. A shampoo that is high in sulfates and doesn't have filler will strip product buildup off your hair so you can go back to using your products that were working initially. Product without harsh detergents cause layers of product to build up causing snarly messes of hair. I'd look into clarifying more using the search bar, lots of info on the LHC :)

Daydreamer.
March 11th, 2016, 04:42 AM
Wow. I went down the No Poo path in the past, and it wasn't long until I came back to using shampoo. So, I can totally relate!

andrea1982
March 11th, 2016, 07:03 AM
Regular, run of the mill products from large companies (proctor and gamble, garnier) work the best for me. I guess this makes sense because these companies are the ones who spend the big bucks on the science/ product development. I've tried to go "all natural" in the past, with shampoo bars, but I think my water is to hard to make these work, and I'm not willing to wait through "transition periods". I also don't have the patience for "natural" shampoos and conditioners that don't work. I have "natural" in quotations because there are a lot of products that are branded to be safer/ natural when they really have most of the same type of ingredients of regular shampoos and conditioners. Why would I use something over and over again that makes my hair look stringy, dull, tangly? I do believe in simplifying and minimizing my use of products though, because I am concerned over possible harm of large amounts of fragrances/ preservatives in the products over the long term, and possible environmental impact of packaging/ products going into the water supply/ etc.
I use shampoo and conditioner sparingly, twice a week. For body and face cleansing I use a mild natural soap, or ivory soap. For moisturizing face/body I use small amounts Aveeno. Toothpaste, and deodorant. That's it. I know some people use all kinds of body wash, lotion, sprays, face care products, hair products, sprays, every day!
I probably will continue to try "natural" shampoo's from the health food store from time to time, but I am never using anything soap based in my hair again. In my mind, purchasing and trying a bunch of natural products that you end up abandoning is wasteful. I figure that it's better to stick to my family sized herbal essences that takes me a year to finish, and the bottles are fully recyclable. Not to mention far less expensive.


Edited to fix grammar mistakes.

yahirwaO.o
March 12th, 2016, 10:59 PM
The point of going down the natural products route varies somewhat. For some it's political and environmental but for many it's because they think it works best and is most healthy.
If your reason is just that you want what is best for your hair and scalp then it becomes a much easier decision to make, just go with whatever works best for you. Also it doesn't have to be a case of ALL natural or ALL synthetic products. You can mix and match to find a balance that works for you and gives the results you want.

This whole hair growing thing is meant to be pleasant, not a source of stress.

I totally agree with you! At first my own experience was about environmental responsibility and also I thought long hair equals all natural care right? BIG NO!!!! :violin:

I tried baking soda (worst thing I've done to my head), shampoo bars- natural shampoos (smell awful like wet dog and pretty expensive), egg washes (worked divine first then it was a smelly gressy mess), co wash (shedding monster) Free SLS (it felt waxy) and so on.

Everything failed and decide to go back to regular old shampooing. My hair is looking better than ever and I use the cheapest brand in my local are that last me crazy long. I dilute (with both water and honey) and that helps a lot with being more gentle and not throwing harsh compounds into the water system (not eliminating but reducing my impact as much as I can).

Don't feel bad, you try your best and all the knowledge you have now can be used in your own favour for other parts of your body and such. On me Baking soda works wonders for my feet and teeth. Sugar is the best exfoliator for my face. Coconut oil is also divine for my face.skin. The only natural things that remain in my hair care are ACV and honey. Again they should be used with commercial stuff to work great in balance!

lapushka
March 13th, 2016, 05:35 AM
After I had a few products go bad on me (I hoard) *well before* their expiry date (Lavera), I am a bit weary of getting anything more natural! And it doesn't work with my scalp, so... SLS & SLES it is.

Siowiel
March 13th, 2016, 11:28 AM
I'm firmly in the "Use what works!" camp. While I only use coconut oil, organic, as conditioner, and once in a blue moon a store-bought conditioner from an organic brand, I use Lush shampoo bars, which are, as opposed to their marketing, not "natural" in any way.

For me, the impact of hair care stuff in the big picture is minimal at best, so I scoff at people who get on a high horse there, so if your skin agrees with it... just go for it! Personally, I'm very into avoiding plastic,especially BPA, hence the shampoo bars, but that's a personal choice.