Recommendations for good natural hair conditionings

[elfynity]

What natural / organic hair moisturizer / conditioners can you recommend that have worked well for you? Especially to combat split ends and dry ends and to make hair well moisturized and super healthy.

And, how does wearing your hair up help your hair health? for example, loose buns?

And last thing, at what heat does water start to damage your hair? I have been using medium hot water.

[Ylva]

I'm currently going through a bunch of this stuff: http://mothernaturesgoodies.co.uk/organic-conditioner-fragrance-free-base-sls-free-mild-gentle-add-essential-oil/

It's organic, vegan, silicone free and 100% biodegradable. I find it pretty hydrating, using it mostly when I only wash my scalp and roots and just condition the rest, which is what I do most of the time when washing my hair.

To combat split ends, it might be worth it to try and apply some oil to the ends to protect them, if you haven't already.

[elfynity]

To combat split ends, it might be worth it to try and apply some oil to the ends to protect them, if you haven't already.

Hi Ylva, I've started using a tiny amount of oil on my hair ends this week because I noticed extreme dryness. I do WO washing, so I just hope all the oil absorbs into my hair.

[Wendyp]

I use nightblooming oils, coconut oil and currently in love with the biomega line.

[lapushka]

There was a time where I experimented, but now I just no longer want food stuffs in my hair; I just don't.

I think store bought conditioners and masks are formulated just right and you often can't duplicate that effect at home. You could "soup" a regular conditioner or mask up by adding a bit of oil to it to make it more moisturizing/hydrating, but for me it doesn't have to go much further than that.

Just personal taste.

I WCC (see signature), as my washing method, and I have 0 splits or white dots.

[toastmouse]

I really love this conditioner: https://www.purenuffstuff.co.uk/products/Hair-Conditioner-Unscented?cat=63

It's the most natural conditioner I've ever come across and the only one that's ever worked for my hair. It seems to be doing just as good a job as silicones did at protecting my hair so far, and it actually feels like it's in better condition since I've been using it. The only thing is it doesn't give the slip of conventional conditioners so I don't think it would be great to use for detangling.

I've been wondering that too about how damaging hot water is!

[Nightshade]

Hi Ylva, I've started using a tiny amount of oil on my hair ends this week because I noticed extreme dryness. I do WO washing, so I just hope all the oil absorbs into my hair.

Keep in mind that oils are not moisturizing :) I nabbed this from one of my blog posts:

THE MYTH ABOUT MOISTURIZING OIL
There’s a myth out there that oils are moisturizing, when in reality they aren’t in the most true sense of the word. What they do is impart important lipids and fatty acids, which add softness and flexibility to the hair shaft. Oils are also emollients, more specifically, occlusives, which form a thin, moisture-locking barrier atop the skin and hair cells that reduces the evaporation of moisture. If your hair is very dry oiling might help a bit by replenishing critical fatty acids and by helping it keep whatever small amount of moisture it has inside of it, but it cannot actually moisturize the hair on its own.
The most effective way to go about moisturizing, then, is to:

1. Impart moisture using mositure rich ingredients and humecents
2. Keep moisture inside the hair by using an emollent / occlusive

[JennGalt]

Coconut milk is a HG for me. I used to mix it with things like aloe and corn starch, or almond oil and soy protein isolate, but co-occurring laziness and dryness caused me to simply slather the more solid portion of it on my head. It works better than a store bought conditioner for me, as it seems to prevent split ends and fairy knots. But I have naturally porous hair that isn't easily weighed down, live in a dry area where the humidity rarely goes above 13% in the daytime, and seem to need much heavier conditioners than most. YMMV.

I 've recently begun using the liquidy portion of the coconut milk as a leave in between washes. Very moisturizing, but I wouldn't recommend it if your hair is prone to greasiness.

Hot water is all I use; I don't tolerate cold of any kind well at all. Most people prefer shower water at about 100-105 degrees Fahrenheit, which is not hot enough to cause heat damage. If your skin can handle it, it's probably fine :)

[akurah]

And, how does wearing your hair up help your hair health? for example, loose buns?


Physical/mechanical damage is bad for your hair, and generally around shoulder length, you want to wear it up more often than not.

Things that can damage your hair mechanically include:

Purse straps and backpack straps
Being rubbed between the desk chair and your back
Rubbing against your clothes as you're out and about
Getting caught in jewelry (necklaces, earrings, rings)
Wind (causes tangles, which can result in damage or require you to cut the tangle out depending on the type of tangle)
Getting rolled up into a car window or shut into a car door
Car seatbelt rubbing on the hair
Getting caught in various nooks and crannies, such as parts of a desk chair where there are lots of screws (like on the back of the chair, or the arms)
Getting caught in zippers
Getting caught in wheels of chairs (when your hair is around knee, dependent on height)
Getting caught in just about anything else not listed here.



All of those things are damaging to your hair, and that's why the vast majority of us advocate wearing your hair up. not only is hair getting caught in (insert various item here) damaging to the hair, it can be painful, and dependent on circumstances, cause the caught hair to get torn (from snapping as you try to pull free) or even ripped out (from the follicle).

[elfynity]

OMG Akura, I didn't really think about all those things. Very inspiring list to keep my hair up for sure!

I have been reading up on the wonders of Catnip tea as a moisturizer for hair. there is a long thread on that so one day I'll be able to read it all.

Lapushka, I'm on a WO washing routine, so it's tricky. I actually trust food stuffs more than any store bought goodies, but in saying that, I really didn't enjoy egg on my head, it felt like a slow torture. I am going to give avo a go.

I know I have been making the biggest mistake by washing my hair in medium hot water. My hair just can't handle it at all. As Jenn said, 100F or basically body temperature is my new go to water temperature for hair washes.

[Kaoria]

The most effective way to go about moisturizing, then, is to:

1. Impart moisture using mositure rich ingredients and humecents
2. Keep moisture inside the hair by using an emollent / occlusive
Precisely like skincare, isn’t it! It’s fascinating to me how alike skin and hair are, despite the fact that one is alive and one isn’t.

Elfynity, I can’t rememeber where I read this but this is the principle I go with: if the water is too hot for your face, it’s too hot for your hair. I find as long as I keep to this my hair is ok.

As far as natural conditioners go, most of the natural brands I’ve seen go with a combination of oil (coconut, jojoba, argan, olive - either just the one or a combination), aloe vera, sometimes glycerin, panthenol, vitamin E and a few other less important embellishments. If you want to try a home made version start with aloe vera combined with a little oil. Like Nightshade said, aloe vera for moisture, oil as an occlusive. I tend to think that applying the aloe vera first and the oil after would work best in the sense that it would lock in moisture more effectively but you can have some fun experimenting with them mixed.

[lapushka]

Lapushka, I'm on a WO washing routine, so it's tricky. I actually trust food stuffs more than any store bought goodies, but in saying that, I really didn't enjoy egg on my head, it felt like a slow torture. I am going to give avo a go.

I know I have been making the biggest mistake by washing my hair in medium hot water. My hair just can't handle it at all. As Jenn said, 100F or basically body temperature is my new go to water temperature for hair washes.

Oh, I had no idea you were WO. Sorry! :flower:

I this Sunday had to turn back the heat on the tap (and it's just a little hotter than lukewarm normally), but due to the heatwave we had been having. And I noticed my conditioner didn't want to rinse out like it normally did. Sometimes you need either warmer water or need to rinse for much longer (and I mean much longer).

[elfynity]

Plain oils have proved over and again to be terrible for my hair causing it to become so oily I have to wash it off that night. Even just one teeny drop is too much oil. Nightshade mentioned humectants which started me on the honey route. I bought a totally organic conditioner to use as a hair mask. Such good stuff! The ingredient list is OMG! You can look it up - Simply Bee conditioner.

WO has been amazing, except for my ends. I have now realised that the ends are just gonna stay dry - they are damaged from past torture and that is that. I keep having to do crazy things to keep my ends moisturized which is unbalancing the rest of my hair. I'm sick of it now!! My plan is to WO, do a deep condition once every 1 to 3 months and wash out with a little bit of cornstarch shampoo, and keep up with the BBB and s&d, and if the ends want to be dry while everything else is so happy and moisturized and having the best hair day - then so be it!

I just want to mention that cornstarch shampoo (which is like literally cornstarch and some water) is the best shampoo I have ever used! How can something so simple work so well is beyond me.

I am 2 days into 1 months worth of WO only, and this time my ends will not distract me, they are just going to have to come along on the ride.

Thank you everyone for the awesome advice and the links you posted. I liked the look of the 'Pure' shampoo Toastmouse, but didn't see an ingredient list. My homeopath also has pure unscented shampoo and conditioner that he sells. I told him about home-made cornstarch shampoo - ha ha, the look on his face!!

[toastmouse]

Happy you've found a routine that works for you! That Simply Bee conditioner looks great and the cornstarch shampoo sounds really interesting, might have to try it one day! Though I did swear my experimenting days were over :D

The ingredients for the Pure Nuff Stuff conditioner are there but you have to click on a little tab to see them which is annoying sorry- just in case you still wanted to know I'll copy and paste them here: Water (Aqua), Virgin Coconut Oil (Virgin Cocos Nucifera), Emulsifying Wax, Aloe Vera Juice (Aloe Barbadensis), Glycerine (Vegetable Glycerine), Vitamin E (Tocopherol Acetate). But sounds like you found an awesome one any way! :)

[elfynity]

OMG, you might just have to try it, just so that you can say that you have! What lovely ingredients, so simple! They really have put in some really good stuff in there Toastmouse, I really am impressed.