as many of you may know, i've developed an allergy to coconut. for those of you who didn't know, now you do! while it seems simple to avoid it, there is far more uses for that tree nut than for food ingredients. the use that has been causing me quite a bit of grief is hair care ingredients!!
i know, it seems weird, but next time you're showering or putting on a product check out the ingredients list. don't see 'coconut' listed? that's because the chemicals used in hair products are coconut derived, meaning that they don't have to list it as containing coconut, even though it does! the ingredients 'cocomide DEA', 'cocomide MEA', 'cocamidopropyl betaine', and 30+ more are ALL coconut products and are used in 99.9% of hair and beauty products. mostly due to their lathering properties. (for complete list visit this blog)
now, i don't get violently ill if i use/eat something with coconut in it. instead, i develop body covering hives, chills, nausea and a generally sick feeling. nothing horrible, but not very attractive when you go on a date and have giant red splotches all over your face, neck and entire body (yes this has happened). so, like anyone else i hit up Google and read every ingredient label at every store to try and find some coconut-free products.
and i couldn't.
i honestly did start crying a little in the Target shampoo aisle (may or may not have been hormones). i couldn't find one shampoo that didn't contain those products. women will understand how much of a crisis this was:) nevertheless, i continued to Google endlessly and found some homemade shampoo recipes that sounded...rather sketchy. instead i went to the local Lush store and bought myself a shampoo bar that was organic and contained NO coconut!!!
the only problem with the bar was that it stripped my hair of everything, and i mean everything! although because it worked i have been using it diligently for the last 6 months and avoided a crisis of not being able to get clean.
until i was fed up with dry, tangled and horribly unhealthy hair. while the bar cleans very well, it cleans too much to use consistently. so i went back to those at home recipes that i had earlier found, thinking maybe they would be a good alternative. and yes they are!!
Experiment 1: Baking Soda & Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 tablespoon baking soda
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
Mix baking soda with a little bit of water until it forms a paste. Work into hair roots and allow to set for one minute. Massage into scalp & rinse thoroughly.
After baking soda has been rinsed, mix apple cider vinegar with approx. 8 oz of water and pour over ends of hair, avoiding roots. Let sit for one-two minutes and rinse.
this is the most popular recipe i have seen out there, and more than just allergy stricken people are using it. a big trend has been to go 'no poo' to keep hair shiny and healthy, and this simple recipe was reported to be a great way to get your hair clean and shiny without chemicals and products.
i tried this last night and WOW!!! while pouring salad dressing over my hair was possibly the weirdest shower moment of my life, i can honestly say that it did a world of good! my hair is clean, shiny & not stripped of moisture. blow dried straight in short time and held that style overnight!
while i don't intend to use this wash every night, it will be a great change up from the shampoo bar to allow my hair to get back some moisture and repair a bit from the harshness of the actual shampoo.
i highly recommend :)
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