As a kid, I always wanted long, curly hair. I had long hair for almost 16 years, but it was straight as a stick and not anywhere near curly. I spent a good portion of my teen years convinced that God was laughing when I’d try to curl it and the curls would fall out no matter how much gel, mousse, or hairspray that I used. If you used products like I do then you need to detox your hair.
Why You Need to Detox Your Hair
As a more mature adult (maybe), I’ve grown to accept that I have ‘boring’ hair. It’s just something that I need to deal with. But, I’ve never lost the dream of having curly hair. I’m okay with kind-of-long hair. I just want it to have a little wave or body or something.
I’m sure you can relate. It seems like all of us want the hair that we don’t have. One of my best friends has absolutely gorgeous curly hair… and she hates it.
Why is that? Why can’t we just be happy with what we have? I think we could be… if we just let our hair do what it wants to naturally. Most of the shampoos on the shelf don’t support your hair’s health. They contain scary chemicals that change the structure of your hair and keep it from being itself.
Yes, your hair actually has a mind of its own. So I’ve been on the search for a natural solution that would allow my hair to be healthy and have more body…without tons of chemicals.
Anyways. A few years ago I read a book called The Paleo Skincare Guide. It talks about removing the chemicals from your self-care routine, and it makes a lot of sense. If you haven’t picked up a copy, you totally should. I think I’ve read The Guide once a year since I first purchased it.
I’ve made a ton of positive changes as I’ve learned about the gross chemicals and nastiness, like switching to Beautycounter instead of drug store brands, and natural shampoo. So of course, like a crunchy newbie, I started with no poo.
What a mistake that was.
Why No Poo Is Bad For Your Hair
A few years ago I went through a no poo phase. It didn’t go well. The detox phase was long (over 6 months) and my hair never really got healthy. I kept waiting for my magically gorgeous hair to come, but it never did.
Then I discovered that one of the key components to the no poo method, baking soda, is actually really bad for your hair.
Natural isn’t always bad, but in this case it’s usually about as bad for your hair as regular shampoo, if not worse. Vinegar is very acidic, and pouring it onto your hair is going to weaken it. If your hair is weak and full of not-flat cuticles, and you scrub it with something as abrasive as a paste made from baking soda – yikes!” source
Well that explains why my hair completely sucked during my no poo phase. Once I realized that no poo was not going to work (and it did take me awhile, I’m going to be honest), I started looking for alternatives.
Safe Alternatives to the No Poo Method
Thankfully, there are some awesome alternatives to the baking soda-ACV nightmare that is no poo.
Clay Based Shampoo
You read that right. Clay. Like dirt. I’ll admit that I was skeptical, but now it’s all I use. I did a hair detox using a clay mask and now use pre-made all-natural shampoos and conditioners.
As a bonus, these products are raw, paleo, and have a lot of added beneficial ingredients that will help nourish your hair. Plus, the detox period was around two weeks (way better than 6 months!).
If you are freaking out about not washing your hair every day, don’t. Use a dry shampoo like my homemade dry shampoo, or the store bought dry shampoo.
How do You Detox Your Hair?
Regardless of which natural shampoo method you use, your hair is going to experience a form of detox. To help your hair detox, it’s important that you are prepared to spend a little time on your hair routine. You’ll want to make sure that you follow the directions for cleansing your hair naturally and change the way you brush.
Shampoo
With clay-based shampoos you’ll want to dilute the concentrated shampoo base using a Neti Pot and gently pour it over your hair.
Condition
You can actually condition using a clay-based conditioner or even a mask. I really love the Zen Detox hair mask and use it once a week.
Brush
If you’re like me, you’ll find that you get oily roots and super dry ends at first. Using a boar bristle brush to brush from roots to ends will help aid your detox (possibly even speeding it up).
And that’s it! Detox normally lasts a few weeks, but you can reduce that time by making sure that you’ve eliminated outside barriers to success such as chemicals, poor diet, and lack of exercise.
