Back when I thought I may have Celiac Disease, I spent hours on the internet doing research about anything and everything which remotely touched on CD. I looked up sources of gluten and was horrified to find out that everyday products like shampoo and lipstick can often contain gluten. Once I found out I didn’t have CD, finding alternatives to cosmetics didn’t seem like such a priority anymore.
Since I’ve been seeing a naturopath, my health has been a lot better. I figured that, since I’m feeling better, I could now work on improving other aspects of my health. I’ve been working on removing all the “crap” from my diet for the last year, and I recently decided to go one step further than my diet. I am now eliminating, one by one, all the products that contain all kinds of harsh chemicals and carcinogens. Step 1: Shampoo/conditioner.
Before you go getting all grossed out, let me mention that I use a natural alternative to shampoo. You may have heard of the “No-poo” movement. There are different ways of going about it. I chose what appears to be the most common method according to my very good friend, Internet (we go way back). My new shampoo consists of baking soda (make sure it’s aluminum free) and water. Different people use different proportions. I’m working on reducing the amount of baking soda required. I’ve read of anywhere between 1:4 and 1:16 of baking soda to water proportions.
Since baking soda is alkaline, it’s a good idea to balance it out with an acidic substance. Most people do this with apple cider vinegar. I guess you could call me a conformist because I, too, use apple cider vinegar. I promise, if you decide to try this, you won’t smell like vinegar. Unless you don’t rinse it out, that is. It’s very easy to rinse out.
And now about the dryness. There are all kinds of natural hair “treatments” or “masks” you can do. The only ones I’ve tried and can approve are the following: coconut milk (the full fat stuff), and mashed avocado and egg whites. The avocado and egg whites one left my hair looking kind of greasy, but after I washed my hair again, made it really soft and shiny. You can find all sorts of other ideas online, but since I haven’t tried them, I will not recommend them.
Resources online mostly seem to agree that it takes about three weeks to adjust. Your hair may be greasy at first, but it should balance out after three weeks. That’s exactly how long it took for my hair. On the 3 week “anniversary” of my switch, I noticed that I didn’t need to wash my hair according to my usual schedule anymore.
I’m still experimenting with homemade hair gel. Because I haven’t perfected it, I wouldn’t want to tell you all about it, and have you looking like you just got an electric shock. If you’re curious, my buddy Internet will tell you all about flaxseed gel, or agar with aloe vera gel.
So, there you have it, vegan gluten free food for your hair 🙂
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