exphairimentation

[ewt]

Okay, so the shampoo-free thing is working fairly well for me - my hair is still not as soft as it was when I was using masses of conditioner, but it isn't getting dirty and manky after two days, and the condition seems to improve over time.

My scalp, on the other hand... well, it's been very up and down. Specifically, it's really good for a day or so after being saturated with apple cider vinegar, but the rest of the time the seborrheic dermatitis is pretty bad, and that's making the roots of my hair oily (which isn't too bad) and also making me itchy and uncomfortable (which is what I'm trying to avoid).

The obvious solution seems to be to use the apple cider vinegar more often. However, I can't just start washing my hair every day - because my back won't really put up with me leaning over the sink or bathtub to only wash my hair, and my skin absolutely won't have me getting that much wet every day. The other problem is that the built-up dead skin and sebum and stuff stops the apple cider vinegar from getting all the way to my scalp much of the time.

So, new PLN:
-oil dissolves oil, so once in a while (once a week? once a month?) I will condition my scalp with a combination of oils chosen for their skin-friendly properties.
-ACV is good, aloe vera gel also helps me, and lavender oil is meant to be particularly good for balancing sebum production, so I will make a scalp toner liquid that contains these things and use it every day or every other day. It shouldn't leave enough residue to require rinsing out.

So, given those requirements, a fair amount of reading on the interweb, and the availability of materials on a Sunday that is also Christmas Eve, I have concocted the following:


Thick Oily Hair Goo:
-manuka honey (~2 tbsp)
-palmer's cocoa butter formula (~2 tbsp)
-pure coconut oil (~2 tbsp)
-lavender oil (half a tsp)
-olbas oil (ten drops)
-tea tree oil (five drops)
-dried rosemary (couldn't find any rosemary oil)
-olive oil

I really should have heated this a bit to get the oils to mix a little better, but when I got lumps of coconut oil in it I just melted them with my hands to apply them to my scalp. I'm currently sitting waiting for the hot water, with lots of this on my scalp and brushed through my hair as well. I smell like a cross between salad dressing and medicine. It certainly feels very soothing, though.




Thin Scalp Toner Liquid
-after-sun lotion that is mostly aloe vera gel (couldn't find any pure aloe vera gel and I've run out of what I have with me in Brighton)
-apple cider vinegar
-half a tsp lavender oil
-5 drops tea tree oil
-10 drops peppermint oil
-1 tbsp dried rosemary

I'll see how this works. The PLN is that the lavender and peppermint will mask the vinegar smell enough to make it bearable to put this on, brush my hair, and then go out before it's quite dry. If it isn't working well then I'll make a batch without so much aloe in it, and see how that goes.

I've been very sparing with the tea tree oil in both of these as I've been known to have a mild allergic reaction to it previously - things like dousing my entire head with it (another recommended technique for seborrheic dermatitis) are simply not an option for me.

If this works I will be very pleased. It will work out cheaper and less itchy than coal tar shampoo.

Time to go massage the oily hair goo into my scalp some more and then wash it off.


EDIT: Okay, I had to use castille soap to get the oil out of my hair, but it feels AMAZING now. I'll see what it's like when it dries...but so far I am very happy.

Comments

[bites-the-sun.livejournal.com]

I am prone to very dry skin and eczema and its has always been at its worst in places with very hard water (Bath in the UK) and/or over-chlorinated water(when I lived in Osaka; the water there is the most heavily chlorinated I've ever come across). The chlorine especially I know makes a huge impact on my skin. I always come out of bath or shoer water red and slightly blotchy; now when I've swum in say, river water, I've come out with the smoothest skin of my life and no redness - and I'm not even talking particularly clean river water here. I was once given a clip-on filter for my bath tap and the difference it made to how the water impacted on my skin was incredible. I currently live in a place with very soft water, so the dryness is never too bad, but the chlorine still itritates me. I'm saving up for a chlorine filter for the shower; I've heard it makes all the difference for people like me.

I agree with the SLS thing; it's totally overblown and most of the SLS hysteria comes from companies who are activelt trying to sell products with different detergents in.