Toxic Free Hair Care

We have been working on changing over various items in our home to toxic-free.  It is a slow process as we work through which items we can find good replacements for, but I am noticing that each change we make leaves us all feeling just that much better.  One of the bigger concerns that I had about going toxin-free was hair care.  

I have tried a lot of different shampoos and conditioners, serums, creams, gels, and sprays.  My regimen has changed and changed over the years because I have not found anything that gives me quite the result that I want.  Some leave my hair heavy, others don't condition it enough, and sometimes I feel a residue that ultimately winds up making my hair tangle and break. 

More recently, I have become concerned about the chemicals in my products, and decided to take the toxic test to see where they stood.   You can check all of your products too, by getting the free app from the Environmental Working Group (EWG), called Skin Deep.

They named the app that because toxins that touch your skin can enter the bloodstream in only 26 seconds.  That was a huge eye opener for me.

Basically, if I wouldn't feel okay ingesting it, I need to stop feeling like it is okay to put it on my body.

All of my hair care products fall into the moderate risk zone (from 3-6).  Anything from 7-10 is considered high.  For me, any risk is too high, and the fact is that there is no reason why we have to give in to using products that can hurt us, or even worse, our kids who use the same products.  

I have looked into No-Poo, Curly Girl, and other methods of toxic-free hair care, but each of them has left me a little worried about how my long, fine, wavy hair would do without proper conditioning.  So, I decided to do a little experiment.

My hair has been growing out for over 4 years, and during that time I've used all kinds of drying, damaging products with silicones, sulfates, and all kinds of other toxins.

The first thing I did was a deep conditioning treatment with unprocessed coconut oil.  I warmed a few Tablespoons to bring it to it's liquid state. It doesn't have to be very warm because coconut oil has a very low melting point, just above room temperature.  Because my hair is so long I just dipped it into the oil and then worked it into my hair.  I poured any extra on top of my head to get the roots and worked it all in, wrapped my head in a towel and went to bed.  The next morning my hair felt really oily and I was concerned about how it would come out of my hair, especially with a natural shampoo, but there was no going back now.

I received the Mommy's Club Shampoo this last week, and while it says "For Babies and Toddlers," really what it's saying is that it is safe enough to use on babies and toddlers.  Anyone can use it, and I decided if it was good enough for their fine hair and sensitive skin, why not give it a try.  So I did. 

It did a great job of getting the coconut oil out of my hair enough that I felt like my hair was clean.  Honestly I was impressed that ANY shampoo could clean that amount of coconut oil out of my hair in one washing without completely stripping my hair and leaving it damaged.  Instead it left my hair feeling really soft.  It has white tea and aloe, which are great for both my hair and my scalp, but don't add build-up to my hair.  I added in about 1/4 Tbs coconut oil after I got out and dried my hair, but in hindsight I don't think it needed it.  

I got impatient and decided to fix it while it was still a little wet, like I normally would.  This photo is while it is still damp.  My hair wound up coming out silky soft, and felt moisturized and strong.  I love how it helped to shape my big curls, and tame the frizz that I usually have going on.  

I think I've found my toxic-free hair care regimen.  The Mommy's Club Shampoo did an amazing job cleaning my hair without stripping it.  

I won't be doing the deep-conditioning treatment often - maybe once a month.  If I need any additional conditioning I will put just a drop or two of coconut oil between my palms, melt it to liquid state by rubbing my hands together and gently apply to the ends of my hair.

I would love to hear your thoughts if you try this technique!!