Well, geez, it seems like everyone under the sun wants to know about natural haircare. No wonder, with recent focus on GMO’s and chemical spills, radiation and such- I’m beyond ecstatic that attention is drawn to healthy hair, skin, and ultimately, our lifestyle as a whole. High Five!

I should point out that there are very gentle and effective human-made ingredients- in fact, they are sometimes more effective than their natural buddies. Not all of these are bad for you or your hair. Some are carefully formulated to solve a specific issue, and there may not be something natural that performs as well. Just because you can’t pronounce an ingredient doesn’t mean you should nix using it entirely. Sunscreen is human-made in a lab, and it’s sure hard to replicate that naturally. Any knowledge I’ve accumulated in my lil’ pea brain is due to countless hours courting the google home screen with romantic language like ‘cetearyl alcohol,’ or ‘hydrogen bond,’ so feel free to do the same if there’s an ingredient in question.

Protein and moisture are two of the trickiest necessities to mimic in a natural way- the human-made versions are just usually more effective. When made in a lab or cooked up specifically for the purpose of hair and skin, molecules get pulverized smaller, ingredients are buffered to be more gentle, and regular stuff is supercharged.

However, friends allergies and other limitations prompted me to want to share a little of what I know about the au natural world, and I do have some valid suggestions.

Occasionally I’ll make a food mask for my ‘do, or use a finishing rinse of beer or apple cider vinegar, and you can find wonderful ingredients in the kitchen- avocado, honey, coconut oil (um, careful with this one- you could end up looking like gollum), olive oil, egg yolk, baking soda, cream, citrus, cinnamon, vinegar, etc. each have a helpful function. You can check out my Pinterest board for helpful recipes. Beer and acv work with the ph level of the hair, closing the shaft of the hair, thus detangling it and making it quite shiny. It doesn’t add moisture, though, just fyi.

Great, so we’ve all washed our greasy heads with baking soda, smooshed avocado into our ends, and marinated with vinegar to smell like a salad. Now what? For the truly low maintenance, this is where we leave you. Good luck and have fun. For the curious, read on . . .

When it comes to styling your salad hair, it gets a little tricky- I mean, we’ve already used all the eggs, and your hair is still a greaseball from the EVOO. J/K. Some peeps find coconut oil in wet hair a wonderful alternative to serum, leave in conditioner, or curl balm. Be careful, as a little goes a long way, and there isn’t a dry shampoo on this planet strong enough to nix that mess if you over-apply. It’s Dawn dishsoap in the shower for you, pal. Coconut oil has a low melting temperature, so if you prefer to keep it in the refrigerator, emulsifying it in your hands will allow your body heat to melt for easier distribution through ends.

For the more experimental, I’ve compiled a list of some of my favorite natural hair/skincare lines for you to peruse, and I’ll do my best to highlight what I think are standouts, especially in styling.

Qhemet Biologics (their website seems to be under repair at this time, but I found some of their line here: http://www.sagenaturalceuticals.com/shop/index.php?family=qhemet-biologics): Honey and Olive Hydrating balm, yes please. Lots of shine, smells like it sounds. Great for frizz, or to add moisture. Can be used by curlies to define with no crunch (aka no hold), or by straighter hairds wet or dry.

Lush cosmetics (http://www.lushusa.com)- Love this company. Shampoo bars are great for short hairds or for camping. Really dig the Happy Happy Joy Joy conditioner. It makes my fine bleached hair slightly happier, and that’s saying alot. Plus, I want to smell of it always. Shine So Bright end tamer is wonderful as well, but I find it drags when applied to wet hair- I’ll apply it sparingly dry and wait for it to absorb. It mostly does, with a little shine and definition through the ends.

Alaffia! (http://www.alaffia.com/, you can get it at Whole Foods)- The Mopsy household has one of these glass jars of shea butter in every room. All two of them. Ok, I’m going to reveal something that’s gross and dirty and it’s a secret, so don’t tell- I bite my nails. Much to my Gram’s (rest her precious soul) chagrin, I bite them so diehard that sometimes the saliva dries out my cuticles and they hurt real bad. This shea butter (I’ve tried so many others) is like, the hanky to my tears. It spreads easily and looks greasy at first, but the key is to not touch anything for 30 seconds and it soaks in and takes all the pain of fingernails and drying saliva out of life. I digress: the scalp shampoo is currently in my shower. It’s a low-cleanse, highly moisturizing shampoo, and it feels soft even while it’s in the hair. I really dig. If I’m going to use a dandruff medicated shampoo, I’ll often cleanse the scalp and hair with this first to make distributing the medicated one easier. Plus, the Alaffia is nice for your hair, and the medicated stuff is only meant for scalp, not really the hair. More about dandruff in post to come.

Max Green Alchemy (http://www.maxgreenalchemy.com/) Scalp conditioner is freaking awesome. works wonderfully on a dry scalp, but also softens ends in a ridiculous ‘touch me’ way.

Malin and Goetz (http://www.malinandgoetz.com/)- Peppermint shampoo, yes. Cilantro conditioner is wonderful for fine hair. Sage styling cream is awesome for short hair or really any hair that needs a slightly second-day look or weight to it.

Weleda is great, Jon Masters Organics, Sachajuan, and of course, my favorite, Phyto (http://www.phyto-usa.com/).

I try not to overwhelm with these long posts, but there’s just so much info to get out into the world! Please tell me what else you’ve tried and tell me how it feels- I’m into ‘feelings.’

Good luck and remember to respect both Science and Mother Nature.

One Love,

Mopsy