green hair

Posted on by

A few months back now, I had a little hair dilemma.

My head had decided it would no longer tolerate the stuff I was trying to wash my hair with. No. Instead my head decided to cover itself with painful red lumps that would only go away if I switched shampoos. Ok, so I had developed an odd little/big reaction to my normal shampoo that I had  been using for quite some time.  So I switched…and I switched….and then I switched some more. Nothing was quite right. All the ‘greener’ options either made my hair look the end of a fox’s tail (which is fine if that’s the look you are going for…but I wasn’t.) Or didn’t quite clean as I had hoped for, leaving hair greasy after consecutive washes.

What to do? What to do?

Then two lovely bloggers that I follow, (Multiple Mum and Bruise Mouse ) posted in the same week of using bicarbonate soda and apple cider vinegar for hair washing. It was a sign. I had nothing to lose but some greasy locks and a few painful lumps or two right?

I had read about this method a long time ago but hadn’t taken the plunge yet. I had also read that it might take a few days/weeks to adjust to the new method, but from my experience it was fine from the beginning. Actually it was more than fine. It was great! Clean hair, no residual smell, hair is soft, and has more oomph than it’s had in a long time. Swish, swish, swish…

The method I’ve been using is-

1 teaspoon of bicarbonate soda mixed with about 80mls of water to make a runny solution. I work that in to the roots and scalp then rinse out with water. I do it on dry hair initially as the bicarb doesn’t lather up at all and if it’s done on dry I can tell where I have ‘shampooed’.

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar mixed with about 700mls water poured over ends. Leave for a few minutes and then rinse out with water.

* Since starting this I have found these two combinations can be a little drying to my hair, so have worked out the best solution for me at the moment is to use regular conditioner alternately with the apple cider vinegar. 

A few weeks in after switching and the lovely Christine also posted on her method for conditioning using rosemary and apple cider vinegar here.

Three months later, and I couldn’t be happier. It is kind of funny that I use the same product for washing my hair, cleaning my bathroom and making my Anzac Biscuits, but hey…it works, and it works really well.

**********

Now while I’m talking of green hair, let’s have a little peek at green hair removal, now I’m not talking of hair on the top of your head…

Hair. Some people love it. Some people hate it. Some people have it. Some people don’t.

Hair options are many.

Shaving, waxing, laser, threading, sugaring, epilation, depilation are some of the methods to take it all off.

Or you can simply grow it.

Hair removal options

Shaving– reusable razors with disposable heads or disposable plastic razors. The disposables make up a huge amount of plastic landfill each year. Hair starts growing immediately.

Waxing– Lots of different brands out there. Some plant based and some petroleum-based. Hair gets sparser as waxing continues. Cotton strips, plastic strips, wooden strips can all be used for slapping the wax on.

Laser– long term hair loss results. Lots of equipment used.

Depilation– creams that dissolve the hair with a whole lot of stinky chemicals at skin level.

Epilation– hair taken from just below the skin’s surface. Electronic or battery operated machines usually used.

So what are the ‘greenest’ hair removal options?

Sugaring- “sugar waxing”, hair taken from the root using sugar, water and lemon juice or vinegar.

Threading– a piece of cotton used, takes the hair from the root level. (I love this one. Small thread of cotton a few twists and whoosh!)

 

Or simply…

Grow it– grow it and be proud.


45 thoughts on “green hair”

  1. Swish, swish, swish, love it! Green hair is so much nicer, isn’t it. Did you know that a small amount of honey in the acv rinse is very nice, too? It’s true! Tasty as well 😉

    I once saw a doco that had a woman ‘threading’ eyebrows. It was fascinating to watch and the results were stunning! Depilitory (sp?) creams scare the cr@p out of me! Great post, Brydie. 🙂

    Like

    Reply ↓

  2. We used to have a lady down the street in melbourne who did threading – and that’s where I got my eyebrows done. I haven’t seen anywhere here that does it. Maybe Darwin will have someone.

    Glad to hear of your success with the bicarb method. I must admit that I want to try it – but I am not sure if I am ready to take that step yet:)

    Like

    Reply ↓

    • There doesn’t seem to be that many people that do threading as a profession here in Australia. I hope it gets bigger though, as the results (especially for eyebrows) are great, and all you need is a thread of cotton!

      Like

      Reply ↓

  5. A product that can clean floors, make biscuits, and clean hair is clearly a magic product…that it is also quite cheap is even more magical. What a great discovery, and definitely greener than the regular varieties out there.

    I laughed at your discussion of hair removal too 🙂 Although I did have to google threading – clearly I’m out of the loop!

    Like

    Reply ↓

  6. That’s great that you are loving the bicarb. Another convert. Woohoo!
    I am finding it a bit tricky to buy bicarb in such big quantities at the moment as I can only get it in small sachets. I’ve had to go back to using shampoo for a while and I am having to wash my hair a lot more often. I must search for a bigger packet.

    Like

    Reply ↓

  7. Hahaha…grow it and be proud! lol!

    Glad you found something that works well for your hair, interestingly you’re the second person to mention apple cider vinegar to me today! Thanks for sharing your method, Brydie!

    Like

    Reply ↓

  8. The twitter lot are all full of home brewing their own apple cider vinegar this weekend….

    I am staying with my salon shampoos at the moment as I colour my hair and I am not sure what effect these two products would have on that, but when I go gracefully grey one day I will have a think about these simple and elegant methods.

    Like

    Reply ↓

  9. Thanks for the blog shout out! I have found that I need to wash my hair less and less (and the less you wash the less itchy the scalp is). I am still loving my bicarb and apple cider vinegar combination.

    I have been investigating the leg hair issue. I have to admit I am a grower (I usually wear pants or knee high boots) but I do shave from time to time (when I have to bare my legs). The sugar thing sounds interesting. I wonder if it does armpits and bikini lines? (scary thought). x

    PS When I read the blog title I thought you had had a disaster with too much chlorine. It used to be my standard hair colour in summer 🙂

    Like

    Reply ↓

  11. I love baking soda- I use it for laundry and occasional teeth brushing- cleaning out the fridge- bathroom sink and for most cleaning in the kitchen. Vinegar is great for windows as well.
    I switch up hair washing formulas and shampoos according to the weather (humid conditions call for drastic measures).
    As for growing or getting rid of hair- I’m in the let it grow category- but I would go for threading if I knew where to go (or HOW to do it for myself- I think you need to be coordinated to be successful – so that lets me out.)
    Interesting post, as always, Brydie!
    Thanks for sharing.

    Like

    Reply ↓

  13. I’m NOT GROWING the unsightly hairies!!! but I love the cider vinegar and soda idea fro my good hair. Cider vinegar is such good stuff.. I will try it and let you know… lovely green koru shot too!

    Like

    Reply ↓

  15. ooh I have read about the bicarb and vinegar thing…but never been game enough to try it. I can just imagine having to explain the little baggie of white powder at the airport screening. Hmm…
    One day…

    Like

    Reply ↓

  20. Once I got over my disappointment that you hadn’t dyed your hair green 🙂 I found this fascinating.

    The best green hair cleaning option I found in my student days was using the liquid by-product of making tofu (the equivalent of whey but the name escapes me right now) – it always felt wonderfully clensing but then we made garlic tofu and it didn’t have the same freshness! I recently heard someone say you could use soap nuts but I don’t know how.

    Like

    Reply ↓

  21. I tried the bicarb + acv thing a while back, and it didn’t work for me. I was getting this way buildup on my hair… ick. The research I did suggested that minerals in the water I was using might have been the culprit, so I’ll try it again sometime now that I’ve moved.

    Now that it’s getting warmer I’m planning on continuing trying out sugaring. I did it a couple of times early in the year, it didn’t work the first time but then I felt I was starting to get the hang of it. It’s really bad, though, because you just want to lick it… until it’s full of your hair and dead skin. Icky but fun!

    Like

    Reply ↓

    • That’s interesting about the water Betsy, and certainly makes sense. I have read it also makes a difference on the type-cheaper versus more expensive makes a difference? I don’t know though.

      And the sugaring, that’s great you were doing it!

      Like

      Reply ↓

  22. Pingback: Slow Living February 2012 | cityhippyfarmgirl

Leave a comment