So take everything you know about shampoo and throw it away. Shampooing your hair creates a vicious cycle. You wash your hair with a detergent based shampoo. It strips the natural oils away from your hair while drying out your scalp. You use the conditioner to help offset the dryness you just created from using the shampoo. You get out of the shower and put products in your hair to hold off the potential for frizz, fly aways, curls, etc. Next day you wake up and repeat. Your poor hair. It goes through so much in it’s lifetime!

I have super curly and course hair that doesn’t like to behave. It has been the bane of my existence. It has been the one area of my life where I haven’t been able to find anything natural/organic/green that would control the crazy. I’ve tried so many different concoctions that didn’t work that when I came across this simple recipe I immediately was expecting it not to work before I even tried it. In fact, the only reason I actually tried it was because I had all the ingredients on hand.

All 3 ingredients.

I’m so glad I gave it a go- it has given my hair a much needed break from all the damage I had put it through!

Here is how you make it:

Shampoo:

• An 8 ounce “shampoo” bottle
• 1 tbsp baking soda
• water

Add the baking soda to the bottle and fill the rest of the way with water. Cap it and give it a little shake. That’s it. Just squeeze it all over your hair and scalp and rub it in. There is nothing sudsy about this shampoo. It gets in, gets the job done, and rinses out easy. I have a ton of hair so I end up using about half  a bottle per wash but I only wash my hair twice a week sooooo…

I have heard for people who have super oily hair this isn’t the best recipe. If this is you try decreasing the baking soda to help. I would suggest to give it a try for a few weeks and see how you like it before you nix it.

Conditioner:

• An 8 ounce “conditioner” bottle
• 1 tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
• water
• 5-10 drops of an essential oil of your choosing (I like to use orange as it covers the apple cider vinegar smell really well and creates a lovely scent)

Add the apple cider vinegar and essential oil to the bottle. Fill the rest of the way with water. Cap it and shake it gently. Conditioner made. Squeeze all over your scalp and hair. Leave it in for a few minutes so that the apple cider vinegar can do it’s job.

I know what you’re thinking- apple cider vinegar to help condition hair?! I know. Me too. But really! It helps to soften your hair by sealing up the cuticles and balancing the pH. It works really well and even helps detangle the hair.   Again, I have a lot of hair so I end up using an entire bottle of this per wash but really I don’t mind. It is still much more cost effective then what I was using before and the results are better.

You may notice that your hair needs a transition period (especially if you tend to use a lot of product). If that is the case give yourself 2 weeks to try this. Your hair should adjust by the end of this and you may start to notice you don’t have to wash your hair as often.