Inspiring DIY projects, beauty recipes and advice to green your daily routine.
Inspiring DIY projects, beauty recipes and advice to green your daily routine.
Switching from a typical commercial shampoo to an all natural shampoo was difficult for me. It took a month of research and lots of experimenting with different recipes and processes until I finally succeeded. I want to save you all that effort and frustration and share everything you need to know to make a quick and painless switch.
In the end the results were worth the frustration. As I watch my hair grow out in preparation to donate it, I am thrilled to see that it is healthier than ever before and without the split ends that sent me back to the hair dresser every few months last time I grew it for donation.
I’ll never go back to a commercial shampoo and once you’ve made the switch and seen the results, you’ll never go back either.
The most important thing I learned during my research is also the most disgusting; most commercial shampoos contain petrochemicals. Yes, that is “petro” as in petroleum. Petrochemicals are derived from petroleum, and every time you wash your hair you are coating it with petrochemicals, absorbing some through your skin and washing the rest down the drain into your local water systems.
Scratch your head. No, not in wonder about these disturbing facts. Literally, scratch your head.
Did you get a bunch of white gunk under your fingernails?
I used to think that was just dead skin, but now I know that was the petrochemicals left behind by my shampoo.
You should start the process of switching to an all-natural shampoo by making or buying a cleansing shampoo and a rinse.
I made my own Cleansing and Calming Shampoo using a castile soap base, tea tree essential oil and lemon essential oil. Switching shampoos stresses the pores on your scalp and stressed pores produce more sebum which will make your hair oily. The tea tree essential oil calms the pores to keep the sebum production to a minimum, while the lemon essential oil acts as a detoxifier and an astringent. View the Cleansing and Calming Shampoo recipe page for additional information and instructions.
For a rinse, I made an Apple Cider Vinegar Rinse and Conditioner with apple cider vinegar and distilled water. The rinse will help clean your scalp and hair of the petrochemicals, and leave it feeling incredibly soft. View the Apple Cider Vinegar Rinse and Conditioner recipe page for additional information and instructions.
During the first week, or until your scalp and hair feel clean, you should rinse with the apple cider vinegar solution, wash with your shampoo, then rinse again with the apple cider vinegar solution.
Most people with average length hair will experience the ”gross stage” first. Since this stage usually lasts until the third rinse/wash/rinse cycle. I recommend you start switching your products Friday night so you look decent for work Monday morning.
During the gross stage your hair will feel oily and heavy because the gunk is being dislodged and your pores are stressed (remember you are cleansing them and they will be open for the first time in a long time).
Once the gross stage is over you will still need to continue the rinse/wash/rinse cycle for 4 days or until your scalp and hair feel clean. Try the scratch test. When you aren’t getting a bunch of gunk under your fingernails, your hair is in its new state of normal and you can start a routine with an all natural shampoo and conditioner that compliments and enhances it.
There were several things that I experienced that I didn’t expect when I first switched from a typical commercial shampoo to an all natural shampoo.
I didn’t expect to get used to the texture of the shampoo so quickly. The castile-based shampoo is much thinner than my old shampoo, but it only took a few uses to get used to.
I also didn’t expect the squeaky clean feeling I had after washing my hair. Most people who make the switch tell me they put product in their hair immediately because it was weird for them to feel so clean. I don’t usually use hair product so I left my hair alone and it’s another thing I got used to pretty quickly.
Before switching shampoos I had oily roots and dry, split ends, and I didn’t expect that to change. Within the first week of my switch I had normal hair from roots to tip. This change makes sense because my pores were clogged and my sebaceous glands were working over-time, but the petrochemical coated strands were not allowing the oil to travel through the hair to the roots.
Opening up the pores had one more unexpected effect; I grew more hair. After about a month with my natural shampoo I noticed lots of short hairs growing evenly around my head, coming from pores that had previously been clogged by my old shampoo. For a person with fine hair, more hair was a welcome sight.
Whether you want to switch to an all natural shampoo out of concern for the environment or your own health and beauty, I encourage you to commit to making that change today! If you have questions about switching today or as you go through the process, please leave them in the comments section below. I know me, Kim and other readers, will be happy to support you and answer your questions as best we can.
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Hi Nicole,
I know you posted this a while ago now, but hopefully you won’t mind answering a question! About a month ago, I started using your shampoo and the ACV rinse after. The first few days my hair actually felt great, but then I moved into the “gross stage” and it still hasn’t changed! Have you ever heard of this happening? Any idea what could be wrong!? Thanks so much!
Hi Lisa,
Does your hair feel gunky? If so, do you use other products that may leaving residue in your hair? If your not using additional products leaving gunk, it may actually be a build up of dead skin. Once your scalp is cleaned of all the petrochemical, you may be surprised at how much dead skin will flake off. That’s normal since your skin is finally free
Additional brushing with a soft, natural bristle brush helps to massage the skin out.
Or does your hair feel greasy or oily? If that’s the issue cut back on the ACV. Once your hair is clean most people only use it a few times a week. Also, over the long term, I’ve found my hair feels best if I use the ACV before shampooing, because then it’s acting as a conditioner, while in the beginning, during my initial switch, it was acting as more of a rinse.
If you don’t think either bit of advice is what your looking for please leave me some additional details such as your hair length, texture, oilyness/dryness of your scalp and hair, and more about the “feel” of your hair right now. You may need a new shampoo recipe, and I would be happy to help you figure one out.
Thank you so much for your response! Yes, my hair feels seriously gunky, and especially at the roots. For the first time ever, today after I’d just washed my hair and was blow-drying it, I noticed a strange gunk on my fingertips after I’d been touching my hair/scalp a lot. How totally gross! I promise I am not a dirty person!
I assume the gunk must be the dead skin that you mentioned, because I’m not using any other products.
So the roots are definitely greasier than before, but the rest of my hair is drier and frizzier than before (with brittle ends)! Before I switched to these products, my hair always looked extremely healthy and shiny, and I had no problem with it being either too oily or too dry. Granted, I have always used conditioner after shampooing or my hair would’ve been very dry. Otherwise, my hair is fairly long, mostly straight with a little natural waviness, and is very thick.
I like the idea of trying the ACV before, I will definitely do that. Thank you so very much for your advice and concern, I really appreciate any help you can give me!
So it makes sense that if your roots are oily your ends are dry. The gunk on your scalp is preventing the oils produced there from flowing down your hair to moisturize the ends. I have 2 more recommendations. Until you get your scalp cleaned up consider rubbing oil on the ends to keep them from splitting. Argan or jojoba oil are good options because argan oil has proteins similar to the proteins in your hair and jojoba oil is similar to the oil your own body secretes.
Also, consider using a dry shampoo to soak up the oils at your roots. I would recommend this lavender oatmeal dry shampoo: http://agreenroutine.com/lavender-oatmeal-dry-shampoo/ for 3 reasons. First, it will dry up the oils at your roots. Second, massaging the ground oatmeal into your scalp will loosen all that dead skin. Third, the extra brushing you do to remove the dry shampoo will also help you remove all the dry skin.
Good luck, I admire your commitment to switching to a more natural shampoo. Keep me posted on how it goes and let me know if I can help with any more info or a new recipe.
I have been having this exact same problem! So encouraging to read that I’m not the only person with this problem. My hair hasn’t ever been unhealthy, but this switching has my hair a grease city and I am so ready to be over this!
I know, it’s so annoying! How long have you been using the castile ‘shampoo’ for? It’s been about 6 weeks for me now….and while my ends aren’t brittle anymore, my roots are greasier than ever. Wish I knew when I could expect this stage to end…
I just made “the switch” a few days ago, and am having problems with greasy hair also. My initial thought was perhaps because Castile soap has so much oil in it? I have not tried the vinegar/water rinse yet. Will try that this morning. I was wondering about maybe putting a little bit of Dawn dish detergent in it to help clean out the grease? Hmmm..Yesterday when I washed my hair (with just diluted Castile soap) it was oily on the underneath side only. This morning my whole head is greasy. I am wondering about the essential oils you are using. Are they food grade oils or fragrance grade oils? Is there a difference when it comes to your hair?
I love your idea of putting the soap in a spray bottle! I’ll have to try and find one that will fit in my shower.
Hi Kay, You mentioned a lot of things I want to reply to in this comment and the one you left a few hours later.
First, I’m not sure you need to use Dawn in your hair to cut the oil, which is extra sebum being produced by your stressed out pores. But have you ever seen the detergent commercials where they put the soap on the grease stain before they wash the dish? The same logic works with shampoo. Try putting shampoo in your hair before wetting it and the shampoo will make direct contact with the oil and dead skin it needs to attach to and do a better job of cleaning your scalp.
Second, you asked if the ingredients in Castile bar and liquid soap are different. Castile soap is a generic name for soap, like lasagna is for layered, noodle dishes. Some castile soaps are made with palm kernel oil bases, others with jojoba oil, etc. So you have to look at the ingredients to know what is in your brand of soap.
Third, you mentioned you are worried the Castile soap is adding to your oily hair problem because it has oil in it. The oil is soap has been chemically altered through the saponification process. To make soap you need a fat or oil and a salt, when they are put together they saponify and create a molecule with a dirt loving head and water loving tail. The dirt loving head grabs and surrounding anything on your skin, while the water loving tail helps you wash everything away. Extra oil in the soap that may not have been saponified can cause an issue, but a good soap maker would be checking their soap and adding more salt as necessary to finish the process. You said you had better luck with bar soap and that may be due to the fact that it’s harder to create a bar soap that’s not completely saponified than a liquid soap. So you may want to stick to the bar assuming you are getting a better quality soap.
Fourth, I want to get to your question about essential oils. There are a few grades of EOs. Food grade is fine for shampoo, but you may end up paying more for it because it was made in a food grade factory and approved for ingestion and that adds to the price. I usually buy therapeutic grade essential oils, they are not made in food grade facilities but they are an equal quality product. Never ingest these EOs though, it’s not safe. Fragrance oils may be used for scenting your shampoo but they will not provide therapeutic qualities, such as acting as an astringent or adding shine to your hair. Lastly, there are flavor oils which are safe for lip products. To learn a little more about EOs, see this post which includes info on purchasing tips: http://agreenroutine.com/essential-information-about-essential-oils/. And on this site, any time Kim or I use a flavor or fragrance oil in a recipe we note it, otherwise you can assume we are using a therapeutic grade EO.
Let me know if you have any additional questions and I’ll be happy to answer them for you.
Thank you very much for all of your helpful information! What I actually used the other morning is Kirk’s Castile bar soap, and I’m in love with it! So much so that I actually made my very first soap today! lol! I’m really loving the lather and clean feeling it’s giving me! I’ll continue to use the vinegar/water rinse. Again, thank you very much! I especially found your explanation of the various EO’s helpful!
Your welcome
Shampooed my hair this morning with Castile BAR soap instead of liquid soap. Then did the vinegar/water rinse. WOW! It looks and feels so much better this morning! Is there a difference in the ingredients of Castile Bar vs Castile Liquid? Or was it the vinegar/water rinse. Not sure yet, but looks and feels much better! I also noticed that the bar soap had MUCH better lather and suds than the liquid.
Would you have any suggestions for bleached hair? I really would like to keep my hair blonde AND use natural shampoo/conditioner. I’m a week into my switch and it seems as if more of my hair is falling out and I haven’t been able to style my hair (I have an A line cut). My hair is ok in some parts but oily and heavy in others.
Dallis, is your hair falling out at the roots or is it breaking and falling off?
If it’s falling out at the roots it may be the stress of switching that is causing the problem. If that’s the case you might want to try a gradual approach. At first, only use the all-natural shampoo every few days while using your regular shampoo the rest of the time, then slowly use the all-natural shampoo more often.
If it’s breaking off it means your bleaching and styling routine has damaged your hair. It doesn’t mean you have to stop bleaching and styling your hair the way you want it, but it may mean you are due for some restorative treatments such as hair masks that include hydrating oils like coconut or olive oil and egg yolks for protein. Argan oils is also wonderful for hair because it is both hydrating and the protein in argan oil is like the protein in hair.
In either situation the importance of diet in maintain healthy hair should not be ignored. Drinking lots of water, including animal or plant protein in your diet and ensuring you include foods high in omega-3s and vitamins A, E and K go a long way to helping your hair stay healthy.