Natural haircare

I have a bunch of tips and guides I've picked up over the years that I wanted to share with you all 💓

So here are just a few. I do have a list of other herbs, so if you have any questions, please reach out. Please pass this knowledge on. I feel this is a great way to tune into the body's needs and intuitively forage. This is also a great way to get to know plants and flowers and have fun doing it. Picture this as a simple app, a way of taking pictures of plants and flowers and understanding their qualities, etc. 'Tame the Mane' also have great resources on their website. We can tune into the energy of a tree or plant, too.

Plants have medicinal properties but also help support us emotionally and energetically. For example, blue lotus is amazing in tea or tincture for connecting to Eros and higher self. Rose is beautiful for connecting to our hearts and unconditional love, romancing self, passion, and softness. Mugwort is great as a smudge stick, dried, and great for hormones.

Cleansing Plants:

• Green tea (can use tea bags)
• Rose
• Conker leaves
• Cleaver
• Yarrow

Astringents pull away dirt. Shampoo closes pores and tightens skin. We used to eat a lot of cleaver, really good for cleaver and nettle tea. Dandelion, nettle, and cleaver, massage in and leave for a little before rinsing. You can build up to less shampoo by using these above in between. For protein treatments, egg or seaweed is good. Whisk egg, rinse with cool water. You can twist the hair with the seaweed, lovely for curls. Wood ash is also a good cleanser, good to wash hair and body with.

Conditioning:

• Oats (make a porridge and sieve)
• Irish Moss
• Slippery Elm
• Flax
• Fengreek

You can mix oat, flax, and seaweed.

For Dry Scalp:Dry skin or other skin conditions can indicate other things going on in the body, emotionally, mentally, and physically.

• Rose
• Elderflower
• Nettle
• Plantain

For Greasy Hair:

• Yarrow
• Watercress
• Rosemary

Over-shampooing just makes hair more oily. Of course, if exposed to more pollution, living in a city, it can be good to use gentle shampoo. Extra virgin cold-pressed oil is great for sealing ends and overall use on skin and hair.

Taking us back to ancestral roots with our hair:‍

Having our hair cut is currently still seen as a maintenance thing, but what if we gave ourselves space to really sit with our needs? Feel into our digestion, our hair and skin, reflect what's going on physically and emotionally. A haircut can be like a coaching session or seeing a wellness coach or therapist. Ceremonial haircuts are about peeling back the layers and enquiring gently. Our bodies are connected! For example, dry scalp and skin can be an indicator of digestive problems, which can also link to hormonal imbalances. Shampoo is not needed. Moisture for our hair and skin is the most important. It protects our tissues within and creates strength and good immunity, especially when we massage the oil in. This is why I make special oil mixes for your needs.

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There are simple ways to start implementing a more holistic way of being with hair and our bodies:

STEP 1: Start with buying a squeezy bottle to dilute shampoo and try to use rainwater or spring water to moisturise if you can. A lot of people use just water and use oil or conditioning herbs to keep healthy. If you still want to shampoo, it's good to have at least 4 different products or herbs to alternate. You could start with washing less, see what works for you, and what herbs align, then condition, really massage, and take your time. Once a month, a protein treatment is recommended. Treat yourself like a newborn baby with softness and love.

STEP 2: When implementing something new, it's important to take your time. In time, you may work up to using no shampoo. You can use a wooden comb to stimulate and connect to hair. 'Living Natural' is a great shampoo. Most shampoos strip hair of natural oils and hold a lot of sulphates. Water from the tap can create a build-up on the scalp because of algae. I was taught not to moisturise the scalp, but it's very important you do. Use a small amount of shampoo when you do. If you can, when conditioning, co-wash, you can add vodka or witch hazel. The best oil is olive oil.

STEP 3: Hair can be limp if it has less protein or too much protein. The hair may be brittle and dry, but this can also happen when the hair has more protein, so feel into using different herbs. To suss out what works and doesn't, have a play with adding the herbs to good water, leave overnight, use a squeezy bottle for easy application to the scalp and hair. So the idea is you can use these herbs with water for washing hair then use the conditioning herbs or do a co or pre-wash for conditioner. Can be a good idea with oat conditioner, try not to shampoo after a condition as it can re-dry the hair. With a lot of these herbs or oils, they can be used on the face and body too. I always oil with coconut oil and sesame oil. In my skin.

Using a wooden comb helps with health, menstrual cycle. Shampoo can dry the skin just like soap does. There are certain stages you can start with to wean yourself into these changes and feel into what does and does not work for you. Because hair is an extension of our thoughts and collects prana, every cell in the body has a memory, which is why it is common that when we close a chapter, our beings are asking for a haircut. Shaving hair was seen as a punishment, and still now we hold so many stories and attachments to our hair, how it makes us look and feel... more sexy or feminine.

When we are little, it allows calcium and vitamin D to produce. Tribally, our hair was sacred and worn in different ways to express and celebrate different stages of our lives. It represented truth, community, tribe, unity, strength, and empowerment. Hair was cut when there was a death or transition. As tribes were conquered, it became all about power and status... rich and poor and how much we had. Therefore, how we looked was more important, which is where fashion stepped in and style, which can also be seen as art and expression.

Braids - mean unity of speech and heart.

‍Hair down - security.

‍Hair up - conviction.

Notice how you touch and play with your hair when you are in certain environments and saying different things. It is good to wash hair when upset or angry, which helps the process of emotions. Like a tree will wilt with a natural need for cleanse and change, so do we when we come inward and get to know our natural rhythms, we are connected more to our inner wisdom.

The beauty industry tells us beauty is only when we look a certain way. Beauty is in all of who we are and how we look. Self-care is being with you in the moment and knowing what you need.

For example:

• Solitude.
• Walk in nature.
• Being playful.
• Massage yourself.
• Take self on a date.
• Self soothe.

How can we return to nature?