Everybody loves their hair. Well.. maybe not everybody, but what would we do without it. It is such a beautiful feature, so why not give it some extra love and attention!

I have been -like many others- so harsh to my hair the past few years. I treated it like I didn't care about it at all, and my hair began to tell me it needed some loving. When I started treating it right, my hair gave me a big thank you back.

Commercial shampoos and conditioners often contain synthetic silicones and silica that coat the hair , to make it 'feel' nice, but leave a residue in your hair.
For that reason, many hairdressers will tell you that it is a good idea to change commercial brands regularly. This is a common scenario when you try a new product... first your hair feels funny, then you love it for a week or two, but then your hair feels dull and lifeless again.
The first week it was stripping your hair of the old shampoo residue, then it begins to leave its own!

Stripping all the natural oils from the hair and scalp is asking for problems. The scalp will dry out and the effect is often imbalance of the oil production. The scalp will try to fix the dryness by producing a large amount of oil in a short time. This is especially a common problem for people with straight and/or thin hair, so they often begin to wash it more frequently, which will make it even worse. The cycle will never end this way...

So what are the alternative options?

There are so many natural products, there must be one fitting your hair type and their needs. If you decide you want to go natural, try not to give up after a few weeks! Your hair and scalp need some time to adjust to the sublte ways natural products work, especially if you wash your hair too often.

1. Handmade hair soap

Handmade solid shampoo bars are amazing. I put this option first, because I'm just a huge fan of this product. I love that it is handmade. Someone has put effort and passion in the product, which can only be beneficial for your hair.

How it is made

The good thing about handmade soap is, you will know what you get. It contains water or a watery solution, glycerin, sodium hydroxide(for the saponification process) and various oils and/or butters. In many stores or online shops you can choose from a huge assortment of soaps with different ingedients. From honey to lavender.

I haven't done it myself yet, but you could easily make the soap yourself as well. It's cheap and if you have a garden full of holistic plants and herbs, this is maybe an other idea to give them usage.

2. Chikakai powder

Shikakai is the fruit from the acacia concinna plant and one of the ayurvedic herbs. In India this fruit is used for centuries to wash the hair and they often call it ''the fruit for the hair''.

Shikakai works as an shampoo, conditioner and a mask at ones. It is rich in antioxidants and vitamins which nourishes the hair.

On top of that, it can soothe an inflamed scalp due to it's cooling antiseptic properties and balances the ph level. The ph level of your scalp is essential to the health of your hair. If not balanced, problems like hair loss and dandruff can occur.

They dry the fruit and make a powder from it. Adding a little water to it, will create a washable paste. Shikakai is a bit strange at firts though, because it doesn't faom and gently cleans the hair, unlike the commercial shampoos.

Make sure if you're planning to buy shikakai powder, it is pure and organic

3. Soap nuts(reetha)

Soap nuts are the dried out shells from the soapberry. These berries are the fruit from the sapindus mukorossi tree, which grows in the himalayas.

These shells contain a natural substance called saponin that produces a soaping effect.

Soap nuts, like Chikakai, are very similair in their beneficial properties for the hair. But many people find soap nuts slightly easier to use because it faoms and is removed quicker from the scalp.

You're not restricted to use it only as an alternative for shampoo and conditioner. Soap nuts are used for all sorts of things like

Thank you for reading, I hope it was helpful!