Hair Basics: Rosemary Spritz

The other day, my neighbor gave me a beautiful bunch of fresh rosemary. It was fresh from her herb pot and smelled great. So, what was I going to do with this unexpected gift? I love to cook with rosemary (which is one of the things I did with it) however I know my family would not want to eat rosemary in every meal for the next week or so. Then I remembered that rosemary is also fabulous for hair. I did a little internet research and came up with great info. A few examples can be found here, here, and here. Besides smelling great, rosemary is known to stimulate the scalp leading to hair growth. So, I decided to make a couple of hair products with my fresh rosemary.

The first was a simple spritz. I steeped the fresh rosemary in my Teavana tea maker and let it stay in there until it cooled. While it was still warm, I added about a teaspoon of raw honey – good for moisture and shine. The honey completely dissolves in the warm water so there is no stickiness in the final product.

I keep the spritz in the fridge since it is all natural and won’t last long at room temperature. So far, I love it! I spritz my hair at night before going to bed and also mid-day just to give it a quick shot of moisture. It works well and is easy and inexpensive to make.

Homemade Hair Spritz

My hair loves spritz. Despite Florida’s humid climate, I feel that my fro benefits from a nice spritz of moisture in the middle of a hot day. However, I was getting pretty tired of spending $5 - $10 for bottles of water infused with herbs and oils that I already own. So I decided to add a few things to my collection (as only a true product junkie would) and make my own spritzes.

I did a bit of online research and found great resources such Anita Grant who provided information on how different herbs affect hair. I placed an order and was very excited to receive my packages of dried herbs. I have to admit that my dried herbs sat under my bathroom sink for about two months while I used up my store bought spritz.

I was excited about the idea of making my own spritz but dreaded the process of dealing with herbs. However the process I was dreading turned out be easy peasy. I decided to make two bottles of spritz. The first is supposed to prevent breakage of dry, coarse, naturally curly hair and consists of organic hibiscus and blue malva. The other consists of organic nettle, coltsfoot, and horsetail, a combo that promotes healthy natural hair growth and prevents split ends.

I infused herbs into my water using two types of Teavana tea infusers. Both worked well and were as easy as making a cup of tea. With each type, I placed the loose herbs into the container and poured boiling water over them. I then allowed them to steep until the water cooled. I poured the infused mixtures into spray bottles that I bought from Target.

I have only used my homemade mixes for about a week but so far I really love them. These two bottles barely put a dent into my herb supply. My $20 investment in dried herbs will probably make about 20 bottles of spritz! I added a bit of lemongrass essential oil to nettle/coltsfoot/horsetail combo and it smells great and makes my hair feel super soft. I have few other herbs that I have yet to use but will keep you posted as I channel my inner mixtress.

Making Natural Hair Products

Over the past couple of years, I have really worked to simplify both my hair routine and the products that I use in my (and my daughter’s) hair. The more I learned about products, the more I realized that many of the brands I purchased were not contributing to the overall health of my hair. I threw out everything containing sulfates, mineral oil, and lists of chemicals that I could not identify.

As I transitioned to natural ingredients, I purchased from many companies - big and small – and probably spent more money than I care to think about. So, I was pretty excited to have the opportunity to learn how to create hair products for myself. Last weekend, my daughter and I attended a Natural Hair Lab (hosted by Karen of the Peace and Beauty Project) and made organic shampoo, hair butter, and hair oil. We had a great time learning about the benefits of natural products on our hair and skin.

It was great to be able to work with ingredients that we could pronounce like the castile soap, black cocoa butter, cocoa absolute and mint in the yummy shampoo.

And the jojoba, rosemary, and mint in the soothing scalp oil.

And also the almond butter, lemongrass oil, and coconut oil in the amazing lemongrass hair butter.

My daughter and I learned so much. Maybe too much – she came home and told her Dad that his chemical-laden shower gel was poison! LOL!

Good times…..

Cassia treatments

Florida sun can be brutal on skin and hair. Add twice a week swim team practices and weekly swim meets and you have a recipe for some pretty dry hair. My daughter swam (both in the pool and at the beach) all summer long and I was diligent about co-washing and moisturizing her hair. However, I still thought her hair needed a little extra loving care at the end of the summer so I applied a cassia treatment. I didn’t want to use henna because the ends of her hair are pretty light and I didn’t want to risk having them turn bright red.

Cassia is sometimes referred to as neutral henna (though that is actually a misnomer) and provides many of the same benefits as a henna treatment. It is a deep conditioner that strengthens the hair and adds shine.

I bought my cassia from Butters – N – Bars and mixed it with warm water to form a loose paste. I applied it to my daughter’s hair and left it on for about an hour. It rinsed out pretty easily with warm water and Hello Hydration conditioner.

Afterwards, her hair felt soft and the edges (which had been lightened by chlorine) have a slight golden glow that I tried to capture in a picture. It is not really pronounced on the photo but you can definitely see it in person, especially in the sun.

I plan to do monthly cassia treatments on her hair as a strengthening deep conditioner.

I Bought a Steamer!

During my daily patrols of hair blogs, I kept reading about hair steamers and how great they are. Of course we know that water is good for our hair and heat opens the cuticles to enhance penetration. So, it seems logical that steaming would be a good thing.

For a while, I satisfied my itch to buy a steamer by layering hot wet towels and shower caps over my deep conditioner. The results were pretty good however when my sister started talking about steamers, my itch came back! She and I searched the web for the best deals and finally found steamers for under $100 with free shipping.

I have been steaming my daughter’s and my own hair for about a month now and I am very happy with the results. My hair retains moisture and almost any conditioner makes my hair feel ridiculously soft. I figure that since most salons tack on $20 - $50 for a steam treatment then I’ve already made my money back.

I love my steamer and think it was a great purchase. How does it simplify my life? Well, I no longer have to try different techniques and products to moisturize my hair. The steamer works like magic to infuse deep conditioner, regular condition and even leave-in into my strands.

I've included some before/after shots of my nieces' hair. My sister steamed them both using Hello Hydration, honey, and olive oil. As you can see, the results are pretty impressive. Please share your steamer experiences.

Swimming Regimen

This summer, my daughter is on a swim team. So in addition to our frequent trips to the beach, she spends at least 3 hours a week (more on competition weeks) in highly chlorinated water. Both the chlorine and the intense sun can be very drying to hair. Fortunately, there are a variety of resources online to help create a swimming haircare regimen. Some of the ones I used are:

http://www.happygirlhair.com/2010/05/good-to-know-protect-hair-from-chlorine.html

http://www.happygirlhair.com/2010/05/good-to-know-swim-caps.html

http://thenaturalhaven.blogspot.com/2010/06/hair-care-when-swimming-tip-on-water.html

http://newlynatural.com/blog/2009/05/protecting-hair-from-swimming/

I was able to create a fairly simple routine for my daughter’s hair and so far it seems to be working. Her hair still retains moisture and is in good condition. Before she swims, I put her hair into two cornrows. I use a lot of conditioner as I braid it. Right before she gets in the water, I give it a generous spray of Kylie’s pre-swim conditioner. She also wears a swim cap most of the time which keeps a lot of water out.

After swimming, she rinses her hair and co-washes with Aubrey’s Organics swimmers conditioner. I make sure to deep condition her hair within 24 hours and re-braid or twist (with leave-in conditioner, some type of butter, and a sealant) until the next swimming session. So far, so good.

How do you deep condition?

The hot Florida sun can be brutal on skin and hair. I find that deep conditioning is essential to maintaining moisture and avoiding breakage. I have tried many products ranging from the super cheap to more expensive than I would like. However, I have found that adding honey and olive oil to just about any decent conditioner yields good results. I wear my hair natural and I prefer all natural ingredients so there are some pricier products that do not meet my criteria for a suitable conditioner. Now don't get me wrong, companies like Darcy's Botanicals and Karen's Body Beautiful make fantastics conditioners. However, I can also use a less expensive conditioner and get great results by adding a few ingredients from my kitchen. What works for you? Share you favorites deep conditioner concoctions....