Do you recall the video I did on the problem of taking care of your hair after apocalypse? In that video I showed that even if you know how to make soap, you won’t be using it. If you missed that earlier post – here is the link see it again.
http://www.growyourowngroceries.org/post-apocalypse-hair-doo-with-marjory-wildcraft/
So I am still on the search for ways of taking care of your hair without using soap. And as I promised, I’ve been experimenting with various homemade shampoos and I have an update for you. Thanks so much to Nancy B. who sent along the links and information for the following recipe, which originated from the folks over at www.longhairloom.com
1 raw egg
1 raw egg yolk
1 teaspoon honey
juice of 1 lemon
Beat the eggs and honey together really, really well (so the lemon doesn’t flock the eggs), and then add the lemon juice. You’ll get a sloppy liquid, which you massage into your wet hair. Let it sit for about five minutes so the lecithin in the eggs can do their work, and then rinse.
Oh, fabulous shine! I mean really fabulous.
I only need to wash my hair about once per week with this method.
Now this recipe still has the fatal flaw in that is uses ingredients that will be much more valuable as food – when you are starving you will much rather eat those eggs than put them on your hair. And those of us with sweet teeth would cringe at the thought of the honey being wasted on beauty.
But while times are good and a teaspoon of honey is no big deal, I have to say that I loved the results.
Most of you heard me confess on Jack Spriko’s podcast that I am intimidated by the shampoo isle in the supermarket – too many choices! That isle is totally overwhelming to me. So while I am still working on the ultimate collapse proof recipe for us to use, this one will at least keep you out of that insane assortment of bottles in the supermarket.
So I am still experimenting, so stay tuned for my next update.
Marjory
PS: Hey, I’ve been lovin’ the feedback and comments you’ve been posting on the blog. If you’ve got a recipe, or hair story, please post it there. I read every comment and try to respond to every one.
PPS: I am going to try a yucca root recipe here very soon. Waiting for my hair to get dirty again…. ohyeah, and I need to dig up a yucca.
Marjory Wildcraft is an Expedition Leader and Bioneer Blogger with The [Grow] Network, which is an online community that recognizes the wisdom of “homegrown food on every table.” Marjory has been featured as an expert on sustainable living by National Geographic, she is a speaker at Mother Earth News fairs, and is a returning guest on Coast to Coast AM. She is an author of several books, but is best known for her “Grow Your Own Groceries” video series, which is used by more than 300,000 homesteaders, survivalists, universities, and missionary organizations around the world.
COMMENTS(14)
I have looked into alternate shampoo for quite sometime and have come to the conclusion that there is probably no easy substitute…at least for my hair. I agree with you. Eggs are more important for my health (and hair) by eating them. I also cannot get around the idea that as an art medium, egg yolk, mixed with pigment and a bit of water can harden into a tough film…egg tempera! I use other mediums for “safety” reasons, but still…
My adult daughter washes her hair (curly but not frizzy) with baking soda and vinegar rinse. I love baking soda and use it for everything from tooth powder (fabulous!) to a scouring powder, but with my curly/frizzy at times hair, I am a bit reluctant to use it. Currently, I use a minimum amount of shampoo followed by a minimum amount of creme rinse. I would like to discontinue both! I only wash my hair once or twice a week and no one is the wiser.
We have yucca plants on our property (small farm); Someone gave them to me many years ago. I think they are Yucca filamentosa L. The divided root propagates easily and I understand the root can be dried. It would not be too difficult to put up “crop” of dried root for hair washing during the year. It just must be planned, probably just dividing the roots into small roots and letting them grow during the summer for a fall or spring harvest. I must get up enough nerve to try it!
http://www.motherearthliving.com/natural-beauty/5-hair-care-recipes.aspx?PageId=1#axzz2VDGnIGXA
I am looking forward to your continued shampoo exploration!
I am going to try the yucca thing here soon.
Thanks for your comments.
Where can I get yucca root?
How do I grow it?
Do you have recipes for yucca root
Thanks.
Jess
Yuccas grow pretty much everywehre in the US. they tend to like dry, sandy soils. They abound int he desert SW – and the yucca flower is the State flower for new Mexico.
A local herbalist can help youf ind a local source for roots – perhaps show you a stand you can sustainable harvest from, or how to grow it.
If you want to buy online to try it out – go to Mountain Rosa Herbs at http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/
I see that Mountain Rose also sells whole soap nuts if you want to experiment with that too.
Keep us posted on what you discover.
I am over the Farmers Market here in Waldron Ar.,a garden at the Boys and Girls Club,write an article in our local paper,own Red Gate Hobby Farm,grow heirloom veggies,and work a full time job,but my passion is gardening.Iam trying to educate people in my area as to the benefits of gardening, slow process.It would please me to no end if you could come and do a talk in my little town. Thanks so much Claudie Pierce
Hulda Clark has a great recipe for cleaning hair. It involves dissolving a small amt of borax into a bottle of water. Wash your hair with some of the borax solution, rinse with water, then follow with a rinse of water mixed with citric acid. That’s it, if memory serves me well. There will be no suds and it will not FEEL like you are shampooing, but your hair will come out clean and shiny.
I have done it, and liked the results, but was too lazy to continue mixing the stuff when I can just buy a bottle of shampoo. 🙁
Hi Marlizam, thanks for that recipe. Sounds a lot like th baking soda and vinegar type rinses that are also very effective.
Just found you via C2C and ran across this article on shampoo. I thought you might be interested to know that we’ve all been duped into believing we even NEED shampoo. I have Multiple Chemical Sensitivities and for the first six months after my diagnosis when I was determining which substances triggered my responses, I did not use shampoo at all. Just hot water.
For the first week, as my body adjusted to not having the oils on my head washed off with detergent every day, my hair was a bit oily because my scalp was used to replacing those oils. However, after about a week, the body readjusted and my hair was fine. My son has a friend who hasn’t used anything on his hair except hot water in over two years and his hair is clean looking. It is not oily or smelly at all.
After six months I began using baking soda to wash my hair. I would simply dissolve a teaspoon of baking soda in a glass of water, and pour it over my head. I would scrub my scalp a bit and rinse. I follow that with a teaspoon of vinegar in a glass of water. Pour it over the head. Run your fingers through your hair and rinse. The result is clean, shiny, tangle free hair.
We don’t need shampoo.
It’s a scam to make more money.
Just remember, if you try these methods you have to give your scalp a few days to adjust. It is used to replacing those stripped oils every time you use shampoo (which is a detergent that strips oils just like dish soap).
Hi Annie,
You are absolutely right you don’t need shampoo.
And especially for people with short hiar, the don’t need anything but water.
But I have longer hair. I tried using nothing but water for a while – uh, several months. My hair was just oily and yucky most of that time. I couldn’t bear it longer to see if it was a detox thing I had to get over. I’ve heard you need more than a year sometimes, but I couldn’t hang that long. So I use either the baking soda and vinegar mix, or the ashes and vinegar mix, or the egg/hone/lemon recipe which is just devine. Here is that recipe
I like to boil about 15 – 20 soap nuts from the Soap Nut tree for a few hours with a good sized sprig of rosemary and a bay leaf. You put it on the hair for about 5 minutes and then rinse. It does lather a little bit. To make it last longer, I also put in a few drops of grapefruit seed oil and rosemary extract as a preservative. Keep what you won’t use in a week in the freezer.
GreenMed is one of my other favorite sites to take life in my own hands. It was nice to see this article in the newsletter today; so, I had to share.
http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/toxic-detergents-vs-soap-nuts-laundry-soap-you-can-eat?page=1
Now to see if soap nuts can be grown in my area. . .
I didn’t know where to post this and decided to post it here. I understand that ammonia can be “made” from human urine simply by letting it sit for several weeks. As ammonia can be used for cleaning purposes, I thought that this idea might be worth looking into for “extreme” circumstances that may arise in the future. Have you heard about this?
Hi GT, Hmm, I hadn’t ever thoguht about making ammonia before. Homemade vinegar is easy to do and every bit as useful for most things ammonia does. did you have a specific purpose in mind for the ammonia?
@marjorywildcraft have you tried the yucca root shampoo? I have a lot of yucca! I do love my baking soda and water with an acv rinse. But I’m open to using onsite herbs!