I Am Not My Hair

May 19, 2016

Pinterest is a great site. I’m on there a lot getting ideas for art projects, recipes, and D.I.Y projects. I love finding things like recipes for lip balm, or lotion. A couple of years ago I found a recipe for homemade lotion on Pinterest that I absolutely loved. I keep a batch made at all times. Anyone who knows me, knows that while I’m very much into products, I try to be healthy, and use products that I think are safe. Recently I have been growing my hair out really long. It has always been long, but I am trying to grow it out ridiculously long. I want it to be healthy. I dry my hair with the hair dryer a lot, so I’m always concerned with damage and drying it out. I was on Pinterest and saw all these shampoo recipes. All the pinners said it lathered, smelled good, and was amazing for their hair. Side note: I saw the whole “nopoo” thing too, and thought, "No way. I need to feel clean. I need to lather my hair up every day, and my hair needs to smell good." This recipe for actual lathering shampoo was right up my alley.

I can’t tell you how important my hair is to me. I feel ridiculous saying this, but my hair is one of my prized possessions. I’ll admit this with fear and trembling that the shear statement of these words will cause something horrible to befall my black locks. I have gotten compliments on my hair my whole life. When I was little I had very long hair, and I wanted to be Crystal Gayle, so the longer the better. People tell me my hair smells amazing. That it’s silky, and shiny. I don’t know what made me want to try something new with it, but I did. I won’t post the recipe, or links here. I don’t want anyone to be offended by my post/review. Basically you mix together Castile Soap, Coconut Milk, Essential Oils, and a little Almond Oil. I thought, “It’s so simple!” How can it not be good to put simple products on my hair to insure it is clean, and healthy? So, my journey began. I mixed up my concoction and started using it.

Upon first use I thought it was very watery. You have to shake the contents up and mix them before each use, because things separate. I liked that it lathered well. Once I rinsed it, I thought it felt a little dry. Let’s be honest, a lot dry. I thought I was going to have to use some major conditioner. So, I went for the coconut oil. I didn’t use a lot, because it’s oil. A little oil in your hair can go a long way. My hair felt better, and was so soft! I was pleased. Then I went to blow dry my hair. It was a mess. A total oil slick. I had to rewash my hair and start over. This time I fought the urge for conditioner. I dried my hair and noticed it felt a little heavier than normal. Everything says that your hair goes through a time of adjustment. You are getting used to not having tons of product in your hair. So, I continued on. A week went by and my hair just felt dry, limp, and sad all the time. I was embarrassed of my locks. I would braid them, or pull them in a ponytail all the time. My hair didn’t smell good either. It didn’t smell bad, but gone were the amazing perfumes left by my shampoo. Essential oils only go so far in the scent department. Two and a half weeks in I realized that my hair just seemed to be getting dryer and dryer. It was tangled a lot, and stringy. STRINGY! I have never had stringy hair. It has always been flowing, and maybe frizzy at times, but NEVER stringy.

Although one day I was actually going to work for meetings and I decided I wanted to curl my hair. It curled so well! It looked exactly the way I wanted it to. My friend at work complimented me and I said, “I don’t know what happened! It just curled so easily today.” She asked if it was dirty, because we all know ladies, dirty hair usually styles better. I said, “Well, I have been making my own shampoo. So, maybe it is dirty!” I would rather my hair be clean and shiny than curl easily. This was a wake-up call for me.

This was my hair that day. I had even taken a picture, because it curled so well.

One night I was brushing it out after a shower, and there was a huge knot in it that I had to get out. Once it finally released so did a little clump of hair. That was it. I was done. So, I told my husband, “I’m over this homemade shampoo thing. I don’t like it at all.” He didn’t even look up from his phone. He just said, “Thank God!” I laughed and said, “You have noticed a difference?” He said, and I quote, “It’s like going to a bed with a Brillo Pad every night.” That made me laugh harder. I said that I had noticed how dry it was, but thought it was going to level out. I explained to him that I was trying to do something healthy for my hair. He said, “There’s a reason millions of dollars are spent on developing products for hair.” I asked him why he didn’t say anything about how dry it felt and he said, “It was something you wanted to do. I didn’t want to interfere.” He’s a good man. Am I right?

That day I was running around with my Mom, and was on a mission to buy some shampoo. So, I went into TJ Maxx, of course. I bought: shampoo, conditioner, and some leave in conditioner, for good measure. My hair is back to being shiny and silky again. It’s got that luster it used to have, and it smells amazing. Never again. I’m trusting the companies. They know what they are doing.

These are my products I snatched up at TJ Maxx.