Karen's Hair Care Recipes

Remember: We absorb things through our skin. In a perfect world, if we couldn't eat it we wouldn't put it on our skin. That is not realistic. So if you can't eat it, minimize your exposure.

What We Expect: The most common chemical additives to beauty products are preservatives and foaming agents because consumers have certain expectations of particular kinds of products. Contrary to what many believe, suds are not essential to cleaning, it is what we/consumers expect. I know I do. It takes a real effort to adapt to a no suds regime.

Natural Shampoo
All things considered, hair care products are probably the safest of all beauty and body cleansing products on the market. The  FDA doesn't call them safe, just, "without substantial risk", and most of us are willing to accept minimal risks for the sake of beauty. We all make our own choices about the products we use. I have tried alternative, "natural" shampoos and I just wasn't satisfied. I wanted suds and convenience. The best advise I have for shampoo is to not get sucked into buying overly expensive ones and to switch  them often. They all stop working after extended use. The only alternative that I managed to use for any length of time was made with Borax. But again, I missed the suds.

Natural Hair Conditioning
Vinegar: (My Favorite!) Cheap and easy! A dilute vinegar rinse. The acidity can be helpful in treating mild forms of dandruff. I love using vinegar. It makes my hair shine and my skin feel great!
Citric Acid Rinse: Use 1/4 tsp. Citric acid per 1 pint of water. For long hair use a quart or more. Rinse your whole body. Citric acid is also antibacterial and adds shine and body to hair. I love it. The acidity is what adds the shine by smoothing the cuticle.
Witch Hazel: An excellent astringent and skin conditioner. Good if you tend to have oily hair. I personally have very dry skin and do not regularly use astringents, but when I want one, witch hazel is my choice.

Oils for your Hair: Jojoba Oil, Olive Oil, Cod Liver Oil, Sesame Oil, Soybean Oil, Coconut Oil, Peanut Oil, Shea Nut Butter ( a natural nut butter from Africa used for cooking and body products: Look for it in the beauty section of your local health food store: Make sure it is pure), Castor Oil, Butter (Real Butter: Unsalted), Hemp Oil (Learn more about the incredible benefits of hemp.). Basically any natural oil that you could eat should be good to put on your hair. Concentrate on the hair and not on the scalp. A hot oil treatment will make your hair soft. It does not permanently reconstruct or repair damage from abuse or chemicals. Any one, or mixture, of these oils can be used to give your hair a hot oil treatment. Just warm, apply to hair, cover with shower cap and warm towel (to heat activate) for 10 to 15 minutes. Shampoo and condition as usual.

Damage Repair: Hair is mostly protein and water. Protein that is absorbed into the hair shaft is the only thing that does any sort of real reconstructing. For this I recommend looking at commercial products formulated with animal proteins or better yet, hydrolyzed human hair protein.

All information above is presented in good faith. No warranty is implied. Karen Ribble or Braided Image Hair Braiding is not responsible for any dissatisfaction or damage with any of the above suggestions. Use all at you own risk.