other-wise-or-wise-others

[other-wise-or-wise-others]

Make your own shampoo and conditioner experiment

Why make your own?

Well, firstly, lets explain where commercial shampoo and conditioner comes from: most of the time, it is made by a mega-multi-national corporation (eg. Unilever) by mixing petroleum-based chemicals into plastic bottles derived from petroleum... a lot of fossil fuels have gone into the raw materials, manufacture and transport to get this stuff to you. 

Another thing is that the chemicals in hair products (eg. Sodium Lauryl Sulfate) are actually carcinogenic and/or harmful to our bodies (see link below for more info).

HOWEVER: making your own can have major cost savings! 

For 350ml shampoo and conditioner:

Shop bought ("Palmolive" brand) = R22

Biodegradable homemade version = R4

You can save more than 80% of the cash you spend on washing your hair! :O 

DIY Shampoo

You will need:

An empty shampoo bottle to reuse forever

A small funnel (to minimize spilling)

Bicarbonate of soda

Water

Essential oils of your choice ( I used lemongrass because it’s cheap and smells super fresh)

The recipe it very easy and will depend on the volume of your bottle:

Add 1 part bicarbonate of soda (I used 100ml)

Add 3 parts water (300ml)

Add 5-15 drops of essential oils

DIY Conditioner

You will need:

An empty conditioner bottle to reuse forever

A small funnel (to minimize spilling)

Apple cider vinegar

Water

Essential oils of your choice (Thyme, rosemary, lavender etc.)

You can even infuse it with citrus peels, rosemary sprigs, chamomile tea...

Add 1 part apple cider vinegar (I used 100ml)

Add 4 parts water (400ml)

Add 5-15 drops of essential oils

Verdict

I’m currently in the process of weaning my hair off commercial hair products (washing it with the new recipes once a week, then twice a week and then every hair wash).

I’m on week 2 so far and it’s looking good! It’s a bit strange at first: the shampoo is grainier than I’m usually used to but the conditioner is fantastic. With my curly hair I was very surprised that the conditioner does indeed work to get my hair knots out and there is no smell after my hair has dried (although its still quite a strong smell in the shower, so it wouldn’t hurt to add more delicious-smelling oils or alternatives)

I do not claim that this recipe will work for everyone, but it’s definitely worth a try! 

Additional resources:

http://livelovefruit.com/12-toxic-ingredients-to-avoid-in-shampoo/

http://lifelessplastic.blogspot.co.za/search/label/shampoo

http://dontwastethecrumbs.com/2015/02/diy-homemade-conditioner/

For more recipes: 

http://styles101.homestead.com/nathairrec.html#anchor_35820

[other-wise-or-wise-others]

let’s start living eco-consciously

I am starting this blog to document my personal journey into learning how to hack the system (which is often geared to greed, resource depletion, toxic-additives and pollution) to find a better and more independent path...as a means of reclaiming our bodies, money and power!

This all comes at a price of course: you will need the motivation and the discipline to give up all your day-to-day conviences and to consciously change your habits for the better.

This can, at first, seem overwhelming and time-consuming.

But this blog will:

save you the time I’ve spent researching, experimenting and putting these tutorials together.

show my step-by-step approach to changing your lifestyle (as well as the many benefits) 

this means that you should commit to 1 new responsible habit at a time, and stick to it as much as possible. Eg. Seeing as composting your food scraps will reduce your home waste carbon fooprint by 50%, composting whenever you can is better than never composting this waste.

So please please get involved! Try them out, comment, ask questions and give feedback!

Let’s collectively take responsiblity for our own stuff, be it food, water, cleaning or waste...just like every other species that lives on this planet does :P