Inexpensive homemade hair conditioner or styling gel?

[Marianne]

Oh yes! I forgot about the gelatin! Never used it though.

Hey, give the borax/water and vinegar/water a try. My hair was really dry, too. The first time I tried it, I thought that it wasn't doing a thing and I'd be washing and conditioning again. I was so surprised when I could comb it out with a wide tooth comb! Felt great and really shiny.

Same as you, when the color grew out to about an inch or less, I was going nutso! You'll have some gradual lightening using the borax anyway, so for really dark haired gals, it's not necessarily what they want. But the baking soda slather has really helped blend in those grey roots with the rest of the now lighter dyed hair. It's just gradually getting better each time I do it.

I just went in front of a mirror to check it. There seems to be no dye left on some of my hair. That defining line is now gone! Sure, I can take the ends up to my roots and there's obvious color there, but the overall look is okay. I think I'll actually make it this time.

If you do the baking soda slather, be prepared for that first copper color shock. My hair feels dry after that, but as soon as I do the borax/vinegar routine, it feels great again.

 

[Gallina Vecchia]

Flax seed gel has been used for hair for a looooong time. MIL and her sisters made their own dippity do with it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uC7mQmbV_3I

 

[Marianne]

Flax seed gel has been used for hair for a looooong time. MIL and her sisters made their own dippity do with it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uC7mQmbV_3I

I had completely forgotten about Dippity Do!! I remember my mother smearing some of that on my bangs trying to get them to behave. That must have been 50 years ago!

 

[savingdogs]

Marianne I think I'm going to try the baking soda deal today. If I read your post correctly, you are using it more to clean your hair and to lift out the dye, correct? I don't mind at all if my hair goes a little red, that is the color my husband likes me to color my hair (I don't care too much one way or another).

The last time I dyed my hair I knew we would be going on a long "broke" streak (just quit my job and I'm waiting for SSI to approve me, I'm ill) and so I colored my hair as close as I could to my natural color. I realize now I should have colored it something more ASH and grayish blond than my own more red shade because where the gray blends in, it really tones down my own natural red.
Do you think baking soda will make my roots more red? that would be a good thing. But if it makes my dyed portions more red I will hate that. So I hesitate and I'm asking what you think.

I also wonder, are you using the borax more as a shampoo, does it lather for you? My hair is not greasy and I actually seldom wash it, I mostly just rinse it out really well, massage my scalp and use conditioner. I only shampoo about once a week. I tried washing in baking soda before and rinsing in vinegar and I could not comb my hair out. It has very fine ringlets.

And finally, can someone explain that video to me? I'm deaf and of course you could not know but I'd like the information from it translated if someone doesn't mind taking the time.

 

[Gallina Vecchia]

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp Whole Flax Seeds
1 cup water
Pure Aloe Vera Gel, if desired
Few drops of essential oil for scent, optional

Instructions:

Bring water to a boil. Stir the seeds into the water and reduce heat. Simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring constantly, until a gel-like lotion is formed. Strain through a fine strainer or cheesecloth into a small bottle. Add essential oils and store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. If desired, you can add some pure aloe vera gel for its moisturizing properties. Fill the bottle with flax seed gel until bottle is about 3/4 full, then fill to the top with pure aloe vera gel. Gel will not flake or make the hair hard or crunchy. Safe to use everyday.

She goes on to talk about how this will mold if left out, since it has no preservatives, and that putting in mica or pigments is a possibility to work with colors. This is a really basic recipe that you can thin down if it is too thick. She says it does not work in a sprayer unless very diluted.

 

[savingdogs]

I'll have to try that. I saw flax seeds at the store just yesterday...I wish I had picked some up.

 

[Marianne]

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. I use the baking soda to lift the dye from my hair. And my hair does feel rather crappy when I rinse the baking soda out, but after I do the borax/water then vinegar/water routine, then it feels really good again.

I use the borax/water for shampoo subsitute. No, it doesn't lather, dang it. I was so used to that! I mix up a cup or two at a time and just use an old shampoo bottle for dispensing. It feels like you're washing with water! But your hair feels really soft while you're 'washing' and rinsing. I probably use just 1/4 cup or less to 'wash' my hair. The vinegar/water is conditioner substitute more to make it shiny.

My roots are still pretty much grey with some hair being kind of blond. It was the dyed part that went super copper red the first time I did it. I would have freaked out if I was still working and looked like that! But the next time I did it, it was less copper colored. Now it's closer to blond than anything, maybe a light strawberry blond, but lots of highlights and a bit of grey.

I don't know if it will take all of the dye out. But since grey hair is more resistant to color, maybe it will take most of it out. Like I said, I don't have any defining 'line' anymore. You know, that one inch root and rest dyed. The color seems to be coming off the newer growth first, as compared to the ends. It's all lightening, and is blending together a LOT better than just toughing it out.

Honestly, I was hating life after that first time I did it. But because I knew about the stages of red and the fact that it was already lighter, I knew it'd work. It just looked better after each time I did it. Sometimes I'd wear the plastic bag for 45 minutes while I sat here reading, then hop in the shower.

My natural hair color was reddish brown and I was fine w/ red hair too. That shocking copper the first time I used baking soda was NOT okay. EEEkkkkkk. But now I'm glad I toughed it out. I should have just used baking soda again the next day, but I just waited a few days before I used it again.

Like I said, my hair was really dry too, but using the borax water, now it feels what I would call normal and healthy. Tons better than when I was using regular shampoo and conditioner. I hope you have the same results. Or better!

 

[WildflowerJLH]

A little late to the party, but her is my $0.02:

I have really curly hair. Pretty thick. Used to be very dry. I have eliminated all store bought products. I use a dilute ACV mixture every 2-3 days. When I need moisture, I put straight coconut oil on my hair. You only need a very little bit for moisture. I use a little more when I want a "gel" look. Not enough to make it heavy, just give me curl definition.

There are a couple of natural products out that I have used and liked, but I did not think they were worth the $$.

Peace

 

[Marianne]

A little late to the party, but her is my $0.02:

I have really curly hair. Pretty thick. Used to be very dry. I have eliminated all store bought products. I use a dilute ACV mixture every 2-3 days. When I need moisture, I put straight coconut oil on my hair. You only need a very little bit for moisture. I use a little more when I want a "gel" look. Not enough to make it heavy, just give me curl definition.

There are a couple of natural products out that I have used and liked, but I did not think they were worth the $$.

Peace

Welcome! I think I'm the only one on here that has never used or had any coconut oil! Gotta get me some....
I've never tried just using ACV, might try that one of these days.

 

[dragonlaurel]

I tried coconut oil as a deep conditioner. Got pink, hot hives everywhere my hair touched. Didn't know till then that I was allergic to coconut.
My roommate (back then) loved it for his hair.