Day One

A Description of My Hair Type:

So I guess just for informational purposes, I will describe the state my hair is in now. I have below the shoulder-ish length hair that is very thick and does not like the humidity. It seems like it is frizzy and greasy at the same time, even right after I wash it! I have been trying to grow out my hair long, but I know my hair is damaged (I have been dying it to try to get back to the color I had when I was younger - after I had my daughter, my haircolor changed to a color that I have never seen in nature before, kind of a greenish, ashy dark blonde (if you could call it that). It's not brown, and it's not blonde. But dying just makes it yellow and damaged which is equally unattractive, so I will not dye my hair during this experiment. And I already have over 1 inch long roots! Well, enough about that. . .

What I Did Today:

So last night when I tried this, I had actually not really researched the exact amounts of stuff to use (I got excited and looked at too many different websites), and I (and my family's noses) ended up paying a modest price. . .

I figured, hey - how hard can this be. I am pouring kitchen products on my head - the exact amount probably doesn't matter! I'll research it better tomorrow, because I want to get started tonight! So I took maybe about 1 tbsp of baking soda mixed with some water until it formed a gloppy paste, and mixed 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar in 1 cup of water, and doubled it. And then I added a couple of drops of lavender essential oil to it, thinking it will help with the gross smell. I had read somewhere that the vinegar smell will go away, so I thought, cool my hair will just smell like lovely lavender!

Today's Results:

When I got in the shower, I immediately had a problem with the baking soda. Because my hair is so thick, once it gets wet, it gets really heavy and I could not work the glops of baking soda into my hair, so I ended up getting the top of my head really well with it and pretty much nowhere else, and I ran out anyways. So I rinsed that out. Then at the end of the shower I poured the vinegar over my head, flipped my hair upside down and poured it on that side, and then squeezed the excess out of my hair. (I thought I remember reading somewhere that you didn't have to rinse it out.)

Needless to say, my husband was nauseated by the smell, and my hair was gross in so many ways. Since I only got the baking soda on the very top, the whole rest of my hair was still really greasy (I had not washed my hair in a few days) and it smelled like lavender/vinegar ass. So lessons learned - used WAY too much vinegar, and need to figure out a better way to work the baking soda all around. Sigh, but unless I want my hair to get even dryer than it is, I now have to wait a few days before I wash again. I guess that is what I get for being stupid about this! Whatever - live and learn!