Forum Activity for @rachel-maness

Getting my hair really clean?

Introduce Yourself

I finally soaped my head up with some Method dishsoap, and after a ton of rinsing my hair feels like hair again. I've never put baking soda on my hair, it was really weird. It felt like I'd just poured a gallon of hairspray over my head. I rinsed it before I did the vinegar, and it didn't help at all. Maybe now that I have the gunk off, the baking soda will work better.

My hair is colored with Manic Panic. Bleach and perms fry my hair into an impossible poof, so I try not to damage it. I don't use anything else, no spray, no gel, nothing.

I have been using One solid shampoo bars: http://www.onebathandbody.com/

And Nexus Humectress conditioner: http://www.nexxus.com/Product/Humectress/Ultimate-Moisturizing-Conditioner

I'm planning on doing twist and rip with a fair bit of maintenance. The reason I will not go natural is because I know what my hair will do. I've done too many camping trips where I've washed my hair with a little Dr, Bronners and then run around exploring while letting it dry and fly free. Each time, it turns into one giant, painful wad at the back of my neck within a couple of hours. I would literally rather shave my head than live like that, even if it's only a short transition period.

Getting my hair really clean?

Introduce Yourself

Thanks for the responses guys! I haven't actually started my dreaded yet. I really need to solve this issue first.I spent hours reading this site before washing my hair. I used a quarter cup of baking soda in a gallon of water with about 10 drops of tea tree, 10 of lavender, and 20 of rosemary oil. All essential oils from Whole Foods. I poured that over my head and worked it into my hair. It immediately made my hair stick together.After about 10 minutes I mixed a cup of white vinegar with a gallon of water and poured that over my hair. The texture remained sticky. I rinsed my hair really well, still sticky. It dried dull and gunky.After that I mixed some Dr. Bronners with water and lathered my hair up really good. After rinsing for a long time, my hair was still sticky. Repeated the same process, still sticky.We don't have hard water, but I tried borax because my hair was still gross and I was running out of ideas. I mixed a quarter cup of borax with a gallon of water and poured that over my head, and it made my hair slightly less sticky.Why is baking soda, vinegar, and Dr. Bronners making my hair so gross? Is there something else I can do? Do I need to go buy an entire bottle of clarifying shampoo just for one wash?

Getting my hair really clean?

Introduce Yourself

Hi all, joined yesterday, starting my dreads today. I have super fine caucasian hair that frizzes and tangles horribly and slides out of every style. Normally I use some really heavy-duty conditioner to keep my hair from forming giant mats every time I move my head.I've been reading DHHQ for a year and a half, planning on doing dreads when I could afford the products. I'm glad I found this site, but I still have to admit that I still really like the neat, organized dreads I saw there. I really want cornrows, but my hair won't stay in them for more than a couple of days. I haven't seen any naturally-formed dreadlocks that had the look I love.

Today I wanted to get all the product gunk out of my hair, so I started my shower with a baking soda rinse with rosemary oil, tea tree oil, and lavender oil. After a white vinegar rinse, my hair was nasty. It was super sticky and horrible. I washed it with Dr. Bronner's and borax a couple of times, and now it's not so bad, but it's a little discouraging.

Is this just the result of product buildup? Is there anything else I can do to detox my hair? Is baking soda/vinegar just supposed to feel like this?

updated by @rachel-maness: 02/14/15 06:15:18AM