How to wash curly hair, naturally!

I have had curly hair all my life and only last year did I find out how to wash and care for it properly. All those wasted years when I could have had really good hair!

Anyway, I am now spreading the word to all my fellow curlies. It’s all about ‘squish to condish and plopping!’

I follow the technique taught to me by my curl-specialist hairdresser. Yes, it’s a thing! Find someone trained in cutting and caring for curls – it makes the world of difference. I then modified this technique over time to a more basic version for someone who works at home and doesn’t need to look fancy every day.

Us curly-headed people need to use the right products and the right method to keep our curls hydrated, defined and fizz free. There is a real art to it.

The first time I had my hair cut and washed this way I could not believe how good it looked!

What products to use:

If you have curly hair, it’s recommended to avoid sulphates, silicones, parabens and synthetic fragrance. Actually, I would encourage everyone to avoid those ingredients, not just curlies!

There are some great curly-specific products on the market but I struggled to find ones that were affordable and not full of nasty chemicals. Call me crazy, but I don’t want to spend $50 on a shampoo that’s bad for my health and the planet!

My curly genes are strong and I also have two curly-haired kids (that’s my gorgeous girl in the photo), so I need to buy something safe for all of us to use that isn’t going to break the budget.

I recently tried out some of ecostore’s newly formulated shampoo and a conditioner for dry, damaged and coloured hair and was pleasantly surprised to find it worked a treat on our curly hair even thought it’s not specifically designed for curly hair!

Here’s what I like…

♥ Free of the sulphates, silicones, parabens and synthetic fragrance that are no-no for curls

♥ Is affordable (under $11 and sometimes on sale for even less)

♥ Is naturally derived (plant and mineral based)

♥ Has no nasty chemicals

♥ Uses renewable sugar-cane plastic packaging that can be recycled

♥ Has a concentrated formula so you only need to use a tiny bit

♥ Is not tested on animals

♥ Is free from genetically engineered products

♥ Has sustainable and ethical company practices

♥ Is easy to find (most Woolworths stores have it!)

Ecostore is a brand I have always used and trusted. Founded in New Zealand by Malcolm and Melanie Rands, they are experts in natural, low-toxin products. They have complete transparency and list every ingredient in every product on the labels and on the website.

So as well as having good hair, you can do good every day for your health, your family and for the environment.

How to wash curly hair:

♥ First off, never brush your hair. Throw that brush away. I wish someone had told me that when I was a kid and used to brush my hair one hundred times and wondered why I always looked like a frizzy mess!

♥ Shampoo by gently massaging the scalp with fingertips and then scrunching the shampoo through the hair from the bottom up. Don’t rub the hair and mess up the curls. Rinse well, gently.

♥ Condition by emulsifying some conditioner with water in your hands and then applying to hair using a combing type action, in sections. Gently squeeze the conditioner into small sections of your hair at a time, while adding little trickles of water. Add more conditioner as you go. After it feels slippery all over (like cooked noodles), squish-scrunch your hair from the bottom up in small handfuls. This is called ‘squish to condish’ and should sound like you are walking in wet shoes.

♥ Rinse out gently- don’t have the shower on full spray, just trickling. Leave some of the conditioner still in your hair (I know this was freaking me out but I got used to it!)

♥ While your hair is still soaking wet, add some leave-in conditioner that you have emulsified in your hands. Use the same scrunch-squishing method to apply.

♥ Without rinsing or touching the hair, jump out of the shower and flip your hair upside down over a micro-fibre hair turban and then tie it up (this is called ‘plopping’ – it’s the technical term, I am not making that up!)

♥ After leaving it in the turban for about half an hour, take it out and gently adjust the hair so it’s sitting how you want it and then let it air-dry. It’s really important you don’t touch your hair while it’s drying. The more you fiddle with it, the more frizz you will get.

♥ When it’s completely dry, smooth out any fly-aways with more emulsified leave-in conditioner ( I only bother if I am going out in public!)

♥ I am very low-maintenance so this is enough for me. But if you want to get fancy, you can add some hair gel or styling products after the leave-in conditioner as well. And you can also use a hair dryer on a diffuser on a very low setting to dry it quicker.

So, if you have curly hair and have not discovered the right products and the right method, give it a go!

Have a play around, ‘squish to condish’ and see what works best for your hair. Try out the ecostore shampoo and conditioner and let me know what you think.

If your curls are dry and in bad condition, it can take a while to nurture them back to good health, so keep persevering. Be gentle with those curls and embrace them.

Let me know how you go and if you have any questions, leave me a comment below!

PS Find out more about ecostore here.

( this post is sponsored)

How to treat dandruff, naturally

Dandruff, like halitosis is one of those social awkward things that we all want to get rid off as soon as we can!! Regular dandruff shampoos sold at pharmacies can contain some pretty nasty toxins, but this condition is actually very easy to treat naturally.

What is dandruff?

Aussie naturopath Mim Beim says in her Natural Remedies book, “dandruff is a fungal condition where the skin of the scalp sheds white scales.”

It can be caused by overused of hair products, hormonal imbalance, stress, a diet low in fatty acids, poor circulation and/or genetics.

How do you treat it?

This is the method we have always used for dandruff or itchy scalp – it works so well and it’s good to see that it’s recommended by Mim Beim as well.

Mix around 2 tablespoons of warmed coconut oil with 5 drops of tea tree oil. Apply to hair, massaging it well right into the scalp. Leave for at least an hour (or overnight if you can) and then shampoo out thoroughly. You may need to shampoo twice with hot water to get all the coconut oil out.

You may need to repeat this a few times over a few weeks if the condition is really bad. Coconut oil and tea tree oil both have powerful anti-fungal properties. We always make sure we have both in the house as part of our natural first aid kit!

What else can you do?

As well as treating the fungal infection with the coconut oil and tea tree, Mim also suggests drinking more water, cutting back on sugar and yeast (severe issues may involve a candida diet – see your health practitioner) and increasing good fats and oils.

You should also avoid chemicals and hair products that irritate the scalp. If you want to follow up with a natural shampoo and conditioner specifically for dandruff, try Aussie brand, Daily Naturals.

Have you tried this natural remedy? Would you give it a go?

Check out Mim’s book here >>