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Natural Shampoo
Borax: It has been used as a cleanser for over 100 years. It was used by women on their hair since the early 1900s. It does not lather but does a good job of removing sweat and soil without stripping color or natural oils. It is antibacterial and will help stop flaking and itching and can help clear skin blemishes.
Find a suitable container. Pour the borax powder into the bottle to a depth of about 1/2 in. Fill to the top with water and shake a few times. Let settle and pour off the clear part into a dispensing bottle. This is your shampoo concentrate. Rinse very thoroughly.
Pure Castile Soap: It is the kind of soap that is used on elderly people in rest homes. It is gentle, non toxic, and lathers. It usually comes in a concentrated liquid. Dr. Bronner's can usually be found in your local health food store in several great scents.
Natural Hair Conditioning
Citric Acid Rinse: Use 1/4 tsp. Citric acid per 1 pint of water. For long hair use a quart or more. Rinse your whole body. Citric acid is also antibacterial and adds shine and body to hair. I love it. The acidity is what adds the shine by smoothing the cuticle.
Other Rinses: A dilute lemon juice or vinegar rinse will also work well. The acidity can be helpful in treating mild forms of dandruff.
Witch Hazel: Supposedly an excellent astringent and skin conditioner. Good if you tend to have oily hair. I personally have very dry skin and do not regularly use astringents, but when I want one, witch hazel is my choice.
Bay Rum: Use straight.
Oils for your Hair: Jojoba Oil, Olive Oil, Cod Liver Oil, Sesame Oil, Soybean Oil, Coconut Oil, Peanut Oil, Shea Nut Butter ( a natural nut butter from Africa used for cooking and body products: Look for it in the beauty section of your local health food store: Make sure it is pure), Castor Oil, Butter (Real Butter: Unsalted), Hemp Oil (Learn more about the incredible benefits of hemp.). Basically any natural oil that you could eat should be good to put on your hair. Concentrate on the hair and not on the scalp. A hot oil treatment will make your hair soft. It does not permanently reconstruct or repair damage from abuse or chemicals. Any one, or mixture, of these oils can be used to give your hair a hot oil treatment. Just warm, apply to hair, cover with shower cap and warm towel (to heat activate) for 10 to 15 minutes. Shampoo and condition as usual.
Damage Repair: Hair is mostly protein and water. Protein that is absorbed into the hair shaft is the only thing that does any sort of real reconstructing. For this I recommend looking at commercial products formulated with animal proteins or better yet, hydrolyzed human hair protein.
Note: All things considered, hair care products are probably the safest of all beauty and body cleansing products on the market. The FDA doesn't call them safe, just without substantial risk and most of us are willing to accept minimal risks for the sake of beauty. We all