Kuura Essentials - Hair Care

Posted by Maija Vastamäki on

I have been making homemade cosmetics for as long as I can remember, but always focusing on skincare products one way or the other. But now, I decided to go a step further and make my own hair care products. This is actually quite exciting and very new to me, so hold on to your hat’s ladies and gents, as here you are, a good set of information on natural hair care! 

I did my research from my books and found some excellent information on hair care. Based on that, here are a few facts about hair and caring for your hair. Enjoy! 

HAIR 

Healthy hair is slightly oily, light, strong, constantly self-renewing and easy to comb. It reacts to the foods you eat, and these in turn should provide the hair with the minerals and vitamins it needs in order to grow properly. 

Over-exposure to UV-rays, pollutants in the air, toxic substances (i.e. ingestion of alcohol, nicotine and chlorinated water), illness anywhere in the body and the side effects of medications, lack of scalp massage and the use of nylon brushes ALL change and impair the condition of the hair. Our hair is just as sensitive as our skin. Treat it well, it thrives - treat is bad, well… you know the outcome. 

We lose about eighty hairs a day. To remove old, dead hair and stimulate its natural growth, we must brush our hair regularly and intensively. The good old 100 strokes a day with a brush is still a valid guideline, as it removes old hair, massages the scalp and stimulates circulation. But even without counting the strokes, a thorough brushing twice a day can save you from spending excessive time at the hairdresser´s and wasting money on expensive hair care products. 

HAIR CARE 

Hair is an important element in our appearance. Yet we wash, cut, blow-dry, dye, curl, tone, spray and style it to the point that we really should feel sorry for it. The market is flooded with hundreds of different products for hair care. Are all these products really needed? 

What is needed, first of all, is periodic shampooing. This removes dirt, hair scales and extra fat from the hair. The active substances in most shampoos accomplish that much, but all active substances (even good old soap), attack the acid mantle of the scalp and wash away the hair´s oils film. In addition, the aggressive synthetic substances in cheap shampoos damage the upper layer of the skin and the hair follicles. The scalp then dries out and the hair becomes like straw and falls out. 

Once the hair has lost its natural protection, it becomes dirty more quickly, the sebaceous glands are stimulated to increase the production of the sebum and finally the hair becomes oily, so it must be treated with still another product. A vicious circle, but one that is highly profitable for the cosmetic industry! 

You probably have noticed how after washing your hair in the morning, you have light and attractive hair, but after several hours, the hair has flattened against the head. In order to avoid that, after each washing the hair should be rinsed with an acidic substance, no matter what kind of shampoo is used. Lemon juice, natural apple cider vinegar, milk and beer are all suited for this purpose as they remove the detergent and the calcium residue and restore the acid equilibrium of the scalp. 

WASHING THE HAIR

Hair care starts with washing the hair. Use a shampoo without synthetic agents and a pH value of 4-6 for this purpose. To make your own aromatic shampoo, just add 1-2% essentials oils that best suits your hair type to the shampoo and shake well.

A good non-toxic shampoo on the market is free from surfactants (sodium lauryl sulfate, sodium laureth sulfate, cocamidopropyl betaine, cocamide DEA), preservatives (parabens, benzyl alcohol, methylisothiazolinone, methylchloroisothiazonlinone), fragrance, retinyl palmitate and sulfates.

When using synthetic shampoos, always rinse afterwards in order to remove the residue of the detergent and calcium from the base of the hair!

A rinse is always advisable when using any kind of washing method to remove any residue of the shampoo or calcium from the hair. 

RINSING THE HAIR 

After washing the hair, rinse it thoroughly with your own basic rinse and dry it with a towel. The hair will then have a soft feel and pleasant scent.

 BASIC RINSE RECIPE

Ingredients:

                             1.5 dl boiled water or spring water

                             0.5 dl Apple Cider Vinegar

                             10 – 15 drops essential oils matching your hair type

Procedure:

Mix ingredients well in a spray-top bottle. Massage well into the hair and wash it out quickly! 

NOTE:

You can use any acidic substance, no matter what kind of shampoo is used. Lemon juicenatural apple cider vinegarmilk and beer are all suited for this purpose as they remove the detergent and the calcium residue and restore the acid equilibrium of the scalp.

ESSENTIAL OILS FOR DIFFERENT HAIR TYPES

Brittle hair:

  • Burdoc Root
  • Jojoba Oil

Dandruff:

  • Cedarwood
  • Clary Sage
  • Eucalyptus
  • Patchouli
  • Peppermint
  • Rosemary
  • Tea Tree

Dark Hair:

  • Rosemary
  • Rosewood
  • Sandalwood

Dry Hair:

  • Carrot Seed
  • Frankincense
  • Geranium
  • Lavender

Hair Loss:

  • Birch
  • Cajeput
  • Cedarwood
  • Rosemary
  • Sage
  • Thyme

Light Hair:

  • Roman Chamomile
  • Lemon

Normal Hair:

  • Carrot Seed
  • Cedarwood
  • Roman Chamomile
  • Clary Sage
  • Cypress
  • Lavender
  • Lemon
  • Rosemary
  • Rosewood
  • Sage
  • Thyme

Oily Hair:

  • Bergamot
  • Cedarwood
  • Clary Sage
  • Cypress
  • Juniper
  • Lavender

Split Ends:

  • Burdock Root 

FINAL WORDS

I have never had hair so soft and silky. Highly recommend! 

In my opinion the human body has a perfectly functioning system for taking care of the hair and scalp without any extra hassle nor products, but we humans tend to twist it around and up-side-down. We create needs that we do not actually need. 

I have never washed my kid’s hair with any kind of shampoo, only water, from the day they were born. My oldest is five and my youngest is two and oh boy is their hair shiny and healthy. But let´s get real, we live in a hectic, modern world which is quite polluted in many ways, so if you are living in a city, you cannot go without washing your hair with some kind of shampoo. There is just too much dirt and the water just isn´t enough to get the job done. 

So, what do I suggest? Just wash it wisely! Choose a natural option of your liking (see tips for a good shampoo on “washing the hair” paragraph) and be happy with your choice! 

Just be sure to use a homemade rinse to get the hair and scalp back to balance, that’s it!


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