Regular Shampoo Contains Many Nasty Chemicals, Use This Natural Mixture Instead

Last updated on 3 FEB 2016

Did you know that baking soda is an incredibly natural and easy way to clean your hair? Yes, what you’ve been reading is true.

You might be wondering, why would I start using baking soda to clean my hair instead of regular shampoos? Well, typical shampoos can contain a lot of harmful ingredients. Some of the worst chemical-offenders are:

• 1,4-Dioxane is a suspected human carcinogen (cancer-causing agent) and stays in the body as our liver cannot metabolize it.
• Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) is a mixture of two organic compounds that is used as a preservative in shampoos. It has been linked to cancer, endocrine disruption, allergies and organ system toxicity.
• Cocamidopropyl betain is a synthetic surfactant and is associated with irritation and skin rashes.
• Sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) is an industrial cleaning agent chemical that creates the foam in detergents. This chemical can cause irritation of the skin and scalp, and even more damage when absorbed into the body through the skin.
• Artificial fragrance may cause allergies and dandruff.

The word fragrance might not sound so bad. But on a label, it can mean the presence of a variety of separate chemical ingredients. How scary is that?!

Since shampoos strip our scalps of natural oils, switching from shampoo to a natural alternative will increase oil production in your hair. So, as you stop using regular shampoo and start using natural homemade shampoo, you might find that your hair seems oilier than normal for the first few weeks. Continue until your scalp adjusts.

The baking soda and vinegar method is a cheap, effective, simple and chemical-free way to clean your hair. Here’s how you can get started:

Baking Soda

1. Start by mixing 1 part baking soda with 3 parts water. If you have shoulder-length hair, mix about 2 to 3 tablespoons of baking soda with 3 times that amount of water in a small squeeze bottle. You can adjust this depending on your hair length.
2. Apply the baking soda and water mixture to dry or wet hair by starting at the roots and working to the ends.
3. Let it sit for 1 – 3 minutes then rinse with warm water.
4. After washing and rinsing with the baking soda mixture, you’ll want to apply a vinegar rinse.

Vinegar Rinse

1. Mix 1 part white or apple cider vinegar with 4 parts water. To minimize the vinegar smell, add lavender, peppermint, and/or rosemary essential oils to the vinegar mixture. I like to mix a big batch of this ahead of time and keep it in a squeeze bottle in the shower.
2. Tilt your head back, close your eyes (to avoid getting this mixture in your eyes), and distribute through your hair.
3. After a few seconds, rinse with cold water.

Read more about the many uses of apple cider vinegar.

Have you tried the baking soda and vinegar method? Do you use any other natural ingredients that have worked well for you?

Sources:
https://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-8953/diy-this-baking-soda-shampoo-saved-my-hair.html
https://www.ewg.org/kid-safe-chemicals-act-blog/2010/05/what%E2%80%99s-really-in-your-shampooand-why-you-should-find-out/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4458934/

About Sara Ding

Sara Ding is the founder of Juicing-for-Health.com. She is a certified Wellness Health Coach, Nutritional Consultant and a Detox Specialist. She helps busy men and women identify their health issues at the root cause, in order to eliminate the problems for optimum physical/mental health and wellbeing.

Read more