CASTILE SHAMPOO

Ingredients

• Shavings of castile soap or pure olive oil soap.
• Spring or bottled water.
• Drops of essential oil (basic stand-bys are Tea-tree and Lavender).
• 1 glass bowl
• 1 saucepan
• 1 metal or wooden spoon
• 1 glass bottle to hold 250 mls of liquid

Directions

1. Grate about a 1/4 of a bar of castile soap into a glass bowl.
2. Add 1/2 pint of bottled or spring water.
3. Put the glass bowl over the saucepan of water and bring up to simmer.
4. Stir the mixture with the metal spoon – I prefer metal as the soap particles won’t stick so much. A solid silver spoon is best but stainless steel will do.
5. When the soap shavings have melted, take the bowl off the saucepan and allow to cool.
6. For blonde or grey hair add 10 drops of lavender, 5 drops of chamomile, 5 drops of ylang ylang and 5 drops of lemon.
7. For auburn or dark hair add 10 drops of rosemary, 10 drops of thyme, 5 drops of lavender.
8. For dandruff add 20 drops of lavender and 20 drops of tea-tree to the basic mix of 250 mls.
9. For itchy scalps add 10 drops of bergamot, 10 drops of lavender
10. Finally, poor cool/warm solution into glass bottle and leave to completely cool and it will set into a gooey, shampoo type mix that is easy to apply.

CONDITIONER

There shouldn’t be a need to condition the hair after using this shampoo. Dry hair carefully with a towel patting dry, do not rub, the hair may feel very coarse and tangled so comb out by starting with the comb at the very ends of the hair first. So, with comb an inch from end of hair, gently comb out tangle, then with comb at 2 inches from bottom of hair, gently comb out and so forth working up the hair an inch at a time and combing down the hair.

If you do want to condition your hair there are two methods:

Oil and water

1. Mix 1 mls of jojoba oil and 1 mls of olive oil and 4 mls of bottled water.
2. Add essential oils allowing about 1 drop to 5 mls of oil and water mix for your particular hair type. See shampoo blends above.
3. Shake well and apply enough to cover all the hair and combing carefully through, starting with the comb at the ends of the hair as described above.
4. Wrap hair in towel for 20 minutes or so.
5. Wash off with one of the shampoo blends above.

Vinegar or Lemon juice

1. Vinegar is a well known conditioner and can be used on clothes.
2. Use 2 parts cyder vinegar to 1 part water and pour over hair, leave for 5 – 10 minutes and rinse for auburn or dark hair.
3. Use 2 parts lemon juice to 1 part water and pour over hair, leave for 5 – 10 minutes and rinse for light or blonde hair.

I have just read of one reader’s method to clean hair using bicarbonate of soda. She makes a paste and rubs it into her hair and scalp and then rinses. Quite difficult to rinse out, so rinse very well and very thoroughly especially before applying vinegar or lemon juice rinses!

Bicarbonate is an excellent deoderiser and cleanser for the whole house as well.