If you had asked Andrew the past 1.5+ years about what hair type I had, he would probably tell you, “Gross. She has gross hair type.” And while I would have classified it as “experimental hair type,” his answer would probably have been more accurate.

But not anymore, folks! No, my hair is now soft, silky, clean, dandruff free, non-oily and just perfect. There is no buildup or sticky texture. I figured out how to take care of my hair with zero waste and I almost cried.

It has been a journey to get here but I want to give you a quick play by play in case it might help you if you’ve also been struggling with zero waste hair care. I started by doing a hair detox which consisted of a homemade apple cider vinegar scrub a few times a month while not using shampoo. Most commercial shampoos contain plastics to give your hair that shiny, smooth, soft feeling and since I am trying to keep plastics out of our water systems and didn’t really want it in my hair, a detox was my first step. I did this for a few months and while I was definitely experiencing the detox, my hair was not doing anything good for me in the way of texture, style or anything else. So I switched to a Lush shampoo bar, which was great since it was package free but it still had plastics in it so when I ran out of that, I moved to a baking soda/apple cider vinegar (ACV) wash. It also did nothing for my hair except for keeping plastics out of it. At this point, my hair and scalp are pretty messed up, to put it delicately. I had resorted to keeping it in a pony tail but I could not admitt defeat! I had worked hard to keep shampoo out of my hair and was not going to ruin it all by giving up. I bought a new shampoo bar I had heard zero wasters liked. I used it once but my hair and scalp had so much going on that it needed more than that. Finally, I saw that someone recommended brushing your hair with a wooden hair brush for 3-5 minutes a day to remove buildup and transfer your natural oils down the hair shafts. Theoretically, that made made sense to me so I thought I’d give it a shot. I have never spent more than 30 seconds total on my hair so this was a bit of a stretch for me but worth it if it would fix my hair problems so I did it for a week. I will spare you the details but let’s just say that at the end of the week, I spent 30 minutes cleaning out my hair brush. This, combined with the new shampoo bar and a vinegar rinse (2 oz ACV diluted with 14 oz of water) and my hair came out just as silky and clean as when I leave a salon. I almost sobbed.

On days when I wash my hair (2-3 times a week), I have to do it earlier in the day since Andrew can’t handle the smell of the ACV when I climb into bed with wet hair. SInce he puts up with so many of my other shenanigans, I’m happy to do this for him. The vinegar smell goes away as your hair dries just as it does when you clean your house with it. The shampoo bar I bought was http://www.mollymuriel.com/products/soft-as-silk-murumuru-shampoo-bar-5oz. I will continue to look for a local shampoo bar that works as well but since this one will last me a year or so, I’m in no rush. The bamboo brush I bought was https://www.amazon.com/HAIR-DOC-Large-Oval-Bristles/dp/B0007V6PFQ/ref=pd_lpo_vtph_194_lp_img_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=AZQ2RF8JYKSD8HXYA18Q.

I hope this post is able to help others on their journey to zero waste hair care. I wish it hadn’t taken me so long to find what works but I’m so thankful I stuck with it. It didn’t erase all my grey hair, sadly, but with a clean scalp and a healthy head of hair, I’m counting it as a win!