I know that most of us have dealt with some scalp issues from time to time… and they certainly aren’t pleasant. But neither are the harsh ingredients in most dandruff shampoos and products. The second ingredient in Head and Shoulders shampoo is a well known skin irritant (sodium lauryl sulfate)! Why should a product that is meant to help deal with dandruff and irritation be including ingredients that can INCREASE irritation? I say, stick with a simpler solution. This scalp soothing mask has only 3 ingredients that are all healthy, green, inexpensive, and soothing.

I decided to make a soothing scalp product because my fiancé gets scalp irritation all the time. His scalp always gets itchy and scabby and dry. In general he has very dry skin and needs to use tons of moisturizer. But you don’t exactly put moisturizer on your scalp!

So I combined these three ingredients that I knew would soothe and moisturize his scalp and the difference was instantaneous! Overnight, he had so much relief. Of course one night of using the product wont solve the problem, but he couldn’t believe how much better it felt after only one use. And he keeps using it and getting more relief! This one is a winner, guys. Did I mention it only costs one dollar to make?

I’ve mentioned that this scalp soother has three ingredients a few times now. I bet you’re wondering what they are. Well, these are the ingredients and the reasons I chose them:

• Aloe Vera Gel: Aloe is naturally full of the anti-inflammatory chemical B-sitosterol and vitamin E. It is a great lightweight natural moisturizer.
• Vegetable Glycerin: Glycerin is a natural humectant, meaning it draws moisture to the skin. It is hypo-allergenic and increases the skin’s absorption of oxygen.
• Lavender Essential Oil: Lavender is known as one of the best essential oils for skin. It is anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and antifungal. It soothes irritation and helps stimulate blood flow to the skin.

And it couldn’t be easier to make.

Homemade Soothing Scalp Mask

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Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons high quality Aloe Vera Gel
• 2 tablespoons Vegetable Glycerin
• 5-10 drops Lavender Essential Oil

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Instructions

1. Mix all ingredients together
2. Store in an air tight jar. For extra relief and longer shelf life, you can store it in the fridge, but it isn’t necessary.
3. To use: apply to irritated spots or over entire scalp, massaging and rubbing in with your fingertips. Leave on overnight and wash off in the morning. (You can choose not to wash it off, but it will make your hair look greasy)

You really don’t need much of this stuff for it to work. In this picture, I applied it over my entire scalp and some of my hair, because glycerin and aloe also make a great moisturizing hair mask. Let me tell you, this stuff feels GOOD. It is immediately soothing. To apply, just massage into irritated spots with your fingertips, and let it do its magic overnight. Then, just wash it off in the morning.

I love the stuff. Great for the scalp, great for the hair.

So if you have scalp dryness, itchiness, or dandruff, make sure to try this soothing scalp mask out. It is effective, inexpensive, and easy to make. You really can’t go wrong. Try making it yourself and let me know how it goes!

Supplies used in this post

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As you may already know, I love aloe vera. Two of my favorite products that I’ve made were my Aloe Vera Face Wash and Aloe Vera Moisturizer. Aloe is just an all-around great product for beauty and health. It has so many wonderful benefits for your skin and hair. And it’s one of the few (okay- two) plants that I’ve managed to keep alive for a significant period of time.

Well I’ve been hoping to integrate aloe into my regular hair routine, so I made this hairspray. I love love love it. It is a natural detangler, is not oily, and makes my hair shiny and sleek. And it’s the simplest recipe ever!

Oh, and did I mention it only costs 39 cents to make?

So why is Aloe Vera so great? Here’s a short list of just some of the benefits it has for your hair:

• Promotes hair growth
• Naturally reduces dandruff
• Anti-inflammatory
• Natural conditioning (similar to keratin chemically)
• Maintains hair and scalp natural pH level
• Treats itchy scalp
• Repairs damaged hair

So how do you make this awesome hairspray? It’s super simple!

Sorry that there aren’t as many pictures as usual! I didn’t think to take pictures as I was making this hairspray because it was so simple. But honestly, the best products are simple. I don’t know what I was thinking.

I’ve integrated this aloe spray into my regular hair routine. I usually do my no-poo wash, put in a little argan oil, use homemade detangler if necessary, and once my hair is dry I sometimes put a little coconut oil on it. Well now, I use this after the argan oil and it makes my hair smell, look, and feel so good.

The first time I tried it Lars commented on how good my hair looked. For him to notice, it really had to be good! So, take it from Lars, this hairspray is awesome.

Let me know how making your own homemade aloe hairspray works for you!

The post Smoothing Anti-Frizz Aloe Vera Hairspray appeared first on Pins and Procrastination.

I’ve been feeling like my hair is in a bit of a rut lately. It’s fine- but it hasn’t been spectacular. I love it when my hair is soft and looks sleek and shiny. It’s just been feeling a little dull.

So I wanted to treat my hair to a little spa day.

I usually do a coconut oil mask on my hair about once a month to help with deep moisturizing. But I was feeling like doing something a little more fun and luxurious. And this definitely was! And it was so easy- anyone can do it.

Why pay someone to give you a hot oil treatment when you can do it yourself at home for less than two dollars? And the ingredients are all high quality and natural. It’s pretty great.

Each of the ingredients nourishes your hair and scalp:

• Coconut Oil: Stimulates hair growth, excellent deep conditioner, adds shine, prevents breakage (make sure to get an organic, cold-pressed, unrefined coconut oil)
• Olive Oil: Prevents breakage, eliminates dandruff, adds shine, moisturizes and softens hair, promotes hair growth
• Lavender Essential Oil: Deep conditions hair, promotes hair growth, reduces dandruff and dryness, restores sebaceous glands, prevents hair breakage

And I’m telling you- it’s really easy!

Step One: Dampen hair

Make sure your hair is a little damp, but not soaking wet when you apply the oil. You can just stick your head under the stream of water in the shower for a second and jump out to get it a little damp. If you wear a lot of products in your hair, you may want to actually wash your hair first so that the oil can penetrate your hair completely.

Step Two: Mix and Heat Oils

Before you mix, heat up about two cups of water in a saucepan (but it doesn’t need to boil). Mix together 3 tablespoons of coconut oil, 1.5 tablespoons of olive oil, and a few drops of lavender oil in a small heatable bowl. Place the bowl in the pot of water to make a little water bath.

Leave the bowl in for a few minutes, testing the temperature of the oils. When the oils are quite warm, but not so hot they will burn your scalp, take the bowl out of the water bath.

Step Three: Apply Oils to Hair

Start by massaging the oil into your scalp. Work the oil in from the roots to the ends. You may not need to use the entire bowl of oil depending on how thick and long your hair is.

And enjoy the relaxing smell of the lavender.

Step Four: Heat up a Towel

You could pop a towel into a dryer, but if you don’t have one (like me), you can also heat up a towel using a blow dryer.

I use this awesome Turbie Twist towel that is so great for wrapping your hair after a shower.

Step Five: Leave in for 45 minutes

Wrap the towel around your head and relax for 45 minutes. This is your spa time, so chill out, maybe put some cucumbers on your eyes, and have a good time.

Step Six: Wash out and Enjoy!

Wash your hair thoroughly to make sure you get all the oils out. If you do the no poo method, you will need to wash your ends in addition to your roots. You might want to wash twice to be really certain you won’t have oils left in your hair. Condition as normal.

And once your hair is clean, you can enjoy your shiny, soft, freshly conditioned hair. I can’t stop touching my hair it’s so soft. My hair rut is over!

This was so enjoyable I will probably do it on a regular basis. Doesn’t it look smooth and healthy? Just how I like it!

Let me know how your homemade hot oil treatment works out!

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The post How to Make an at-home Hot Oil Hair Treatment (Only three ingredients!) appeared first on Pins and Procrastination.

There’s something about your hair when you spend time on the beach. It just gets an awesome effortless wave to it. Well, naturally, it makes sense to want to replicate that effect at home. You can’t make a trip to the beach every time you want cute hair.

So, I came up with this recipe for beach hair spray. Not only does it create the salty, textured, wavy effect that the beach gives you, it also moisturizes your hair in the process. It has no bad chemicals and will only make your hair healthier.

And it’s fun to use! You want to make sure you have a good spray bottle that will mist your hair rather than dampen it- otherwise this won’t be so effective. The mist is a key part of what causes the beachy effect in real life so you have to replicate that too.

Here is why I chose each of the ingredients in this beach spray:

• Epsom Salts: Replicates beachy effect, volumizes hair, adds texture
• Himalayan Sea Salt: Replicates beachy effect, adds texture
• Aloe Vera Gel: Moisturizes hair and scalp, helps hair hold shape
• Argan Oil: Non-oily moisturizer for hair
• Essential Oils: Natural scent

And here is how you make it:

When you look at it up close, it looks like beach salt water. You can already hear the waves crashing. Almost. And seriously, could it be easier to make? It’s so easy. It took me less than 5 minutes. Most of that time was spent waiting for the water to warm up.

The spray not only helps encourage beachy waves, it will hold your hair in place, make it shinier, add texture, and moisturize it in the long run. You really can’t go wrong here.

It makes me want to go to the beach even more. Around here we have Lake Michigan, which is even better than an ocean, but it doesn’t give you beach hair because it has not salt. So this hair spray will fill that gap for me! One step away from summer fun and beach hair.

Try making your own beach hair spray and let me know how it goes!

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The post How to Make Homemade Beach Texturizing Hair Spray (That Also Moisturizes Your Hair) appeared first on Pins and Procrastination.

Hairspray is just one of those basic beauty staples. It is very versatile, and necessary for a lot of styles. Unfortunately, store-bought hairsprays can be toxic to health and the environment. Not only do they contain many of the 13 worst ingredients to avoid (most notably DBP and DEP, formaldehyde, and fragrance) they also often come in aerosol containers.

These aerosol containers use a secondary set of chemicals called propellants to get their contents out in a misted form. Much of the time those chemicals include Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) which are linked to cancer and can cause headache and lightheadedness. They also build up when used indoors.

So, why not make your own? It’s safe and easy, and it works well! It will also save you money. It cost me 64 cents to make one batch of this hairspray. One batch was a huge amount that, if it doesn’t expire, will last me for years. I also don’t use hairspray very often, so if you use it every day it obviously won’t last as long. Still, you can’t beat that price.

I found the original recipe from Wellness Mama, but I made a few changes. Here is how you make the hairspray:

The spray bottle I had on hand was quite small, so I stored the rest of the mixture in a glass bottle.

So- I decided to put the hairspray to the test by curling my hair. I’m not very good at curling my hair. Ok- I’m bad at curling it. I saw a pin on pinterest that said you should put your hair in a high ponytail and curl random sections (obviously this will only work with long hair). Since I am so terrible at curling my hair I figured it was worth a try- because if it looked terrible I wouldn’t have to post pictures anyways. And it would still tell me how good of a hold the hairspray has.

So I tried the method. I was very skeptical. But somehow, even with my lack of hair curling skills, it worked!

Was it the amazing hairspray, or the method? I like to think it was both.

My hair has curls! They lasted! They aren’t crunchy! It’s like magic.

Seriously, this hairspray is great. It doesn’t have the yucky “hairspray” smell I’ve gotten used to over the years (must be those VOCs…). It smells like grapefruit! And it has a nice amount of hold without being sticky or very crunchy. This picture was taken about an hour after curling my hair. The curls held up nicely.

I give this hairspray an A+. Usually when I try to curl my hair the curls are gone in a few hours, but with this homemade hairspray they lasted!

The pinterest ponytail method- it works!

Try making it and let me know how it goes for you! 

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Original Image from Lipgloss Culture

When I first switched to the no-poo method, the only big change for my hair was that it got tanglier (is that a word?). The Apple Cider Vinegar Rinse did moisturize my hair, but it didn’t detangle it like conditioner used to. So, I found a solution in a natural hair detangler recipe.

The recipe is simple. All you need is water, vegetable glycerin, a spray bottle, and your favorite essential oils (optional).

Hold up- you are probably asking yourself: where can I find vegetable glycerin? I know because I had no idea where to buy it. It is really easy to find online. Amazon has several varieties .

This is the vegetable glycerin I use. There are other brands and other sellers that sell in smaller amounts. I think that it is the best bang for your buck and it has lasted well and worked in lots of recipes!

This is where the hair detangler lives in my room. Did you notice the cute hedgehog with a strawberry? Thanks Ikea!

So, here is the recipe:

• Mix 1 part vegetable glycerin to 10 parts water in a spray bottle
• (you can increase ratio to 1:5 depending on consistency you want, but I recommend starting with a lower ratio)
• Add several drops of your favorite essential oils

The post All natural hair detangler recipe appeared first on Pins and Procrastination.

Original image from Your Beauty 411

I haven’t shampooed my hair in over a year.

No, this doesn’t mean I have not washed it. I’ve been doing the “no poo” method.

A little over a year and a half ago I increased a dosage of a medication that can make your hair fall out as a side effect. I was losing hair all over the place and worried about it getting thinner. I read about different vitamins you could take or products you could buy but none of them seemed convincing for me (not to mention expensive).

I discovered the no poo method by chance on pinterest. I read a very detailed account on why shampoo is bad for your scalp and how to no-poo wash your hair from Code Red Hat. And it has been awesome for me. Not only do I feel great about reducing the amount of chemicals I put on my body and down the drain- I also don’t need to wash my hair as often, and it has gotten thicker! And it is way cheaper than shampoo.

This is your hair without shampoo- oh and also an adorable dog.

• Squeeze bottle with a pointed tip (a la a mustard bottle)
• Spray bottle
• Baking soda
• Vinegar
• Water

Fabulous shiny healthy locks

To use your no poo:

• use 1 tablespoon of baking soda per 1 cup of water
• put in squeeze bottle with pointed tip
• apply to roots all over your head
• rub into your scalp and let dissolve for a few minutes
• rinse thoroughly

My no-poo wash and cider rinse in the shower (time for a refill on the rinse!)

Did you think your hair could get this clean without shampoo?

If you do switch to no poo, you might need this awesome natural hair detangler DIY. 

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