Making It: Radical Home Ec for a Post-Consumer World (4 page)

CALENDULA,
or pot marigold, petals are soothing and conditioning, good for an irritated scalp. Over time they may also brighten blond and red hair. Use the petals only, dried or fresh.

CHAMOMILE
leaves hair soft and smelling wonderful. If used as a leave-in rinse, it brightens blond hair over time. Use the flowers only, dried or fresh.

LAVENDER
is very cleansing and stimulates hair growth. Use the flowers only, dried or fresh.

PEPPERMINT
adds a nice scent and a bit of a tingle to any hair product. Use the leaves, dried or fresh.

ROSEMARY
has long been considered one of the premier hair herbs. It stimulates the scalp and leaves hair shiny. If used as a leave-in rinse, it may darken hair slightly over time. Use only the needles stripped from the branches, not the woody parts. Fresh rosemary works best.

SAGE,
like rosemary, is a cleansing scalp tonic that may darken hair over time. Use the leaves, dried or fresh.

STINGING NETTLE
has no scent, but it is one of the best all-around herbs for hair. It is conditioning and nourishing and is particularly recommended for controlling dandruff. Use the leaves, dried or fresh. If they’re fresh, handle with gloves until you get the leaves into boiling water. Both drying and brief boiling or steaming will de-sting the nettles.

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Hair Rinses

Here are two quick and easy recipes for hair rinses that will bring shine and manageability to your hair, cost almost nothing, and are purely natural, which is good for both you and the environment.

PREPARATION:
2-20 min

Vinegar Rinse

Vinegar is a mild acid that helps balance the base nature of soaps and detergents to restore the natural pH balance of your hair. A diluted solution of vinegar smooths the cuticles on the hair shaft, leaving your hair easy to comb out and shiny and manageable when it dries, eliminating the need for store-bought conditioners.

YOU’LL NEED

• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  
• 2 cups water or 2 cups herbal infusion (page
  116
  )
  
• Squeeze bottle or spray bottle
  

PUTTING IT TOGETHER

Pour the vinegar and water or herbal infusion in the bottle you plan to use in the shower. Shake to combine. No heating is necessary. Make more or less of this mixture if you like, but always use the ratio of 1 tablespoon vinegar to 1 cup water, because too much vinegar will dry the hair. In fact, you may prefer a more dilute version: 1 tablespoon vinegar to 2 cups water.

After shampooing, work the rinse through your hair, saturating it from roots to ends. Let it sit a minute, then rinse thoroughly. The odor will vanish when your hair dries.

When the vinegar rinse is made with water, it should last indefinitely, because neither water nor vinegar is prone to spoil. If it’s made with an herbal infusion, it will be more likely to spoil. You don’t have to refrigerate it, but use it within 2 weeks.

Leave-In Herbal Rinses

PREPARATION:
20 min

Herbs do the most good for your hair when they’re left on instead of rinsed away. Herbal rinses can add scent and shine, improve the condition of the scalp, and even subtly influence hair color. See “Hair-Enhancing Herbs” on the opposite page for examples of herbs you might like to try in your rinses.

YOU’LL NEED

• 1 ounce dried herbs, or enough fresh herbs to loosely fill a quart jar
  
• 2 cups boiling water
  
• Quart canning jar
  

PUTTING IT TOGETHER

Use fresh herbs whole—you don’t have to chop them. Pour enough boiling water over the herbs to fill the jar completely. Cap it, and leave the herbs to infuse for as long as you can, anywhere from 20 minutes to overnight. Strain out the herbs.

After your shower, towel-dry your hair and comb the rinse through your wet hair, using enough to coat hair from roots to ends. Leave it in. Be aware that some herbs might leave yellow stains on light fabrics, so be careful if you get dressed while your hair is still wet.

Use the entire quart over the course of a week, or store it in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

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Deep Conditioning

PREPARATION:
1 min

Hair oiling is an ancient—and still widely practiced—technique for taming long hair. It might sound like a recipe for a greasy head, but if done with a light hand, oiling is a simple, natural way to gloss those dry, frizzy ends and make your hair shine with good health.

YOU’LL NEED

• Extra-virgin olive oil, organic virgin coconut oil, or any other high-quality oil you prefer (Olive oil is a light conditioner. Coconut oil is better for dry or damaged hair.)
  

PUTTING IT TOGETHER

Start with dry hair. Rub a small amount of oil between your hands, just enough to make your palms shine. Working in sections, coat your hair from roots to ends with the oil, replenishing the oil when your hands no longer shine. If your scalp is dry, oil your scalp as well. If your hair is oily at the roots, coat only the ends of your hair. How much oil you apply in total will depend on your hair length and texture; the goal is not to end up heavily greased but, instead, slightly glossed. To improve the penetration of the oil, wrap your head in a towel for about 20 minutes. A warm towel feels particularly nice. After that 20 minutes, rinse out with warm water and follow with a wash—or leave the oil in, if it doesn’t look greasy.

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Styling Gel

PREPARATION:
15 min

When flaxseeds are soaked in water, they release a thick, mucilaginous gel that works very well as a styling product. We’ve heard that the flappers used this formula to keep their spit curls in place. We don’t know if that’s true or not, but we do know that this gel provides clean, light hold for only pennies a batch. Better yet, it contains no alcohol or perfume or chemical ingredients with names too long to pronounce.

YOU’LL NEED

• 1 tablespoon whole flaxseed
  
• 1 cup water
  

PUTTING IT TOGETHER

Simmer the flaxseed in the water until the water is reduced by half. Using a fine-mesh strainer, strain out the seeds immediately, while the water is piping hot. When the liquid cools, it will thicken to goop.

For general hair management, apply a small amount of the gel to damp hair; brush it out when dry. Use larger amounts on wet hair as a setting gel.

Keep the gel in a covered container in the fridge.

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A Quick Facial

PREPARATION:
1 min

Exfoliation lifts away dead skin cells, revealing fresh skin and allowing moisturizers to penetrate better. So if your skin is looking dull or if your hands are rough and dry, grab a box of baking soda. Baking soda is a gentle abrasive, mild enough to exfoliate delicate facial skin without irritating it. A quick baking soda facial will leave your face clean and glowing and costs pennies. There’s simply no need to use anything else.

YOU’LL NEED

• Baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)
  
• Water
  

PUTTING IT TOGETHER

FACE

Pour a nickel-size pile of baking soda in your palm and add enough water to make a paste. Using your fingertips only (not your palms), work the soda in circles over your face and neck. Don’t scrub vigorously; let the baking soda do the work on its own. Rinse with cool water, pat dry, and apply a moisturizer.

HANDS

Rub a little baking soda between your wet hands, paying attention to the backs of the hands and knuckles. Rinse and moisturize.

FEET, ELBOWS, ETC.

Keep a jar of baking soda by your bathtub. After a long soak, use baking soda by the handful to scrub away dry skin.