a 'natural' hair conditioner?

[mamita]

I remember the days of yore when I ran a comb thru my waist length hair after washing without a tangle. well...now my hair is shoulder length, still soft and nice, except tangle is my middle name after washing! the bought conditioners are 'ok', but rather goopey. anyone have a natural remedy for a rinse to prevent tangles. I brush my hair alot before showering...shampoo without trying to truly mess it up alot........better, but still a work-out without conditioner. I have thick hair, altho I imagine thin hair may tangle even worse. thanks!

[Phantomfyre]

Rinsing your hair with vinegar helps, but the thing I've used for years is Show Sheen hair polish for horses. Not a natural remedy, I guess, but it works!!! It's a silicone-based leave-in spray. Only takes a few spritzes and it lasts until you shampoo next. It does smell a little funny (not bad, just, horsey, LOL) but it goes away when it dries. I put mine in an old hairspray bottle so I get a fine mist when I spray it in. You can pick it up pretty much anyplace that carries horse supplies, in the grooming area. It's not the cheapest solution on the planet, but a bottle will last a L-O-N-G time for someone with shoulder-length hair.

[Mid Tn Mama]

I second the vinegar rinse.

Put a little conditioner on your wet hands, then stroke throughout your hair before you comb.

or

Fill a spray bottle about 1/4th of the way with conditioner, then add water the rest of the way to dilute. Spray on your wet hair before you comb. Cheap version of kid's hair detangler.

[TNmountaingirl]

Here are some ideas for you:
1) Switch to a shampoo without sulfates or a more gentle shampoo. The shampoo could be drying out your hair, which can lead to tangles.
2) Apply oil to your hair before shampooing. If you have finer hair, you'll need to use a very light oil like apricot kernel oil. If you have normal to coarse hair, you may be able to use coconut oil. Regardless of which you use, apply very lightly unless you apply it a long time before washing to allow it to soak.
3) Use an herbal conditioning rinse. Elderflower tea is a wonderful conditioner. I use a heaping teaspoon of elderflower, a heaping teaspoon of hibiscus and about 1/4 teaspoon of honey in two cups of hot water, strained after allowing to steep. It is one of the best conditioners I have used.
4) Detangle your hair with a wide-toothed comb under running water.

Try one or all of the above ideas

[2horses]

Years ago I used to used to squeeze and strain the juice out of two lemons and used that as a rinse on my hair. It got it squeaky clean and added highlights, and seemed to work as a detangler too. Only I can't remember if I left it in or rinsed it out! Anyone use real lemon juice (NOT the stuff in the yellow bottle, it doesn't work) and rinse your hair in that?

[LisaInN.Idaho]

Originally Posted by Phantomfyre

Rinsing your hair with vinegar helps, but the thing I've used for years is Show Sheen hair polish for horses. Not a natural remedy, I guess, but it works!!! It's a silicone-based leave-in spray. Only takes a few spritzes and it lasts until you shampoo next. It does smell a little funny (not bad, just, horsey, LOL) but it goes away when it dries. I put mine in an old hairspray bottle so I get a fine mist when I spray it in. You can pick it up pretty much anyplace that carries horse supplies, in the grooming area. It's not the cheapest solution on the planet, but a bottle will last a L-O-N-G time for someone with shoulder-length hair.

Try LaserSheen (also for horses). It's basically the same stuff but it's a bit cheaper and smells better than Showsheen. And you can buy concentrate and mix it yourself which is much cheaper.

[mamita]

Thanks!

[jlxian]

Cider vinegar works great. I used it all through high school when I had waist length hair. Gets out the soap residue and makes combing lots easier.

[RedTartan]

I make my own goats milk soap. Recently I started using it as shampoo too. I ran out of store bought conditioner and was surprised to find that I don't need to condition anymore. Homemade goats milk soap (apparently) does not strip the natural oils off your hair like regular shampoo.

Just my .02,

RedTartan

[SageLady]

Jojoba oil.

[hotzcatz]

Rainwater. Hot rainwater showers feel wonderful on your skin and leave your hair soft and nice without any need for conditioners at all.

Strong sage tea is a good conditioner for dark hair to keep it dark although I'm not sure about it's detangling properties.

[Cabin Fever]

Do you dye or perm your hair? If so, that could have caused the change.

WIHH uses a can of my Leninkugals for her hair conditioner.

[bluesky]

Originally Posted by TNmountaingirl

4) Detangle your hair with a wide-toothed comb under running water.

I have below shoulder length hair and this is what I do. I make sure my hair is really wet, apply a tiny bit of conditioner and work it in, and then use the wide-toothed comb while standing under the shower. It works great and I use less than a teaspoon of conditioner. You can buy a shower comb, which has a hook on the end, to hang over the shower head.

[dixiemaiden]

For those of you who use vinegar do you use it full strength, or dilute it first? and do you leave it in, or rinse your hair afterwards?

[sgl42]

i use baking soda to wash my hair, and vinegar to rinse. i don't use conditioner, and don't need it. (see sharon astyk aka sharon in ny, or simple living "unshampoo")

my understanding is that most shampoos are very strong, and take all the natural oil off the hair. your hair, noting the dryness, responds by working really hard to make more oil, which causes the hair to get oily really fast.

before, when I used regular shampoo, my scalp would get very itchy if I didn't wash my hair every day. Now, it doesn't. simple. safe. cheap. effective.

From my personal experience, this is another example of madison avenue creating a problem them selling you something new to solve the problem they caused in the first place.

--sgl

[sparrowinsky]

You might check out http://www.naturallycurly.com, especially the message boards. There's a lot of really great info on products, what's good and bad for hair, and ways to take care of hair. It's mainly curl related stuff, oc, but I feel it's good for every hair type!