simple livng Archives - Our Permaculture Life

Make Simple Natural Hair Conditioner You Can Drink & Save Thousands of Dollars Too

Morag Gamble — Tue, 02 Aug 2016 15:18:00 +0000

This morning I couldn’t resist having a sip of my hair conditioner before I poured it over my head. I just love this – edible hair care – stuff you can grow and make. Try these two edible hair conditioners – apple cider vinegar and aloe vera.

I have started experimenting with apple cider vinegar as my hair conditioner instead of conventional conditioner. Normally my hair is curly and quite dry – particularly on the ends. Using the apple cider vinegar, my hair now feels soft and I have no need for de-tangler or leave-in conditioner. I am absolutely delighted.

Six benefits of raw apple cider vinegar as a natural hair conditioner.

stimulates scalp to promote hair growth
cleans hair without stripping out the natural oils
removes residue build up from synthetic hair products
helps hair retain moisture
is antibacterial and antifungal which helps with flaky and itchy scalps
closes the hair cuticle allowing for shine and fewer tangles

Hair just washed and towel-dried – I used local natural bar soap as shampoo and apple cider vinegar as conditioner. Nothing else. Worked just fine. It actually feels far more soft and manageable than it has for a long time. No lasting vinegar smell.

I asked my kids what they thought. Maia said it smelt really nice and fresh. Hugh said it made it look blonder and smoother, and made me look younger….oh, what darlings!!!

I wrote a post the other day, Organic, Simple, Natural, Affordable & Plastic-Free Hair Care, about starting to use just natural soap as shampoo and conditioning with apple cider vinegar. I am so impressed at how many people wrote to me to say how they have never looked back since they started doing this. Others shared different natural hair routines including using fresh aloe vera.

I have used aloe as a treatment in the past, but don’t know why I’d never considered it as a conditioner – it’s wonderful. I think perhaps I was just so used to reaching for the bottled stuff! We’ve become so accustomed to certain ways of doing things that we forget to ask the questions about whether there’s actually another way of doing it. Sometimes it takes a problem or crisis before we start looking beyond our ‘normal’ and shift our thinking and actions. I always wonder how we can reach this point, and encourage others too, without the drama!

So here’s two recipes – you can’t get much simpler than this….

Natural air conditioner recipe # 1

1 tablespoon raw apple cider vinegar
1 cup of water

Pour it over your hair and leave in for a minute or two (avoid eyes). After I rinsed it out I didn’t use any conventional conditioner, or after-wash products. I just brushed then towel dried my hair – that’s it.

Good tip: next time I’ll be mixing it with warm water!!! The cold water rinse on a cool morning was pretty fresh.

Hair conditioner recipe #2

approx 5 cm length of fresh aloe vera gel

Open the leaf and rub the gel all over your hair. Leave it for a couple of minutes before rinsing out.

Another huge benefits is that you can save yourselves thousands of dollars in expensive hair products by using things from your garden and pantry.

NEW WORKSHOP: DIY Natural Healing and Beauty Products

Learn more at my new workshop on October 1st. Bookings now open. Click here for more information and to register.

The post Make Simple Natural Hair Conditioner You Can Drink & Save Thousands of Dollars Too appeared first on Our Permaculture Life.

Organic, Simple, Natural, Affordable & Plastic-Free Hair Care

Morag Gamble — Sat, 30 Jul 2016 15:17:00 +0000

I’d never thought before of washing my hair with a bar of soap. I’d always assumed that I needed shampoo and conditioner. I’m about to test out washing with bar soap and rinsing with apple cider vinegar. Many of you may have tried this before and I’d love to hear of your experiences.

As plastic-free July draws to a close, I find myself still stopping each time I find another thing that always enters my house in plastic and consider the alternatives. This is today’s new experiment. Shampoo bars can contribute to a zero plastic waste household. I think they’d be a handy thing to travel with too – no oozing bottles.

In the past, I have tried to choose the most natural shampoos and conditioners I can find. However the list of ingredients is still long and incomprehensible, and the plastic packaging significant, – even if recyclable. Besides, those shampoos are loaded with so many synthetic materials and chemicals that I can actually no longer use them – my scalp screams and my eyes hurt. Beware of the commercial shampoo bars – they are full of chemicals too.

I really like refilling my old bottles with bulk shampoos from my local cooperative shop, but now it’s time for something different – a new experiment in simplifying:

Shampoo: Paper-wrapped organic fair trade bar soap

Conditioner: Diluted Raw Apple Cider Vinegar Rinse (bought bulk in glass jars). Use 1tbsp to 250 mls water.

Shampoo Bar

I’m pretty keen to embark on some of my own soap making soon using natural ingredients – such as coconut oil, olive oil, shea butter and natural essential oils. Until I do, I’m going to buy some natural bar soap. Actually I am going to begin with the bar I bought for my DIY laundry powder and go from there.

My inspiration for this was reading the packaging of the Dr Bonner’s soap package and seeing it was good for hair too. I have been enjoying the peppermint one grated into my laundry powder mix and of course as a hand and body wash.

Apple Cider Vinegar Rinse

After washing my hair, I’m going to try rinsing with raw apple cider vinegar (1 tbsp: 250 mls water). It is meant to help balance hair pH, remove the build up of silicone sludge from commercial hair products, smooth the hair cuticles, treat an itchy dry scalp, work as a natural de-tangler and promote healthy hair growth. Just pour it on (avoiding eyes), massage in then rinse – you don’t need a conditioner. While your hair is drying it may smell of vinegar, but once it’s dry, the smell goes.

I love multifunctional things – a great permaculture principle. It makes me wonder why we clutter up our laundries and bathrooms with so many products when a handful of good ones can do the job of many.

I’ll let you know how I go with this and would love to hear your experiences of abandoning commercial shampoos and conditioners.

The post Organic, Simple, Natural, Affordable & Plastic-Free Hair Care appeared first on Our Permaculture Life.

Finding Family Time

Morag Gamble — Thu, 21 Jul 2016 14:32:00 +0000

Finding meaningful family time is so important. We can too often become so busy in our lives that we forget to enjoy each other’s company and the place we call home. I love our afternoon walks around our neighbourhood and in the wild spaces, especially down along the river – to breathe, to talk, to be silent together, to connect, to explore. Today we spotted a beautiful little owl.

Mealtimes are also times of day we all come together, but they are usually quite loud and chaotic affairs…wonderful, but quite different from our nature walks. We always come home feeling uplifted and calm.

What ways do you find regular family time to connect?

The post Finding Family Time appeared first on Our Permaculture Life.

Permaculture for teenagers

Morag Gamble — Wed, 20 Jul 2016 14:46:00 +0000

Evan and I run Earth School Permaculture Camps for 14-16 year old children from our home at Crystal Waters Permaculture Village.

Here are a few images from the action today with a year 11 geography group on a 3 day camp (43 students). Wonderful to have our homeschooled kids participating too…

The post Permaculture for teenagers appeared first on Our Permaculture Life.