natural "conditioner"?

[Cyann]

I'm looking for something to use on my son's hair to keep down the frizzies/flyaway during the dry winter. His hair is somewhat curly, and very fine. We've used coconut oil on it in the past, but his hair really isn't right for it. It almost always comes out heavy and greasy looking. So do any of you know of something that might work better? Thanks in advance.

[Ann-Marita]

A dilute vinegar rinse is an excellent light-weight conditioner (leave it in).

For oily hair, use a 1:7 or 1:8 ratio (one part vinegar, seven or eight parts water). For normal hair, use 1:10; and for dry hair (or if the temporary vinegar smell bothers you), use 1:12.

Some people prefer apple cider vinegar. And it is good, but if your son's hair is oily, white vinegar is a better choice because of the solids in the apple cider vinegar (which make it brown, and leave a slightly oily residue on the hair). Also, if your son's hair is light in color, white vinegar is best (since brown or red vinegar will eventually slightly color the hair).

I've been using a dilute vinegar rinse for over 20 years. It's a time-honored traditional hair rinse.

I have a (recycled) bottle that holds 16 ounces. I put a mark at 1/4 cup, fill it to the mark with vinegar and fill the rest with water. Depending on hair length and thickness, this will make 4 rinses or more (dd has a LOT of hair). Super easy.

You can also mask the vinegar odor with a few drops of an EO - rosemary is especially good for hair. If you add the EO, be sure to shake it just before use.

[Ann-Marita]

Some information on why/how dilute vinegar (or dilute lemon juice) conditions hair...

Hair has an outer coating of little scales, called imbrications. Take a hair from your brush and pull it between your fingers first one direction and then the other way. You'll feel a difference - the scales go a certain direction.

Hair (and scalp) naturally have a slightly acidic pH - lower than 7. At this pH, the imbrications are closed tightly against each other. This makes the hair shiny (since the scales are laying flat against one another), keeps more moisture in the core of the hair (less dry fly-aways), and helps prevent and minimize split ends and other damage. Also, tightly closed imbrications allows the sebum (scalp oil) move down the hair more easily, which helps condition the hair, too.

Shampoos, soaps, and baking soda all have a higher pH. Exposure to these makes the imbrications sort of open up. That's good, since it helps with getting hair clean. But then, you have to do something to close the scales back down.

That's where the dilute acidic rinse comes in! It causes the scales to shut tightly against each other, resulting in shiny hair, less fly-aways, fewer split ends, etc.

But too strong an acid will strip the hair of oil (bad for dry hair), and possibly cause bounce-back oilyness later (bad for oily hair). The trick is in making the solution just gently acidic.

[talk de jour]

tiny bit of olive oil, maybe? Just a little bit on the fingertips, run it through. It's lighter than CO.

[kvan]

helpful!!!

[AllVegSugarMamma]

You can try something I learned about online called "Mexican Hair Brushing." Take freshly wash hair and use a washcloth to "brush" sections from root to tip. This helps disperse natural oils from the scalp down the length of the hair resulting in shinier, softer strands. This works well, if like me, vinegar in any dilution is just too strong and leaves a greasy mess. It took about 2 weeks before I noticed real results. Good luck!