Hi beauties, it's me again! 

And today I want to talk to you about hair care! Not only hair care, but the natural/homemade remedies we can use to sooth issues such as, itchy scalp, dandruff, hair fall, inflamed scalp, and much more! 

In today's society it seems to be all about the most expensive, chemical filled, shampoos.. All the different crazy colors we can dye our hair.. And all the heated hair styling we can handle! But all of those things can quickly add up to suffering, breaking, hair. 

Don't we all long for that L'Oreal worthy shiny mane of hair? Won't we all do almost anything to achieve that? 

I'm going to be honest. My hair has seen better days. I hardly ever heat style my hair, I've only added hair dye to my hair twice in my 21 years on this planet, I try to find the least chemical filled shampoo and conditioners.. But my scalp is still always overly dry and flaky. And I still have yet to determine the root cause of it all.. But I have found (through over a year of researching and experimenting) a few magnificent things that have helped my poor breaking and falling hair, along with my overly itchy scalp, feel loads better.. And they are 100% natural.. 

Oil it up ladies! That's right, we are so quick to wash all of the natural oils out of our hair, when really, we need them desperately. Oil along with a scalp massage can do wonders for our hair growth. 

My absolute favorite oil right now is Peppermint oil. Man, oh man, does that stuff work wonders.. But **WARNING** do not apply pure peppermint oil directly to your scalp without a carrier oil! You could be risking some nasty scalp burns. When applying peppermint oil, just add a few drops to your favorite carrier oil.. Such as olive oil, coconut oil, or jojoba oil.. Mix the two together (or three.. or four.. however many you want) and start applying it to your hair! When I do this I just soak my finger tips in my oil mixture and start rubbing it into my scalp in circular motions.. When doing your oil massage don't be too shy about it. The key to the massage is to promote circulation and oxygen flow to your hair follicles.. When you do your scalp massage you should be covering your entire scalp, in firm, circular motions (you'll feel the tingle of the blood rushing if you do it correctly!). 

Oils and their uses: 

-Peppermint essential oil (non carrier oil): great for cleansing the scalp, clearing your scalp of any infections and dandruff, great at promoting circulation. 
-Castor oil (non carrier oil): Great for promoting hair growth!
-Olive oil (carrier oil): Promotes great hair shine, tames hair frizziness, combats dandruff. 
-Coconut oil (carrier oil): Combats hair fall, adds extra moisture to your hair, combats dry hair and split ends, promotes healthy hair follicles, helps protect against heat styling (DO NOT add coconut oil to hair before heated styling as a heat protect-ant, this will fry your hair, all oil should be washed out of hair before heated styling).
-Jojoba oil (carrier oil): This oil is the closest in structure to sebum (the oil our hair produces on its own), it has antibacterial properties, hydrates hair from the inside, helps add elasticity and softness, adds volume to thinning hair.
-Chamomile essential oil (non carrier oil): great for soothing irritated and inflamed scalp.
-Lavender essential oil (non carrier oil): Controls hair loss and improves hair growth, great natural conditioner, treats head lice, helps control dandruff and itchy scalp, treats alopecia. 

Obviously there are many many more oils out there! With many different benefits attached to them. To find the one that's best for you, it's all just a Google search away! ** Before using any oil on your scalp, research how to use it properly.. Some oils should not be applied directly to scalp without a carrier oil. **

I have found that at doing at least one oil massage on your scalp a week has the greatest benefits. I wouldn't do it more than twice a week, remember, too much of a good thing can be bad too.. You don't want to overwhelm your hair. If you are wanting to add more scalp massages into a week, they can be very beneficial with no oils as well. I myself to a scalp massage before bed every night, once with oil, and the other times without. 

When doing an oil massage, remember to leave the oil in for AT LEAST 30 minutes in order for the oils to penetrate your scalp and really do their job. The longer you leave it in, the more they do. I leave the oils in over night, then wash it all out in my morning shower. Just remember to wear a shower cap to bed, or lay a towel over your pillow, so that you don't ruin your pillow case. 

What else can you do for your hair!? 

Stop washing it every day! Yup, you heard me! Washing every day strips our scalp of the oils it needs to thrive, and sends it's oil production into over drive (that's why you experience oily hair the morning after you washed it). Really, our hair was never meant to be washed. But I'm not asking you to go to that extreme. If you could even just get to the point where you only wash your hair once every two days, that would do a ton of good by itself! The more days you can go in between, the better.. And trust me, if you are one of those people that washes your hair every day right now, the transition won't be pleasant. You're going to experience overly oily days where you have no choice but to throw your hair into a bun or pony tail.. But trust me! It will all balance out, and your hair will seriously thank you for it. 

Avoid hard water! Do you know what crap is piled in to our water supply? Yeah I didn't either, until I started researching the ugly truth. Without seriously getting into the whole nasty story of it.. Lets just say that the stuff building up on our scalp is no good at all. Soft water is your skins best friend! You can get shower heads specially designed to keep all that extra gunk out of your shower water, they act as a filter, catching all of the unpleasant chemicals and stopping them from hitting your skin. 

Apple Cider Vinegar! You heard me! Vinegar! You may have heard rumors of this being a God send for hair.. And I'm here to tell you.. Those rumors are true! Don't shy away from it ladies. A rinse of part water, part apple cider vinegar, might just be the answer you need. It helps restore the Ph of your scalp, combats hard water deposits, combats dandruff and fungal infections, and helps add an extra bounce and shine to your hair. All you need to do is rinse your hair with this mixture after you've done your normal washing routine, then rinse again under normal water. Don't worry, it may smell strong in the shower, but once you're all rinsed off, and out, you won't smell anything at all. 

That's all the natural hair tips I have for you today.. What do you do that's completely natural for your hair? 

XOXO

-The blogger