Thanks everyone to the great replies to my post a couple months ago about frugal meal planning. I wanted to follow up with some recent research/testing I did about making your own hair care products (at least for men)...all of which I really wish I knew about before I started losing my hair, heh. This is one of those things where, if you already buy inexpensive products, you'll only save a little bit, but if you buy pricier "salon-quality" stuff, you could save a bunch. What was really surprising is how what are in the recipes here are the same as what's in common men's haircare products -- companies simply make it pricier by adding scent, augmenting texture, and recommending you use products more frequently than you need to.
Here we go...
Shampoo
Mix in blender for one minute: * 1 cup warm water * 4 tablespoon baking powder * 3 tablespoons whole oats * 8 tablespoons cornstarch Pour through funnel into an empty shampoo bottle. Keep the bottle open, as the contents tend to expand for a little while. Shake before each use. Use a quarter-sized amount and work into your hair for 1+ minutes. Unless you get your hair dirty or sweaty on a regular basis, you really only need to shampoo once or twice a week.
You can play around with the amount of oats and cornstarch -- the latter especially, which is just a thickener. The recipes I found online called for 2 and 4 tablespoons respectively, but that wasn't as thick as I liked.
Conditioner
In spray bottle, mix ratio of ¼ cup apple cider vinegar to 1¼ cups water. Spray your hair in the shower. Don't work it in. You don't need to rinse it out either, but if you do, use cold water -- which...who's really going to use cold water in the shower?
This was the one I couldn't believe worked as well as it did. Indeed, it smells like apple cider vinegar at first, but the smell goes away in a minute. The research I did was unanimous that store-bought conditioner does almost nothing for short hair and that watered-down apple cider vinegar protects hair well.
Thickening Powder
In bowl, 3 tablespoons baby powder with talc Add 1 teaspoon of cornstarch Add ¼ lavender essential oil (if you want a little bit of scent) Hand-mix until blended Pour into condiment shaker (or an empty baby powder bottle) On dry hair, sprinkle at root, in sections. Work in, styling by hand
Styling Cream
(This one's been my favorite, though it takes the most time to make) ¾ cup unrefined shea butter ½ oz. aloe vera gel ½ oz. coconut oil ½ tablespoon glycerin Melt shea butter in a double-boiler, then stir occasionally as it cools; otherwise the shea butter doesn’t fully mix in and stays flakey. Store in a flat container (I used one of my wife's old makeup powder tins). To use, get a fingertip's worth onto your palm and rub together until it's warm and feels like regular ol' styling cream. Work it into your hair.
Extra haircare tips to add an extra week or two between visits to the barber
Assuming you go to a barber, here are a couple tips to expand the time between haircuts.
First, you know that moment you say to yourself "Ugh, it feels like I need a haircut"? That's usually because you feel shaggy at the back and sides. So you can push back your next haircut by trimming/shaving your sideburns and back of your neck once a week. That's easy to do with a safety razor.
Second, if you haven't already -- and I hadn't 'til recently -- learn/memorize exactly what to ask your barber to do so that you're not going back too soon just because you didn't like your recent haircut. The next time you get a haircut you like, ask the barber what he or she did...or beforehand ask them to suggest a style and, if you like what they did, remember the details to ask for the same next time, especially since you often won't have the same barber. You'll want to know things like what size razor guard was used on the sides, how they shaped your nape, whether the top was layered, and where relative to your ear your sideburns were. It felt great to walk into the barber recently and simply say "#3 on the sides, layered on top, blocked nape, and for my sideburns, a natural arch mid-ear."
By all means make more suggestions in the comments, especially if you have longer hair, since tips on things like the powder may not apply.
November 28, 2017 at 11:46AM
