All Natural Red Hair Tint

I used Bolthouse Farms Organic Pomegranate and
some Meyer lemons. If you have the patience to
juice a pomegranate, go for it. I don't mess with
fruit that was namesake for a weapon.

A glass bottle (My upcycled tea bottles)
Sharp knife and cutting board
1 Coffee Filter
Saran wrap or a good shower/swim cap
A bottle of organic Pomegranate Juice
1 Lemon
1 Tsp of Apple Cider Vinegar
And If you're juicing by hand:
Bowl

2nd Coffee Filter           

Set the coffee filter in the bowl and juice your fruit over it. Once they're done, remove coffee filter containing pulp, seeds, etc. Slice up your lemon peel into strips that will fit into the bottle your're using. Pour lemon juice into the glass bottle first, then cider vinegar, add lemon peels and top with pomegranate juice. Shake and let sit overnight in the fridge. The next night, shake mixture again. Use a rubber band to fix one of the coffee filters over the top of the bottle and pour over dry, well combed hair and then wrap in saran wrap or what have you. Let sit for 30 minutes. Rinse with water. Do not was for 24 hours. Repeat twice a week until color desired is reached.

Pomegranate just happens to be my favorite color for my hair. It adds just the right depth for me. You can also use this recipe with beet juice for a red tint.

Drawbacks:

This recipe doesn't make enough to drink and to tint! I'm trying to figure out a way to maybe thicken it up a bit so it sticks like creme hair dye. I had a little trouble with my hair dripping after about 10 minutes. I poured the tint in with my head upside down over the tub, twisted it into a bun, stuffed it into a plastic shopping bag then slid an old onesie over the bag. I ended up wrapping a towel over that and I still had a drop here and there. Hey. Pomegranate juice stains.

My Experience:

Yep. In all seriousness, my biggest upset with this one was not being able to drink more than a sip. It smelled amazing and I'll probably use this recipe without vinegar and with sugar for lemonade this summer.  I noticed immediately that my hair was lighter and it was a slightly deeper than normal auburn. I'm estimating for a very noticeable change you'd have to do it twice a week for about four weeks. I'm very impatient but I think for the sake of my hair not spazzing out, I'll stick with it.  

Banana Cream Pre-Wash

There are no words for this one folks. You'll see.

1 Smashed Banana (I used a fork)
2-3 Tsp. Olive Oil
4-5 Tsp. Milk (I used whole fat organic)
2 Tblsp Organic Greek Yogurt

Mash banana, add remaining ingredients and apply to combed hair. Let sit for 15-20 minutes, rinse and wash.

My Experience:

Where do I start? I guess I should start by telling you I have "tactile" issues. I will stick my hand in a pile of fresh horse manure. I will gut a catfish without gloves. I will squeeze the digestive juices out of cow cud. I've definitely gotten baby puke on my clothes, in my hair (no, it wasn't on purpose), down my shirt, my back and all over my lap. I will never stick my hands in this banana disaster again. The texture was disturbing. Cold, lumpy, smelly (something about the olive oil made it gag worthy), trying to glop in my hair over my tub almost moved me to tears. I was too freaked out to even let it sit in my hair for more than 7 minutes, shower please. Then came the struggle. Apparently, bananas are sticky. Who knew? Not the person who thought up this recipe. I didn't see a warning "Caution, bananas dry like 'Quick-Set'". They turn into all natural super glue. Smelly lumpy super glue. That makes giant knots in your long, curly previously soft hair. After spending 40 minutes clawing though my hair and almost breaking my comb, I got the knots out but was left with random banana clumps stuck to my strands and grease spots from the olive oil. I was livid at this point. Using my baking soda paste, I scrubbed most of the banana chunks out, rinsed, towel dried and used my coconut oil. My hair now feels pretty close to what the cow cud from stomach #1 feels like. Stiff hay.

Back to square one.

Coconut Oil Leave-In Conditioner

Nutiva Coconut Oil. I purchased a
15oz. Jar at GNC for $12.99. Little
did I know, it's cheaper at Rite-Aid.

1/2 Teaspoon of Solid Oil, Warmed between your hands and finger combed through the length (not roots) of your hair 2-3+ times per week after showering.

The Drawbacks:

Be careful with how much you're using. Remember, it looks like a little when it's solid, but as soon as it hits your hands it melts completely into oil. It might take you one or two uses to figure out what works for you.

My Experience:

The first week without shampoo, my leave-in conditioner and my mousse were not pleasant. Simply washing my hair every day would not do. My hair had patches of frizz, fly-aways and just felt it was upset at me for putting it on a farmer's market diet. I wanted my curls to be perfectly formed like with mousse but soft like leave-in and tame like pomade. I know, I can be pretty demanding. The Coconut Oil lived up to each expectation after using it 3-4 times. I didn't heed ,the warnings I had read about how much to use at first, "I have a horse mane that almost reaches my butt, 'pea-sized' nothin'! When does using 'pea-sized' anything actually work?" Under a seven mattresses and a princess. That's when. I looked like a grease ball for two days. After some cider vinegar, some baking soda and some Chamomile tea, I tried again, 1/4 teaspoon at a time. After 1/2 a teaspoon, I stopped. I woke up in the morning to perfectly soft, shiny hair. Bazinga. After adjusting my all natural routine, I now use it 3 times a week and I don't need to use mousse, leave-in or pomade any more.

Cure All Cider Vinegar Rinse

I buy Walmart Brand Cider Vinegar in the
gallon jugs, it works just as well as the fancy stuff.

1 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar per 1 Cup Filtered water

Mix cider vinegar and water in a clean empty spray bottle and spray through well combed, damp hair. Let sit for 10 minutes before rinsing.

Cider vinegar is one of the best ways to clarify you hair without damaging it, return your hair to it's natural pH and help form any curls or waves you may have.

The Drawbacks: 

Getting cider vinegar in your eyes just sucks. It takes 10 minutes to rinse them completely out after you figure out that touching your eyes with your acid covered hands to help rinsing, doesn't actually help. This is why I STRONGLY recommend the spray bottle. You'll also (depending on how much you used and your hair texture) smell like you've been pickled for two days. After using this for a while though, all the money I saved and my hair behaving really helped me to get over the smell.

My Experience:

Due to my excessive amount of long, thick and curly hair I choose a slightly different method of using cider vinegar. I take two cups straight and pouring one of them across my forehead and over the top portion of hair. Then I part my hair like I'm putting it half up, wrap that in a bun and pour the last of the vinegar over the bottom half across the part from ear to ear and down my lengths. After the first month or so of doing it once a week, I could easily get through the process without nearly burning my eyes out of my skull. Totally worth it. I do NOT use shampoo at all. I let the water run over my hair (only when I know I won't be seen in public for at least 24 hours) and sometimes rinse with a jug of warm chamomile tea (as a courtesy to other Walmart shoppers).


This leaves my hair MAGICALLY soft, my curls are revived and bouncy and my scalp as been freed of all residue. The cider seems to help my comb glide through knots easily and it helps to keep my hair more manageable between washing.

Have you tried Apple Cider Vinegar? How often do you use it? What routine works for you?

Tools and Tips

Baking Soda

Baking soda is my fail safe. To use it, you simply make a paste with warm water and you can use it to scrub your roots between treatments to reduce oil or if you try a recipe that does particularly agree with your expectations.

Chamomile Tea

Chamomile tea is very soothing and smells absolutely fantastic. It can be used as a rinse on a daily basis. I buy the cheap supermarket brand and brew approximately 2 Quarts with 3 tea bags. It works, feel and smells best if it is brewed the same day that you're going to use it. Please be careful, it can stay hot for an inordinate amount of time... I scalded my scalp twice before I figured out about how long it took to cool. I brewed it when I was ready to take a shower, poured it into my Sterlite jug and just waited to shower until it was cool... took several hours. It works cold, but I find that using it cold, doesn't feel as good going on, doesn't smell as good and doesn't make my hair as shiny.

Handy Tools

Measuring Cup (Glass, Microwave Safe)
Measuring Spoons
Large Microwave Safe Glass Bowl for mixing
Forks or a potato masher
Saran Wrap or a plastic shower cap that makes a good seal around your head
Clean Recycled Glass Bottles (With top. Snapple and SweetLeaf are my favorite)
Spray Bottle
A fruit juicer (Again as long as you get the juice from the fruit, it doesn't matter how you do it.)
Very Sharp Knife and a cutting board
Coffee Filters
A 2 quart (measured helps) jug with a small opening on the cap (good for directing liquids)