Is hair conditioner weighing you down? Hair feels stringy, limp, or greasy? But skipping the conditioner makes hair feels dry, frizzy and staticky… been there…

What’s in Commercial Hair Conditioner?

Hair conditioners in commercials claim to provide “healthy looking hair”… but they are not actually creating healthy hair. Many commercial conditioners only coat your hair with chemicals and fillers which make hair “appear” shiny and smooth. It’s like fabric softener for hair… Interested in what’s hiding in your hair conditioner? Look it up in the EWG database [where you can also find better alternatives].

Panthenyl Ethyl Ether, Propylene Glycol, Dimethicone, and Retinyl Palmitate are synthetic conditioning ingredients used to coat the hair to help prevent dryness and static. They can cause skin conditions or allergies. Some are restricted or banned for use in cosmetics in certain countries.

Methylisothiazolinone, Quaternium-15 (formaldehyde releaser), and Triclosan are preservatives lurking inside bottles of conditioner. They are toxic and damaging to the skin and organs.

They also contain my favourite ingredient to rant about until steam comes out of my ears: Fragrance. One of the worst ingredients in almost all commercial beauty products. Read more about it here.

Alternative to Commercial Conditioner

Roll out the red carpet for my Rosemary Conditioning Hair Rinse… which will provided needed moisture to prevent dry, frizzy, and staticky hair without the stringy, limp, and greasy mess! This is a life-changer for those with oily fine hair like myself, and it can also be used on many other hair types (dry, thick, wavy, straight, kinky, curly, colour-treated).

It contains ingredients for healthy hair:

Rosemary is an amazing herb for beautiful healthy hair containing antioxidants and vitamins A, B6, and C. It stimulates the scalp by increasing blood circulation to hair follicles and promoting faster hair growth. It is also anti-fungal, antiseptic and antibacterial, which treats dry flaky scalp and dandruff.

Apple Cider Vinegar contains acetic acid which is antimicrobial, helps to treat dandruff, removes product build-up, and restores the ph level of hair. ACV has a ph of 3 and human hair has a ph of between 4.5 -5.5. This slight acidity smoothes hair for easy brushing and detangling [and no frizz!]. It will not weigh down hair, which will result in more body, volume and give curly hair its spring back!

How to Make Rosemary Conditioning Hair Rinse

[Use any equal amount of water to apple cider vinegar, as long as the ratio is 50/50. I used 1 cup as an example in my recipe.]

Start by boiling 1 cup of water and pouring over 1-2 sprigs of fresh rosemary into a glass measuring cup [I always suggest this because it’s easier to pour later!]. Let this mixture sit and steep until it cools.

Remove rosemary sprigs and pour rosemary-infused water into container of choice [preferably glass].

Next add 1 cup of apple cider vinegar into the container. Choose a good quality ACV that is raw, unfiltered and contains “the mother”. The mother is super important [awe… yes you are Mama!]… but also for apple cider vinegar. It contains proteins, enzymes, and healthy bacteria that help to turn lovely apples into vinegar. Clear apple cider vinegar means all of these healthy goodies have been removed.

Shake it up!

Use after shampoo or no poo. Put a few tablespoons in a small pitcher and fill the rest about halfway with water from the shower. Using a pitcher will keep it out of your eyes. [I have medium length hair and find this is a good amount for me – use more or less depending on your hair length.] Pour all over the hair and massage into scalp. Let it sit for a few minutes and rinse out [Yes I know it smells like salad dressing in the shower. Mmm… a big salad… big lettuce, big carrots… tomatoes like volleyballs…]

ONCE HAIR DRIES THERE WILL BE NO VINEGAR SMELL LEFT.
AT ALL.
NOT EVEN A DROP.
NIL.
NADA.
ZIP.

Psst… some extra tips

Use BEFORE shaving, as the apple cider vinegar will sting freshly shaven legs [If you forgot – like I did because I was tired and didn’t have the brain capacity to remember the order of everything in the shower – quickly rinse legs under running water.]

There is a short transition period [mine was 3-4 washes?]. If you still find the 50/50 ratio is not working well, increase or decrease the amount of ACV. For dry hair, use less ACV: try a 40/60 ratio to water. For oily hair use more ACV: try a 60/40 ratio to water or stop applying to the roots and only apply from the ear level to the ends of the hair. You many need to experiment to find what works best for your hair type.

This rinse is not tear free. This is why I suggest using a small pitcher or other container to direct the rinse onto the hair only.

Dry rosemary can also be substituted for the fresh sprigs. Dry herbs are more potent and condensed than fresh, so less is needed. 1/2 tablespoon of dry rosemary can be used in this recipe.

Happy Conditioning 🙂

Have you tried a conditioning rinse? What do you use to keep hair nourished and moisturized?