 Let's get right down to business and talk about hair! Hair is one of my favorite subjects, besides skin health & lucky for you- I know how to have truly beautiful & healthy hair! I'll start from the beginning. My family and I are pretty much from Hungarian decent. Our family came over from that little country between Romania and Austria to become servants. I know what you are thinking, who would come to America to become a servant when you could have the American dream? Well my family was very very poor and they worked as servants in a bean farm. My grandfather had about 17 brothers and sisters! My mother only has three- thank the Lord! That would be a lot of aunts and uncles to keep up with! I grew up hearing my mom talk about one of her cousins who had the most beautiful hair she had ever seen. Coincidentally her name is Barbie- and she (at one time) had very long hair that she used to sit in front of the mirror for hours and brush & curl. As a child my mom use to help take care of the elderly in their homes- my favorite person she worked for was named Suzie- a very very old Hungarian woman who had the longest hair I had ever seen. Suzie was very traditional Hungarian, she would make cottage cheese in her kitchen. I remember being a little scared to eat it but I did and loved it! She had a beautiful garden, that I couldn't seem to keep myself out of. I was often times scolded for picking her flowers. Suzie used to sit on a stool and watch my mother wash dishes- and would even point out the "spots" my mom had missed... a 90 something year old woman with cataracts in her eyes was pointing out my mom's mistakes! Well back to her hair, I remember my mom brushing, braiding, and putting her hair up into the traditional braided bun. Suzie would tell me stories about how she used to sit on the hills in Hungary, brush her hair, and dream of coming to America. Fast forward to me as a teenager. I was obsessed with beauty! Unfortunately I used a lot of chemical ridden shampoos & conditioners during this time. However, I do remember my mom telling me not to wash my hair daily or even to go a few days without washing it if I could. She would tell me that the natural oils have to take time to seep into the strands of the hair so that they can stay shiny and beautiful. She even bought me an organic shampoo and conditioner to keep my hair healthy. I loved it and hated using anything else. It was by the company called Jason. Fast forward again to me as a 20 year old starting my Healthy By Choice skin care line. It became my purpose to find ways to make all beauty products in my kitchen. It was then that I started looking up traditional Hungarian hair treatments and cleansers. I then found some people back in Hungary who are actually connected to my family- or you could say they are my distant relatives. They told me of how they wash their hair with tea & goat's milk, and told me of some hair treatments and their uses. It was then that I began my journey of "not washing my hair". I tried the traditional baking soda and water. I would either make a paste of baking soda and water or I would take a water bottle and mix a couple tbsp of baking soda and a full bottle of water together and pour it over your head. In the beginning your hair will seem a little more oily than usual. I will tell you why that is- Your scalp needs time to remove the chemicals that have been piling up from your commercial shampoos. Your hair itself needs about 4-8 weeks to "cleanse" and "detox" the strands from all the chemicals. My hair took about 4 weeks. Although using the baking soda and water method made my hair pretty dry and my scalp a bit itchy. I ended up going back to organic shampoo that I could buy at the health store for a few months.. and then.... ........... I created my Hungarian Hair Cleanser with a little research. You can buy it here. It was much gentler on my scalp and hair and cleaned it up really nice. It also wasn't a drastic transition between the commercial shampoos- where you hair didn't get super oily. It contains teas that are native to Hungary and my own handmade goat's milk soap.  It has been about 3 years since I regularly used conventional store bought shampoo. I have to admit that in times of traveling, spending the night with friends, and what not I would use some conventional kind. I even went back to using the organic shampoo my mother bought for me as a teenager. I find that my hair is unmanageable when I use it regularly. Occasionally I will use a shampoo that is infused with Henna after oil treatments. This is the kind I keep in my home for guests to use as well, you can find it here.  Now I have been told by even Indian women that I have pretty hair. My best friend even said "I swear her hair is wet it's so shiny and healthy". The day of her wedding I showed up (I was the maid of honor) and she had told me the night before "Don't wash your hair so the girl can curl it". Well I walked in the room and immediately got "the look" and the disgusted tone from her "You just washed your hair?!". I replied confused "No" she grabs my hair and then relief was across her face... "It's so shiny I thought it was wet". This is why I think you should follow what I do with my hair weekly.  Now for some recipes! I don't give out skin & hair care recipes too often so here is your chance to get some FREE recipes! To stimulate hair growth & nourish the scalp: Mix: 2 tbsp melted coconut oil 1 tsp ground mustard 2 tsp ground cinnamon Mix together and apply on the roots and the scalp. Cover with a shower cap for 20 minutes. It will get heated because the mustard and cinnamon are stimulating blood flow to the scalp. Rinse with warm water and then braid your hair and go to bed. You will wake up with your hair looking like this when you take it out of the braid.  That is okay. Take a shower and wash your hair with the Organic Shampoo or baking soda to get the excess oil out. For the organic shampoo I would recommend the Henna one that is talked about above. I wash mine with my Hungarian Hair Cleanser and it removes the oil just fine. But remember I have been doing this for a few years now.  Winter Time Dryness (dandruff): 2 tbs Coconut Oil 1/2 Container of Coconut Milk 2 tsp Rosehip Seed Oil 1 Cup Warm water. Mix all of the ingredients into ta bottle (make sure the coconut oil is melted) and pour them over your dry hair. Cover with a shower cap and leave for 1 hour. This will restore health to your hair if you are having dryness or dandruff.  Nourishing The Scalp: (1 time biweekly) Melt 1 Tbsp Raw Honey and 3 Tbsp Coconut oil. Add 1/4 Cup of coconut milk. Pour into a bottle with 1/4 Cup warm water. While you are in the shower, use this as a conditioning treatment after you wash your hair. Use a small amount not the whole bottle. Leave it on for 5 minutes- shave your legs or something- and then rinse.  Hot Oil Treatment Do this once a week: 1/2 Tbsp of Raw Honey 1/4 Cup of Jojoba Oil SLOWLY warm the jojoba oil and honey until melted. Carefully make sure the oil mixture isn't too hot. Then cover your scalp and hair from root to tip. Leave on for 2 hours and wash with the Hungarian Hair Cleanser.  This is the Hungarian Oil Treatment I have listed in my shop. It is best to have someone else do it for you. This is where you put a little bit of oil throughout the scalp and on the hair and gently pull on the hair at the scalp. I do this to myself every 3-4 days and leave it in for 2 hours or something even overnight. I wash with my Hungarian Hair Cleanser and my hair looks amazing afterwards. I even will use a few drops of this oil on my damp hair when I get out of the shower for a "leave in conditioner".
You can buy it here. |
Who am I? My name is Jessica Kellaway! I am the earth loving, natural parenting, Jesus loving weirdo your mama might have warned you about! Archives
June 2019
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