Changing over my hair products was scary and it was the last thing I changed in my natural and non-toxic product journey. I know it sounds silly, but I put off changing over my hair products for the longest time because I didn't think my hair would look as good. I have to honest. Ever since I was diagnosed with my autoimmune disorders I started to become worried about losing my hair either from my conditions or treatments. Some of the medicines that were discussed to help me, such as methotrexate, could cause permanent hair loss. I started to become more attached to my hair because the idea of permanent hair loss was pretty scary for me. There are so many woman who look gorgeous without hair, but I was convinced I would not be one of them. I know it sounds vain, but you don't realize how much you love your hair until you start to think you could lose it. However, I realized that nothing is more beautiful than being healthy and happy. I saw woman on Instagram with their gorgeous and confident photos without hair. It put things into perspective for me. I'm so happy that woman are starting to encourage each other on Social Media with body positive images and filterless photos. We need more of this content! And I thank all those woman. One of the people who helped me a lot was one of the Voice Contestants. She has an autoimmune condition that caused her to lose all her hair. Her story was so powerful. She was gorgeous and confident without her hair and I loved how she shared about her autoimmune disorder. She has a gorgeous voice as well. You can check her out @mscedrice. It helped me to see myself and my autoimmune conditions differently. I have been fortunate that I have not had to take methotrexate and risk the side effects, but the body positivity on social media has helped me be more open about my autoimmune journey and to love my body as it is. I thank these strong woman for sharing body positivity. It has helped with so much with body negativity as it relates to my disorders.
All this body positivity helped me to realize I wanted healthier options for myself and that it was silly to worry about looks over health. To my surprise, I found that I love the natural, non toxic products. I even like them better than the much more expensive salon products I was using. They worked so much better and my scalp finally stopped hurting and itching. I used to have all these bumps on my scalp and I would even get tiny scabs on my scalp. I didn't realize that it was the toxic products I was using. After a couple of days of switching over, I saw and felt the results. My hair looked so much healthier and radiant. And my scalp felt relief. lol. It no longer itched and hurt. Before, it almost felt like it was sore from a sunburn. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, then I highly recommend you change over! The best part is that these products are very affordable. Some are only $6 or $7 on Thrive Market. Nothing's better than finding a product that makes you feel better and is so much more affordable too! Even if you don't notice these symptoms, I recommend changing over all your products to more natural and non-toxic products. Your skin is your biggest organ and it absorbs what you put on it. So it's really important to be careful what you put on your skin especially if you have chronic or autoimmune disorders. It will make you feel so much better! I hope you enjoy! If you have other brands you love or have helped you, then please comment down below! I'd love to hear from you.
Part of my hair journey has also been to find a heatless curl option. I found a rolled hair updo that I loved and to my surprise it actually curled my hair! I absolutely love it! I tried the bathrobe hack that has been so popular, but it made my hair too frizzy and the curls were more like beach waves for me. It wasn't the look I wanted. So I stumbled upon this rolled hair updo and I couldn't believe what happened when I took my hair down. It was better than a curling iron and there wasn't any heat damage! I will have steps and pictures at the end of this post if you're interested in trying this updo. It's beautiful to wear in the day and a great way to curl your hair too. I like to wet my hair and make the updo tighter to sleep in at night, but you can also spritz your hair with water in the morning, put your hair in the updo, and let it set while you're getting ready. It works really fast. If I'm having a bad hair day I will do this in the morning or sometimes I just put my hair into the updo for the day and then get the benefits of the curls when I take my hair down. It actually lasts for several days!
May you be well :)
~ Brooke
"All good things are wild and free." - Henry David Thoreau
1) Rose Fig Shampoo. I am obsessed with this shampoo! It smells absolutely amazing. It's like washing your hair with fruit juice. I opted for the color protect because I have really oily hair, but this brand has so many options. It's ok to use color protect even if you don't have colored hair. I don't use the conditioner because my hair is oily, but the people I know who have tried it love the conditioner! You can purchase the shampoo with the conditioner on Amazon.
2) Giovanni Styling Mouse. This stuff is amazing! I can't believe it works so well! My hair is stringy and straight so it's really impressive that this works on my hair. It's great to use before the heatless curl trick I'm going to talk about at the end of this post! It makes my heatless curls last for days, which is great because I don't have the energy to wash my hair every night. Sometimes it can be several days before I wash my hair if I have a bad flare. It is always good to check ingredients every time you order a product. The things you avoid on a health journey are constantly changing and new information is always coming out. So I like to make it a point to check ingredients and products on food every time I order them. While this says it is a natural product, it does have some preservatives that I want to point out in case you are sensitive to them. This product does include Phenoxyethanol, which is a preservative found naturally in green tea. It also includes PVP/VA Copolymer, which upon further research is derived from petroleum. This ingredient could be problematic for some. People can be sensitive to different preservatives even if they are food grade so I am going to list an alternative next, but it is a more expensive option. I will be trying it next time so I can compare. Going to natural is a long process because you keep trying to find products that work the best for you and that are all natural or as natural as you can find. You can purchase this mousse on Amazon.
3) Seed Volume Texture Spray. I love the seed products. This is on my list to try. I think it would work well as a styling spray. It has all natural ingredients and two food safe preservatives, Potassium Sorbate and Sodium Benzoate. It is more expensive, but it is very hard to find a styling spray. I will update once I try this particular Seed product. The other seed products are great! I just wanted to include more affordable natural products on the list. You can purchase the mousse on Amazon.
4) Giovanni Hair Spritz. This is great to have on hand. I rarely curl my hair with a curling iron, but it's nice to have for that purpose or if there's a hairstyle or updo I want to stay in place. Amazed at how well it works. It does contain an alcohol, but I think it is used for preservation. You can purchase the hair spray on Amazon here.
5) Acure Dry Shampoo. This stuff is the bomb! I definitely need dry shampoo on hand because I don't wash my hair every night and I have oily hair. It is made for different color hair as well. And it smells amazing! The rosemary and peppermint smell great and love that it has a few simple and natural ingredients! I got mine at whole foods, but I also found it at Amazon here.
6) Hair Scissors and Feathering Scissors. So I've been extremely reluctant to cut my own hair. However, with the pandemic I have had to stay isolated as much as possible since i'm immune compromised. I don't think I'll ever spend money to get my hair cut again! These scissor are so sharp and the feathering scissors really help your hair cut look professional. I definitely recommend cutting your hair wet. I know it's more intimating, but the one time I tried cutting my bangs dry they came out all jagged. I like to do face framing on each side of my face. I take about a two inch segment near my face and then slide the scissors down. Just like you would with wrapping paper. It's like your gliding against the hair or shearing. So basically put the starting point of your hair in the deepest part of the scissor, leave them open, and then slide down to the end.. I do the same movement on my bangs. Then I like to take my hair into two sections. On the top, I feather using the feathering scissors. To use the feathering scissors just cut once straight across the bottom of a section of hair. I just cut about two inches from the bottom on around 3-4 one inch sections of hair around the top. Then, I repeat on the bottom part of my hair one inch from the bottom and use the feather scissors on 3-4 one inch sections. I don't think this is proper hair technique, but it really works for me! I'm sure you can find some great YouTube tutorials on feathering scissors and if you do, then please link them! You can purchase this scissor set on Amazon. And they're pretty cheap! Saves a LOT of money on haircuts!
This photo was taken days after I did my heatless curl trick. The curls still look great. You can get tighter curls by taking smaller sections at a time. I took this photo as a product photo for my handmade jewelry. Making jewelry is my passion and keeps me sane. lol. If you're interested you can find my jewelry at www.alittlevintagehappy.com or www.esty.com/shop/alittlevintageahppy. :)
Excuse the no makeup. I've been enjoying going makeup free! Well, I do have my sky organics lip balm on. I love it! I have a whole post about natural chapstick here. I took this photo after I had my hair up in the rolled updo. I didn't spray it with water before I did this so that's always an option for fixing your hair on the go.
This is how the rolled updo looks from the back. I promise it is way prettier in person. It's really hard to take a photo of the back of your head. lol. This updo makes me feel like a Jane Austen character. It's really romantic and classic. Love how easy it is to do! :) It's a romantic updo and only takes 5-10 minutes to put up!
These are the type I wear at night. If you want to sleep in your curls these are great! They have sticky on the one side so that they don't move. They're for sports, but if you have trouble sleeping like me, then you're going to need these! Tossing and turning can really cause that updo to come undone. lol. My preference is to sleep in the rolled updo. I can let my hair air dry some and then put my hair up when it's still a little damp. It seems to last longer for me if I sleep in the updo. Get them here from Amazon.
These are great for the updo during the day. Mine are worn out so I actually just purchased these. Get them here on Amazon. Can't believe these are only $2.59!
These are great for a fancier look. If you're wearing the updo during the day this really adds to the look. I have one similar to the photo. I just linked these as an example. There's so many to chose from on Amazon. Get this style here.
Tutorial:
The best part about this rolled updo is that all you need is an elastic headband! It's a gorgeous updo for during the day. So classy and elegant and it's also great for heatless curls. I like to sleep in the rolled updo so it's ready to go in the morning. I put my hair up when it's slightly damp. You can also spray your hair with some water and put your hair up in this style while you're getting ready. Then just take the elastic band out and you're ready for the day! You could even put your hair up into this style on the go as mentioned above. If you're having a bad hair day then put your hair up in the updo for 20-30 minutes and then take the band out. It gives beautiful curls. They won't last as long without water, but it will be beautiful for the day!
I begin by spritzing my hair with water or having slightly damp hair if I've let my hair air dry after a shower. I comb through my hair thoroughly. This is important because you may not want to brush your hair out so you have more curls after you take the updo down. I divide my hair into two parts. I put the elastic band around my head like a crown. I then begin to twist 1-2 inch sections of hair around the band. I start at my ear and take a 1 inch section. Twist the section and then take it up and under the band. I then grab another section and repeat until all the hair has been wrapped around the band. There will be hair left hanging down in the back so just leave it for now. I then do the same thing on the other side. If your band is loose, you may have to check the other side and make sure it's not unwrapping. I will pull the hair that's hanging down to tighten it. I like to have mine tight for the heatless curl look. If you want to have looser curls or just want the updo look, then you can make it looser. Also, the smaller the sections of hair, the tighter the curls. I usually have 4-5 sections on each side of my head because I don't want very tight curls.
Once you are done with both sides, there will be hair hanging down in the back. I take all the hair from both sides and wrap it all together around the band at the back of my head. I continue to wrap until there's no hair hanging down. You can use a bobby pin to keep the end of the hair in place. I usually just continue to roll around the headband and roll inward until it's all hidden. And the best part is that this only take 5-10 minutes. You can unwrap your hair and take the elastic band out once your hair dries or if you did the updo with dry hair then you can take it down after about 20-30 minutes. You may have to play with the time depending on your hair type.
There's a great tutorial from Hair Romance. She has step by step pictures. If you need more instruction check it out here. I hope you enjoy! If you try it, please think about posting a picture so we can see how it turned out! :)
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