Hair Care
Orientation
Could you take a moment to listen to your animated instructor’s advice on this section of your Apprentice Ship Adventure?
Briefly read the page and head to Aphrodite’s Lounge beside the Salon.
You can have a beverage there. You can get comfortable and watch the videos on hair.
After collecting your downloads and finishing this section, please tell us or, even better, show us pictures of some of your “hair-scare” episodes on our Facebook page.
Hair Overview Video
Sea Side Spritz
Add essential oils to saltwater and put them into a spray bottle to create a sea-side spritz. Salt may bring out the extra wave in the hair but can also add frizz and stiffen it, so try this when you have time to decide if you like the look and feel.
Video- Hair-We Love it and Curse it!
Hair brings Up Emotions and Memories:
Hair is a very personal matter, raising many opinions and debates. There are enormous differences in people’s preferences for hairstyles and types. Besides body weight, hair is one of the main reasons for family feuds, especially between mothers and daughters. Hair causes a highly emotional reaction in many people. 
Many people, including men, make deeply personal statements with their hair. Men who rebelled in the 1960s still sometimes have long hair. It is part of their manifesto.
People who wish to “fit in” will often adopt hairstyles like those around them. Others who want to assert their independence will try cuts and styles that identify them as “different.” Sometimes, we outgrow our accustomed hairstyle and forget to update it to our current identity. Yet, cutting or changing hair can bring up fear, resistance, and other deep emotions.
Hair type is influenced by many factors- genetics, age, gender, medications, diet, lifestyle, and products used.
I was born with dry, delicate, flyaway, thin, and somewhat curly hair. I was told it would thicken as I aged, but this never happened!
My “bad hair” has taught me to relax and go with it because it has a mind of its own. Or, as I did during my recent hair-thinning experience, I enjoy what I have and play with wigs, especially while making videos. It is entertaining. Somedays, having a fairy godmother to help with my hair would be nice.
Has your hair taught you something, too?
Here are some ideas on how to make the most of the hair you have:
Eat a balanced diet with lots of healthy oils.- Rotate your shampoos. Even good shampoos create a build-up and tolerance if over-used.
- Wash your hair only once or twice weekly unless you are an adolescent with greasy hair.
- Massage your scalp thoroughly. Rinse very well.
- Brush your hair gently with a good quality, natural bristle brush.
- Use good quality products, preferably homemade.
- Avoid overheating or over-processing your hair with curling irons, hairspray, or harsh colouring agents.
Enjoy what you have and go with it. As my husband, who lost some of his hair at a young age during an illness, says, “Hair today, gone tomorrow,” or “Grass doesn’t grow on a busy street”!
Essential Oils For Adult Hair Care-
Essential oils may be used in all phases of hair care. Dilute the essential oils with carriers of jojoba, argan, emu, rosa mosqueta, coconut oil and (or carriers of your choice) to make an intensive hair conditioner. Add a few drops of essential oils straight into shampoo and conditioner to boost their appeal and efficacy.
Basil-oily hair promotes growth.
Bergamot-oily hair
Cajeput– hair loss
Carrot Seed– dry and normal hair
Cedarwood Atlas– dandruff, hair loss, oily hair
Chamomile Roman– Anti-inflammatory. Very healing for the scalp.
Clary Sage- dandruff, oily hair
Cypress– oily hair
Frankincense– dry hair
Geranium– dry hair
Juniper Berry– oily hair
Lavender is recommended for dry, regular, and oily hair. Gladstar (pg. 147) suggests it can be used for itchy hair with dandruff as a scalp treatment.
Lemon -light hair colour, oily; gives golden highlights, dandruff
Myrrh– dry hair- helps to treat dry scalp, dandruff, and underactive oil glands
Patchouli-oily hair; dandruff
Peppermint– dry; promotes hair growth
Rose- fine hair; soothes the scalp
Rosemary– dandruff, dark hair, hair loss
Sage- hair loss
Tea Tree- dandruff, oily hair, dandruff
Thyme– hair loss
Ylang– oily, dandruff treatment
Carrier oils are essential for hair and scalp. Go to your section on carrier oils for skin to review these oils. Which three might you try for your hair? Please post your results on our FACEBOOK page.
Shampooing with Tea tree oil helps unblock sebaceous glands while encouraging the body’s flow of moisturizing oils. It also cleanses the scalp of bacterial and fungal irritations. Use 0.025 to 0.05%.
Alopecia Blend (Natural Health Magazine) 2006 P. 46
A recent double-blind study of 84 patients with alopecia areata found that 44 percent of those who rubbed their scalp with a mixture of essential oils daily for seven months showed improvement in bald patches, while only 15 % of those who rubbed their hair with plain carrier oil did.
Alopecia Recipe:
Two drops of thyme vulgaris
Three drops lavender
Three drops rosemary
Two drops of cedar atlantica
Mix with four tsp. Grapeseed or jojoba
Please share your hair story with the Practical Potions Facebook group. What is your relationship with your hair? What type of hairstyle do you have? Have you changed it much? How does your family feel about hair?
Check your Practical Potions Journal Downloads below for Shampoo, Rinse and Conditioner Recipes.