Monday 6 September 2010

THE HAIR PROJECT GETTING STARTED

I have started a project this fall to get my long hair back,and to get it thick and healthy again. These past months it jsut breaks andfeels really thin in the edges. It will take a lot of effort and some sacrifice and a hell lot of time but we'll see how it goes!

The first thing I did was putting acid in my head. Not as crazy as it sounds and not really as an actual part of my project, but more to try it out; I read an interview with an ecological hairdresser mentioning ascorbic acid, which helps remove the metals and pollutions your hair sucks up form the environment. After som googling I also learned that ascorbic can remove greens and yellow shades from blonde hair, which sounded promising since my cool blonde always tends to lean to yellow after a while. I also recalled another article about another eco-salon I read ages ago, where it was said that cabbage also has the property of sucking all that evil stuff out of your hair.

So, first off to the pharmacy (the lady there was a bit sceptic about the combination of acid and hair but I decided to give it a shot anyway).

Eddi could not hold his laugh when he heard for what I needed the cabbage I sent him to by… Well I did make a salad of most of it.

I thought the ascorbic acid would turn into some sort of jelly as it is used in jams and gelées, but it did not (it is used as an antioxidant and not a jelly substance, so it is pretty clear now that ones thinks about it…) It was a bit runny to apply easily and got into my eyes and I thought I was going to go blind for a moment but just a little water helped, sight still intact :)

The cabbage leaves were so easy to apply due to their shape and stayed in pace well. I was struggling a while weather to post any pictures of me during the process (also with a clay mask on my face once I was at it) bearing possible future employers typing my name into google in mind. And just the plain fact itself weather one really wants to be seen with cabbage on the head and clay in the face on the internet. But then again, I know you all want to see that cabbage hat of mine so here we go.

Ta-taa! (Let's see how many end up here after googling 'cabbage head' or 'girl with cabbage on her head' now shall we).

I'm not sure how much the cabbage actually soaked up in the end, but they were a whole lot floppier afterwards than when applying them. And I kept on thinking I can feel it suck up all bad things from my scalp, even though that might have been mostly psychological. (But I still don't consider this any eco mumbo-jumpo, in the end I'd rather trust the natural cabbage over a bunch of silicone combinations to restore my hair :)I of course had to try everything at once, so I reined my hair first with plain water) with a mix of water and apple-vinegar, as I read that's a natural substitute to conditioner. (But as I otherwise am not that into ecological hair care I did put a hair mask afterwards. You know, putting all those non-organic chemicals right back in my head.)

As far as the ascorbic comes, my hair did feel quite light afterwards but I wouldn't really say it removed any yellow tones. I almost think it dug those faded pink striped out again and made them orange. Not really, but in a certain light it seemed that way. I have some of that acid left so I might do this again at some point, perhaps. Although I think I prefer the cabbage :)

23 comments:

Nolita said...

Gabbage+blonde hair+ clay mask looks pretty cute!


--Nolita Vintage--

Miss Margarita said...

I can't help it but I'm just thinking about those cabbage patch kids! ;)

Helene said...

This looks fun! Did you know that ascorbic acid is another name for Vitamin C? Fun fact from me :)

Olivia Rouge said...

Aaaah sun kaalipääkuva pelasti mun illan! :D <3 Ainii ja laitoin sut award-listalle mun blogissa, en tiiä ootko jo tuommosen saanu mut enivei :)

Annamari said...

Here we use cabbage to heal injuries, it really has healing and cleaning properties, but, for this, we use to press and break the leaves until the waxy surface is destroyed. It is much more effective this way.

Anonymous said...

Haha ! that's a terrible look ! You shall go on streets like that ! I'm sure lots of street photographers would take pictures of you ;)
Anyway, still pretty with cabbage on your head and brown thing on your face ! :)
Love,
Adelythe

http://hummingbird-cocoon.blogspot.com

The Freelancer's FashionBlog said...

Helene : I didn't know that before no, but learned it as I was googling about!

Olivia : :D ja dänx!

Annnamari : I will have to try it like that the next time, it does sound more effective.

The Freelancer's FashionBlog said...

Adelythe : I think I will spare my common finns the horror (or joy) of me in the cabbage hat outside the house :)

aurelia said...

First, get yourself over to The Long Hair Community. We have lots of treatments to make hair healthier.

Ascorbic acid is vitamin C. You don't have to buy a packet of ascorbic acid. You can just grind up vitamin C tablets. That may be cheaper.

Second, if you are trying to remove metals you will need to use a chelating shampoo. The ingredient to look for is EDTA. It binds to the metals and keeps them in suspension until they are rinsed out. Kenra makes a good one. Don't know if it's available in Finland. TLHC has Finnish members who might be able to recommend something you can get easily.

Chelating shampoos are usually also clarifying shampoos. That is, they will contain a sulfate detergent.

Third, apple cider vinegar will add red tones to your hair. If you want to use a vinegar rinse you should use white vinegar.

Fourth, you can get a toning rinse for little old ladies that has blue tones in it. It will help counteract the reds and yellows.

I've heard some talk of using blue manic panic to counter red/yellow tones, but I don't know how to use that without actually dying your hair blue.

Be aware that you may get some flack on The Long Hair Community about the highly bleached hair. There is a bias toward natural hair and natural haircare. Just ignore those who might give you any static.

The Freelancer's FashionBlog said...

Aurelia : thanks :) I'm however really bad at joining forums as I never keep up with the pace and discussions... but I'll check it out. And yes, it was probably the vinegar that made the red tones then :) But the ascorbic was rather cheap so that was ok in that sense! I use some salon products (shampoos and masks) to remove the yellow but I had to stop, or reduce the use, as they were too heavy on my hair. I have to stop bleaching it now to see if it will help my hair grow back. It might actually not, as it could be the genes too I'm afraid. My mom had cut her hair when about my age...

Gina Americana said...

I knew if I kept scrolling down there you would be with cabbage leaves on your head. You didn't disappoint!

Grande Mama said...

As earlier mentioned you have to break the surface of the cabbage leaves to have any effect. Use a rolling-pin for baking.
Your Mother had to cut her long hair short due to breastfeeding you as that tends to make the hair more brittle (hormones)for a period but otherwise her hair has always been very thick and healthy!

Anonymous said...

I am so glad you're doing this! I am in the process of trying to get my long, thick hair back as well and I'm hoping you'll keep posting some helpful hints and tips on how to do that! I have the hardest time getting mine to grow :(

Great post, and I like the cabbage hat!!

xx

Leia said...

I've tried some pretty crazy things with my hair but never heard of cabbage! I think it's awesome that you posted a picture of yourself with cabbage on your head and a clay mask :) you don't look bad actually; I look like a halloween monster when I am doing things like this! Haha. Try making a natural conditioner out of things like avocadoes, olive oil, bananas, shea butter, honey (if you're still willing to try out some eco mumbo jumbo! :P)

Leia

Republic Monetary Exchange said...

That picture is priceless - thanks for sharing that! Please let us know if you try it again!

blackberry said...

:)

The Freelancer's FashionBlog said...

Gina Americana : :D

Mamma : yes I know that was the reason but, BUT, your hair might have changed anyway you know. My hair is still thick! But only on the top of my head, it just breaks as it gets longer, heh.

Brooke Burrows Miramintes : good luck with your growing-it-out too!

Leia : it's fun to do different stuff in the kitchen for hair and face so I will most likely put some other stuff in my locks at some point yes :)

WendyB said...

You are too cute!

Anaïs said...

Coincidentally, I stumbled upon this page today:
http://hair-care.suite101.com/article.cfm/how_to_wash_hair_with_baking_soda_and_vinegar

I thought it was interesting!

The Freelancer's FashionBlog said...

Anaïs: I know baking soda can be used as a facial scrub or to brush teeth. Maybe I have to try this one!

Kitten loves vintage said...

Very interesting post, especially as lately, I've been doing a bit of experimenting myself...Namely the honey+baking soda and vinegar stuff, which worked, and today, washing with (silicone free) conditioner only, which also worked! No shampoo for two weeks...

Sidan nån nämnde högre upp samt Lockig.se har tips på hur man kan tvätta utan uttorkande shampo, eller googla no-poo. Även om man färgar håret, har jag för mig. Blev själv intresserad då halva familjen har tvättat med bara vatten (WO-metoden) i över ett år nu och har hur snyggt hår som helst, dock kräver det en avvänjningsperiod då man kan se ganska flottig ut, vilket jag inte är så pigg på när man ska betjäna kunder...Mitt experimenterande fortsätter, hör gärna hur det går med ditt också!

The Freelancer's FashionBlog said...

Kitten : jag har tänkt på det där med att övergå till vattentvätt men med shower och sånt klarar jag nog itne av övergången. Plus att jag sminkar mig och så med "vanliga" produkter så skulle det ju vara plus minus noll, på ett sätt :)

Fast jag tänkte nog fortsätta testa lite mildare metoder!

MissGlamourpuss said...

I used to be a hairdresser back in the day and have only been using the best possible salon products in my hair for the past decade or so - usually favouring TIGI and L'Oreal products.

Somewhat recently I came across a fantastic organic skincare brand Mukti, and have to say that their shampoo and conditioner are by far the best I have ever used. The shampoo cleans gently and efficiently and the conditioner is so effective at keeping my long hair in great shape that I don't even have to use leave in ones anymore.

Warmly recommended: http://mukti.biz

xoxox,
MissGlamourpuss