historical hair care

[Arcticfoxes]

It whizzes past really quickly in the video but she does mention that she uses a conditioner as part of the wash, but I suspect that it isn’t shown because it doesn’t fit with the idea of historical hair care.

I rewatched the vid not long ago and did notice that.

She uploaded a follow up vid where she clarified that the routine is "historically inspired" and that it is specifically what worked for her hair (though I got that from the first video anyway, I think she did say it then too, but she reiterates it a lot in the new vid as I guess she's had a lot of feedback on that).

[shelomit]

Good to have you back, Amiraaa!

The thing I like about this video going viral is that the aesthetics of her hair are different from a lot of mainstream hair aesthetics -- and what I mean by that is her hair is pretty oily. I like that people are celebrating kind of oily healthy hair. That shot that she shows of the back of her hair over and over again -- it looks kind of webby because it's so covered in sebum, and her curls are beautiful but not light and bouncy. I'm finding that my hair looks like that these days and seems very happy. So it was affirming to watch! Her hair definitely looks happier and thicker than when she was doing curly girl method, and I'm finding the same is true for me.

I didn't have time to watch the full video, but I also like that look on other people's hair and the feel on my own.

Slightly off topic to the original question but I just can't figure out how she does her silk wrap. I've slowed this down and rewatched it a bunch and tried to do the same movements and I cannot for the life of me get it to look the same. Anyone who knows that style of wrapping care to point me to a tutorial?

She's taken a square scarf and folded it in half into a rectangle, put the folded edge at the nape of her neck and the loose edges towards her hairline, tied the ends together in a single overhand knot at the top center of the head, then pulled the ends back together at the nape of the neck and tied them in a second overhand knot. I know from headscarves ; D

[Happymaman]

She's taken a square scarf and folded it in half into a rectangle, put the folded edge at the nape of her neck and the loose edges towards her hairline, tied the ends together in a single overhand knot at the top center of the head, then pulled the ends back together at the nape of the neck and tied them in a second overhand knot. I know from headscarves ; D

Thank you so much!! I will try this right away even though my only square scarf is a little weird.

[Fethenwen]

I am actually really intrigued by this, especially since I found this video!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7fGbyTOCTI&t=401s

I actually went so far that I bought a wooden fine tooth comb for trying out this method. I have been trying various no-poo methods before, and really liked the way my hair feels until there starts to develop some waxy build-up overtime. This method of combing and brushing could take care of that problem. I love love love the idea of using my own natural sebum to coat the hair. I already own a BB brush, so that I could use as well.

I watched this video the other week, I was fascinated by it. Bought some of that clay, ACV and jojoba oil to try it.

The clay wash was actually really good. Can't say my hair enjoyed the jojoba oil and I have no idea what the ACV did if anything.

My hair became static as anything, couldn't brush through with my wooden comb without static. Missed my conditioner. Went back to it.

All in all I liked the clay wash but I'd only use it with leave in conditioner afterwards personally.

Yeah, washing my hair with clay also makes my hair full of static. Have tried it a couple of times, but it happens every time.

Rye flour washes is more moisturizing, that has worked pretty good so far.

Keeping my thumbs up that this works! I also like the idea of extending my washes to once a week instead of twice a week.

I will try to remember to keep you posted on how this goes

[Hairy-Fairy]

I am actually really intrigued by this, especially since I found this video!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7fGbyTOCTI&t=401s

I actually went so far that I bought a wooden fine tooth comb for trying out this method. I have been trying various no-poo methods before, and really liked the way my hair feels until there starts to develop some waxy build-up overtime. This method of combing and brushing could take care of that problem. I love love love the idea of using my own natural sebum to coat the hair. I already own a BB brush, so that I could use as well.


Yeah, washing my hair with clay also makes my hair full of static. Have tried it a couple of times, but it happens every time.

Rye flour washes is more moisturizing, that has worked pretty good so far.

Keeping my thumbs up that this works! I also like the idea of extending my washes to once a week instead of twice a week.

I will try to remember to keep you posted on how this goes

That's so funny how different things work for different people. I love that waxy build up on my hair. It clumps my hair to prevent tangles, it protects my hair from drying out, and it adds slip when I detangle under the water (along with my homemade conditioner). I can't use shampoo because it mats my hair together and tangles it horribly but I used clay washes for awhile. People always seemed to recommend only using them for a month before clarifying but since shampoo wreaks havoc on my hair I decided to see what happened if I didn't do that.

I'm fascinated by historical haircare but specifically afro-textured hair. I have found very little helpful information on the subject though.

[Fethenwen]

That's so funny how different things work for different people. I love that waxy build up on my hair. It clumps my hair to prevent tangles, it protects my hair from drying out, and it adds slip when I detangle under the water (along with my homemade conditioner). I can't use shampoo because it mats my hair together and tangles it horribly but I used clay washes for awhile. People always seemed to recommend only using them for a month before clarifying but since shampoo wreaks havoc on my hair I decided to see what happened if I didn't do that.

I'm fascinated by historical haircare but specifically afro-textured hair. I have found very little helpful information on the subject though.

Yes, that's right
I can imagine how waxy build up on afro-textured hair would work great to soften and bring out those lovely locks.

Hoping my own sebum will work better if I comb out the excess and smooth it out with combing and brushing.
I have also almost given up on shampoo, my scalp hates it and I loose more hair when I use shampoo, even mild sulfate free shampoos.

[Sarahlabyrinth]

Another Victorian way of washing hair was to use eggs (but rinse with cool water, not hot); Good for children as they don't sting the eyes.

[LittleQuill]

Another Victorian way of washing hair was to use eggs (but rinse with cool water, not hot); Good for children as they don't sting the eyes.

I actually tried it a couple of times (for the lolz), and not on super dirty hair, and my hair loved it. It was the shiniest it'd been in a long while, was swishy, and incredibly silky. The downside was that, despite using damn near freezing water, I was still picking chunks of egg whites out of my length for days afterward. The second time I tried it, those egg whites made me look like I had dandruff (to the point that my husband mentioned it), and I was like. "Well, if you're noticing it, it must be pretty bad." Haven't done it again since. I don't really get why it happened, either. I used completely cold water and rinsed for a good ten minutes, too. I might give it another go at some point if we ever have any unused eggs. There must be a trick to it. I mean, if the ladies with their amazingly long hair (which was NOT necessarily the norm) did it in nothing but a jug and a bowl without the mention of egg chunks, I'm sure I, a modern woman with access to an endless supply of running water, can, too.

[Braided Lady]

I almost wonder if super cold water would solidify if the egg too, less than hot water, but a little bit nonetheless. I also wonder if there is something to mix into the egg to help against that. Did you use the yolk with the egg white?
Another thought: maybe they just added something to their hair afterwards, like a powder, to cover up the leftover egg

[LittleQuill]

I almost wonder if super cold water would solidify if the egg too, less than hot water, but a little bit nonetheless. I also wonder if there is something to mix into the egg to help against that. Did you use the yolk with the egg white?
Another thought: maybe they just added something to their hair afterwards, like a powder, to cover up the leftover egg

I'm not sure. I was perusing an old beauty manual that I found on either the Internet Archive (https://archive.org/) or Open Library (https://openlibrary.org/). There are a few books like these on there which offer up household tips, or will give you recipes for skin and haircare products. It's been a while since I looked through it, but I think it was called Beauty Culture by William Woodbury. (It was. The shampoo recipe was at the bottom of the left page. Found it here: https://archive.org/details/b28054520/page/132/mode/2up) The only ingredient that eluded me was the 'spirit of rosemary'. After further digging, it seems like it may have been an alcoholic solution mixed with rosemary essental oil. For my recipe though, I used plain old rosemary water/tea. I'm not putting a strong alcohol solution on my head, thanks. So, in guessing that, maybe the alcohol use in the mixture prevented the egg whites from sticking to the hair? Also, I used the whole egg because the recipe didn't say to separate the whites.