Wash Day Project | DIY Cleansing Oil Shampoo

Cleansing oils have been all the rage ever since people got hip to the benefits of massaging the skin with plant oils.  Our worst fears were that these oils would clog our pores and leave our skin greasy...but instead, we experienced the exact opposite.

In actuality, the oils helped remove dirt while leaving the skin hydrated and moisturized.  Once the big companies got wind of oil cleansing, a bunch of commercial products hit the marketplace.  Oil cleansing became a legit thing.

via Instagram

But then, brands decided to take things to the next level by expanding the oil cleansing experience to our hair.  Yes.  In case you weren't aware, there's such a thing as cleansing oil shampoo. Shu Uemura leads the pack with its Gentle Radiance Cleansing Oil Shampoo.  Ouidad also has a cleansing oil on the market.

My first thought was this, "I NEED a cleansing oil shampoo in my regimen!"  My hair adores oil and can't get enough of it.  If I were to incorporate an oil rich cleanser, this could mean less tangles on wash day and reduce manipulation related breakage during the conditioner application.  And perhaps, adding a little oil would somehow minimize the swelling that occurs when hair is saturated with water. My impatience wouldn't allow me to wait days for a product to arrive so I immediately sought to create my own oil cleansing shampoo.

This is the easiest DIY ever!  Basically, I grabbed a bottle of avocado oil from my product stash and set it aside. Then I put some Keracare Moisturizing Shampoo in my hand as I normally would.  But instead of applying the shampoo directly to my wet hair, I mixed in a little avocado oil.  I tried to avoid using too much oil and kept the ratio of shampoo to oil to about 70/30.

When I rubbed the shampoo/oil mixture in my hair, I couldn't detect any "greasiness."  In fact, the shampoo process went as normal.  Actually, there were a couple of differences.  First, my hair seemed to tangle way less. Secondly, after rinsing, my hair already felt highly conditioned.  This process is definitely a keeper.

My only regret is that I didn't use enough oil.  I have very thick, very course hair and I could probably get away with a 60/40 shampoo to oil mix.  I say this because, once rinsed, there was no trace of oil whatsoever.  Some people would prefer this but I wouldn't mind having a hint of oil remaining on the strand.

Oil cleansing on wash day is a must try if your hair responds well to oil.  Oh, as a follow up, I have to mention how I'm loving my DIY conditioning ACV rinse.  If you haven't tried this yet, you're falling behind. Time to catch up.

from Relaxed Hair Health http://ift.tt/1TU1Tbq