Allergic Reactions to "Homemade" Conditioner
On Sat. Apr. 18 at about 7 p.m. I washed my hair with homemade shampoo, the only ingredients being water, olive oil, and pure fresh Ivory soap. I didn't even add any essential oil. (Link here: https://www.wikihow.com/Make-Shampoo?fbclid=IwAR27gbrrLbfqtnny5bT9HwEKHzZk0R0gwbiEYwmjX-R4OXCegF21W-K-ZUU).
I then conditioned it with homemade conditioner, the only ingredients being water, olive oil, and guar gum--again, I didn't even add any essential oil (link here: https://www.myfrugalhome.com/homemade-hair-conditioner-recipe/?fbclid=IwAR1o3w9NdiJQ6t-rVrT63RsR2xS4ZDtnY31LgPHtenaKi-ZtWOGrNG1EopY ).
I have trouble describing the reaction but I had discomfort for hours afterward. It was definitely physical, and not just "in my head," although primarily it was a nameless kind of discomfort, impossible to define, but a feeling of dread, of worry, of what might happen, like what a character feels in a horror story just before the lights flicker, the lightening flashes, and the thing emerges from the darkness. Benedryl didn't help, or at least didn't knock out the reaction entirely.
The fear was combined with itchiness and sleeplessness and restlessness--but the entire reaction was so mild I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary until I got ready for bed around 9 p.m. Since the only thing that I'd used that might cause any reaction was the guar gum in the conditioner, I thought shampooing my hair a second time, washing out the conditioner (and not using any more), might work.
The shampoo without conditioner helped some but not much. After about an hour--between 10 and 11--I got up again and this time tried just using a bar of Ivory soap, trying to get down to the scalp and the roots. Once again, it helped some but not much. I could feel that I'd missed some places, or that I hadn't rinsed sufficiently--despite rinsing for a lengthy period of time.
Around midnight I got up and got in the shower a fourth time. This time I just seized the hand-held shower head and put it flat against my scalp. I moved it over my entire scalp, putting the full force of the water over as much skin and hair as I could. That finally brought complete relief.
So now the problem is, how to condition my hair, if I can't use guar gum--or vinegar, another substance that triggers my allergies. Using homemade shampoo but no conditioner, homemade or otherwise, isn't an option. I've tried that, and my hair gets too greasy.
I'll have to do some further experimenting. I seem to recall a stylist giving me advice to put the juice of a fresh-squeezed lemon on my hair. That would cut the grease from the soap and oil in the homemade shampoo. I could also try using a cup or half-cup of bottled lemon or lime juice, or I could squeeze out enough lemons to make a cup or half-cup of juice and try that. The way to use the juice is to put it on the hair first, and then shampoo it out.
Applying a cup or half-cup of vinegar or an alcoholic beverage and then shampooing may be another option, because either will cut the grease and oil--but I'd have to be willing to risk another evening like the above, because I have a history of allergic reactions to both substances.
Getting a shorter hairstyle so there's less hair to manage would help. Less hair to clean would make it easier to manage.
I also have to factor in that I live in a dirtier, dustier, moldier, and more pollen-heavy environment than where I lived before, and two cats have the run of everywhere except my bedroom. So there are more allergens in the environment to trigger an allergic reaction. Breathing dust, cat, mold, and pollen big-time, and then using a hair treatment that contains an allergen, may be enough to set off a reaction that otherwise wouldn't be set off.
Update, 5/8/20: Squeezing the juice of one whole fresh lemon in my hair before putting the homemade shampoo on it appears to be cutting the greasiness and tangles. Before I start the shampoo, I cut a lemon in half cross-wise, cover the ends with restaurant-style lemon wraps to keep the pulp and seeds out of my hair, and put the halves in a crock pot to take into the shower.
I then conditioned it with homemade conditioner, the only ingredients being water, olive oil, and guar gum--again, I didn't even add any essential oil (link here: https://www.myfrugalhome.com/homemade-hair-conditioner-recipe/?fbclid=IwAR1o3w9NdiJQ6t-rVrT63RsR2xS4ZDtnY31LgPHtenaKi-ZtWOGrNG1EopY ).
I have trouble describing the reaction but I had discomfort for hours afterward. It was definitely physical, and not just "in my head," although primarily it was a nameless kind of discomfort, impossible to define, but a feeling of dread, of worry, of what might happen, like what a character feels in a horror story just before the lights flicker, the lightening flashes, and the thing emerges from the darkness. Benedryl didn't help, or at least didn't knock out the reaction entirely.
The fear was combined with itchiness and sleeplessness and restlessness--but the entire reaction was so mild I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary until I got ready for bed around 9 p.m. Since the only thing that I'd used that might cause any reaction was the guar gum in the conditioner, I thought shampooing my hair a second time, washing out the conditioner (and not using any more), might work.
The shampoo without conditioner helped some but not much. After about an hour--between 10 and 11--I got up again and this time tried just using a bar of Ivory soap, trying to get down to the scalp and the roots. Once again, it helped some but not much. I could feel that I'd missed some places, or that I hadn't rinsed sufficiently--despite rinsing for a lengthy period of time.
Around midnight I got up and got in the shower a fourth time. This time I just seized the hand-held shower head and put it flat against my scalp. I moved it over my entire scalp, putting the full force of the water over as much skin and hair as I could. That finally brought complete relief.
So now the problem is, how to condition my hair, if I can't use guar gum--or vinegar, another substance that triggers my allergies. Using homemade shampoo but no conditioner, homemade or otherwise, isn't an option. I've tried that, and my hair gets too greasy.
I'll have to do some further experimenting. I seem to recall a stylist giving me advice to put the juice of a fresh-squeezed lemon on my hair. That would cut the grease from the soap and oil in the homemade shampoo. I could also try using a cup or half-cup of bottled lemon or lime juice, or I could squeeze out enough lemons to make a cup or half-cup of juice and try that. The way to use the juice is to put it on the hair first, and then shampoo it out.
Applying a cup or half-cup of vinegar or an alcoholic beverage and then shampooing may be another option, because either will cut the grease and oil--but I'd have to be willing to risk another evening like the above, because I have a history of allergic reactions to both substances.
Getting a shorter hairstyle so there's less hair to manage would help. Less hair to clean would make it easier to manage.
I also have to factor in that I live in a dirtier, dustier, moldier, and more pollen-heavy environment than where I lived before, and two cats have the run of everywhere except my bedroom. So there are more allergens in the environment to trigger an allergic reaction. Breathing dust, cat, mold, and pollen big-time, and then using a hair treatment that contains an allergen, may be enough to set off a reaction that otherwise wouldn't be set off.
Update, 5/8/20: Squeezing the juice of one whole fresh lemon in my hair before putting the homemade shampoo on it appears to be cutting the greasiness and tangles. Before I start the shampoo, I cut a lemon in half cross-wise, cover the ends with restaurant-style lemon wraps to keep the pulp and seeds out of my hair, and put the halves in a crock pot to take into the shower.
posted by Lyn Jensen | 11:51 AM
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