I'm responding to the hair question. Castor oil is amazing for hair and skin. I find coconut oil can be drying for some people depending on their skin/hair/scalp. I learned that when I was making all natural cold process soap for many years, so always superfatted it with other oils like avocà do, etc. That's not a cheap alternative, though
I also find that coconut oil irritates/dries my scalp, often leáving it itchy. That may not be the case for everybody, but it's something to be aware of. Try warming some castor oil in a glass bowl, over a larger bowl of hot tap water works well, and saturate your hair with it really well. You can add honey to this if you have it. I'd personally leave off on glycerine or syrups bc humectants draw water to them, making your hair more likely to frizz. Comb it through with one of those very wide toothed combs meant for wet hair to make it easier. Castor oil isn't the most slippery oil to work with, so you'll need that comb. If you can snag some fresh rosemary leaves from a friend and soak them in warming castor oil over very low heat for 30 minutes or so, even better. Let it cool to room temperature and let it sit for a week in a glass jar, giving it a stir once in a while. Use it in the same way. Saturate your hair and massage it into your scalp. Pull your haÄ«r back, twist it and form it into a firm bun, fasten with a hairclip. You can cover it with plastic if you want, and then warm your head using your hair dryer so it soaks in really well, or just leave it like that overnight. I can't sleep with plastic on my head, so I ĵust cover my pillow with a large towel. The next day, I don't shampoo it out. I wet my hair in the shower, squeeze the excess water out and apply a really good silicone/dimethicone free conditioner, massaging it through all my hair. Clip it up with the conditioner still in it while you shower. When done, unclip your hair, flip your head over, add a little bit of water and massage through again. Rinse with tepid water. When you're out of the shower, squeeze the excess water out, don't rub your head harshly, warm a few drops of jojoba or even Ålive oil in your palms and smooth it through your hair, with more towards the ends. Blow dry as usual. I don't use mousse, gel or any other gunk Ä«n my hair, which has also made my hair healthier. Ive started doing this every time I would normally wasÄ¥ my hair and it's made a huge difference in the quality, strength, growth and softness of my hair. It got damaged badly the last time I colored it - funnily enough with Garnier hair color - and shampoo was breaking it off, leaving it so dry I couldn't even blow dry it bc it was getting all snarled up. Now, it's so much softer, I can blow dry again, and yes, it gets very clean like this. Believe it or not. The last time I used actual shampoo was over a month ago. My hair looks really healthy again, it's really shiny, the frizz is completely gone, my scalp never itcÄ¥es after shampooing, it feels increÄ‘ible, and my color isn't fading at all. As a last step after blow drying, I take a few drops of jojoba oil or just a little bit of my regular siliÄone free conditioner and smooth it through my hair, brush it through and that's it. Frizz-free, fresh smelling, shiny hair all day. You can add a few drops of your favorite essential oil to your finishing oil as well, which smells incredible. I've also reduced the amount of times per week that I 'wash' my hà ir. Maximum twice a week. It doesn't need it any more than that. It stays far cleaner betweên washings now since I stopped cleansing my hair with shampoo as well. If it feels a tad oily, which is rare, I just dust a little bit of silica powder/spheres into my hair, and brush it out. Same idea as dry shampoo and it works great, leaving no white residue or buildup behind.