My Non-Toxic Hair Care Routine

The time has FINALLY arrived for me to start sharing my non-toxic beauty routine! Many of you actually watched on my Instagram stories as I threw out my old, toxic products, and I promised I would share all of my replacements very soon. So don’t worry, it’s all coming. Makeup, skincare, body products, all of it. I’ve found a lot of safe beauty products that I honestly like even better than my old products, and I cannot wait to tell you about all of it.

I want to start off with my hair care routine because it’s extremely stable. I’ve been using these products consistently for over 6 months (except for 1 of them, which is a newer find), and I have no desire to change anything. When it comes to makeup and skincare, I’m much more interested in testing out new products and switching it up. With haircare, though, I stick to a routine as soon as I find one that works for me. I don’t need variety if it’s WORKIN’.

Hair care products were the first beauty product I was ever “obsessed” with. I hated my hair growing up, and I spent thousands of (my parents’) dollars trying different shampoos, conditioners, and styling products, hoping one would magically tame my beastly mane. Nothing worked, though. I wasted a lot of money and time. I’m glad those days are behind me. And I’m also glad those days occurred when I was still using my parent’s money. HA. It took me years to realize that keeping it simple is best for me, and that there is no single miracle product that will instantly make your hair look like Blake Lively’s.

As much as people want to deny this, the truth is that healthy hair starts with your diet. It’s just like skincare. I noticed the biggest change in my hair when I started eating a healthier diet, but the most noticeable difference, by far, was when I started incorporating collagen into my routine. I’ve explained why I love collagen many times. If you haven’t read my post on collagen, read it here. Yes, I used it before it was cool. I honestly used it before I even knew what it did. Ever since consuming it consistently, my hair grows insanely fast and is much stronger than before. I’m also convinced it adds shine. Collagen also benefits your nails, skin, joints, gut, and muscles, so it’s well worth the money. My favorite brand is Vital Proteins.

Another thing I want to point out is that I only wash my hair once or twice a week. I spent so much of my life thinking I could never wash my hair any less than once a day. Sometimes I would wash it twice. My hair has always been extremely oily. However, I finally trained my hair to last up to a week without a wash, which requires a lot of dry shampoo and embracing a little bit of grease, but it’s so worth it. Not only does it save me a ton of time, but it also helps my hair grow faster and stay stronger.

To anyone who says they “have to” wash their hair every day – no, you don’t. You’re just not using the right dry shampoo, and you haven’t trained your hair yet! I sweat most days of the week and have very greasy hair in general. If I can go from washing my hair twice a day to doing it once or twice a week, so can you.

Let’s get to actual products. I like to keep things as simple as I can.

For cleansing and conditioning, I use the Beautycounter Shampoo and Conditioner. Surprise, surprise. We all know I’m a Beautycounter addict. (For some of my favorite products, click here!) It smells delicious, gets all of the gunk out of my hair, detangles, leaves my hair moisturized but not greasy, and just gets the job done. Did I mention it smells fabulous?

Now, the one problem I still have is with purple shampoo. Anyone who is blonde or has cool-toned hair knows how important it is to use a good purple shampoo in order to keep those brassy tones away. However, I haven’t been able to find a nontoxic purple shampoo to use in my regimen. Before that, I always used the Unite Blonda Shampoo. When I started getting into natural beauty products, I had a really hard time finding anything to replace that. Since switching things over, I stopped using purple shampoo. So yes, my hair is brassy now. I’m learning to embrace it. Gotta do what you gotta do. If anyone has a good, nontoxic purple shampoo rec, let me know!

After I shampoo and condition, I love to use a leave-conditioner to make my hair easier to brush out (although that’s not really a problem), and just to make my hair feel softer and more nourished. I use the Acure Leave-In Conditioner for that. I simply spray it on damp hair, let it set for a few minutes, and brush it out.

My brush is one of the most important parts of my hair care routine. If you’re not using the Wet Brush, YOU NEED ONE. I actually used to spend hours brushing out my hair after I washed it. My hair gets horrendously knotty. This brush changed my life. It makes it SO EASY to brush your hair – it gets out the worst tangles. If you do nothing else to change your hair care regimen, at least get the Wet Brush. You can pick one up from Target for a really cheap price.

After I brush my hair, I usually like to add a little hair serum to my ends to keep them moisturized and shiny. My favorite serums are the Franklin and Whitman hair serums or Moroccan Argan oil. Really just depends on my mood, but recently I’ve been using my Frank & Whit the most. I just rub a little into my ends when they’re slightly damp and let them air dry. Using a hair serum keeps my ends from drying out and breaking, and I feel like it protects my hair a bit from heat damage, as well (although that’s probably just in my head…).

In terms of a heat protectant, I honestly don’t use it often. I should, but oh well. I usually only use heat on my hair once a week, so I don’t mind. If I’m really going to fry my hair, I’ll put it on, but the product I use isn’t the best in terms of ingredients. I use the Aveda Damage Control for some extra heat protection when I need it. Aveda is better than most brands, but not good enough for me to want to use regularly.

For hairspray, I have been loving the Innersense Create Finish Spray. It holds my curls for around 4 days, which is really impressive. I’ll spray this in my hair and then comb it through to make sure it doesn’t get “crunchy,” and it holds my hair in place while still allowing it to move!

Lastly, DRY SHAMPOO! This is the one you’ve all been waiting for. This is the key to my hair routine. I have tried so many dry shampoos, I cannot even tell you. I finally found a nontoxic one that works beautifully, and I have never been happier about a beauty discovery. I highly recommend Rahua Voluminous Dry Shampoo. It smells kind of like vanilla marshmallows to me for some reason. It does come out very white, though, and a little goes a long way. Sometimes I get a little overenthusiastic and my head is white for the day, NBD. But it really does soak up all of the oils and helps me get through an entire week without washing my hair. It’s definitely the best nontoxic dry shampoo on the market, and it’s my top recommendation.

Another great option is the Green & Gorgeous Organics Dry Shampoo. They have a version specifically for brunettes, as well, which will help with the white-cast issue. I usually bring this dry shampoo when I travel because it comes in a mini size. I prefer the Rahua because it’s really heavy-duty, and my hair gets really oily, but but G&G is great if your hair gets dirty but not insanely greasy. These also smell absolutely delicious and come in multiple scents! I love the Grapefruit & Sweet Orange scent.

A cheaper option is the Cocokind Organic Calming Powder, which is a natural baby powder. I will use this in a pinch if I run out of Rahua, but it does leave more of a white cast and it gives my hair that “thick” texture from the product. It’s better than most other dry shampoos I’ve tried, though.  I prefer my dry shampoos to soak up the oils in my hair and maybe add a little bit of texture, but I don’t like to feel like I have a ton of product built up in my roots. I still want my hair to feel soft and shiny, which is why I generally prefer the Rahua.

That’s everything I use on my hair! I’m pretty low maintenance when it comes to haircare. Some weeks I literally just use shampoo and conditioner, brush my hair through, and call it a day. Then I depend on my dry shampoo to keep things in check throughout the week. The key to my hair routine is a healthy diet and NOT WASHING IT EVERY DAY. I cannot emphasize that enough! If you’re looking to switch over to nontoxic haircare, give these products a try! What beauty category should I cover next?!