posted 2 years ago
I found the same with castille soap for hair. If the water is at all hard, it forms a waxy coating on the hair which is just awful! For a while I used a recipe online which suggested using 1 teaspoon of castille soap, 1 teaspoon of coconut milk, and 1/2 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda, which worked better but still wasn't ideal.
For the past few years I've used a powdered herb - ju-jube leaves (known as sidr in the Middle East), which has natural saponins. Mixed with water to a paste and left on the hair for a few minutes then rinsed off well, it leaves my hair soft, fluffy, and clean, and is 100% natural. It smells a bit "herbal", that's the only issue with it. I'm hoping to get ju-jubes growing on my land and then as well as eating the fuit I can dry my own leaves rather than buying them.
I think a soap nut solution can also be used as shampoo, though I've never tried it.
I'm only 65! That's not to old to learn to be a permie, right?