I don’t know about you, but for me, there is something about this time of year that makes me want to “start over”. New goals, new clothes, new habits. And as much as I love football, I kind of like doing the whole girly girl pampering thing on a Sunday afternoon (especially now that beach days aren’t an option). It is also a fun way to get your week off to a great start. When your nails are freshly manicured and your hair and skin looks great, it just makes you feel more put together. It trickles down into other aspects of your life, too. This article, however, is just about the superficial stuff. I’ll save the psychology for another time!

On the menu in the lab (a.k.a. kitchen) today is a purifying scalp treatment and an oatmeal cookie body scrub. I will tell you about the body scrub later … if I don’t eat it first.

You don’t have to be a hair product junkie to need a good scalp cleansing once in a while. Over time, even shampoo and conditioner can build up, leaving your hair dull and maybe even interfering with healthy hair growth. Using a clarifying scalp treatment occasionally is a great way to pamper an often neglected part of your body. Hey, this baby houses that beautiful brain of yours. Give it some TLC once in a while!

Here is a recipe for a great purifying scalp treatment:

4 Tbsp. melted coconut oil (let it cool before using it but not too much or it will solidify)
1-2 drops tea tree oil
4 drops rosemary oil
a splash of witch hazel

I also added:
6 drops Texas cedarwood oil
2 drops red thyme oil

The must have ingredients are the first four. The others I added because I had them and, based on the properties described on the label, I felt they would be a nice addition.

You want to do this on dry hair. Give your whole head a good brushing, ideally with a natural bristle brush. This helps to increase circulation and prepare your scalp for the treatment. Then, working in sections, apply the oil to your entire scalp. There are a few ways you can do this. My hairstylist friends may have one of those brush things that you use to apply hair color. I don’t. I used one of those things you use to brush marinade on meat. HA! It worked perfectly. Don’t worry, it won’t make its way back into my kitchen drawer. It’s been flagged. You could also use cotton balls but I think some sort of stiff brush would work best.

After you finish applying the oil, go ahead and give your head a nice, gentle massage with your fingertips. This feels fantastic. It will help the oil to penetrate and increases circulation as well. You can leave this on for 20 minutes or so and then hit the showers to shampoo it out. I shampooed twice because I felt that once was not enough to remove it all completely. An added bonus is that the coconut oil also makes a wonderful conditioner for your hair.

I conditioned my hair as I usually do in the shower but blow dried it without adding any additional product. The result was super soft and super shiny hair and a squeaky clean scalp. Almost like a breath of fresh air … . for my head. Woot.

 The Real Girl