Rachel Zoe's Spring 2012 easy maxi-bohemian look with healthy, 'undone' hair in NY Magazine

Spring of this fortuitous year of 2012 features colors like tangerine, an air of natural radiance and an exuberance that bespeaks a luxe hippie with tons of polish and class.  To wear “easy, undone” hair without looking like you just got out of bed, your hair needs to be super-duper healthy.  And, of course, I always try to remain as close to natural as possible in my methods. So,  I pulled together my favorite zero-chemical healthy hair secrets & recipes to get you ready for a Spring Fling…!

Natural, Healthy, Low-Maintanance Hair With Polish! 

1.Get a good trim. When your ends are fried, you are in very bad shape no matter what you do! Book your next appointment right now!

2. Use an Apple Cider Vinegar rinse to balance your hair & scalp, remove flakes and product build up and get your hair glowing.

A simple recipe you can shake up in a mason jar and take with you to the shower once every other week or so:  1 part raw, unfiltered, organic apple cider vinegar, 10 parts water, a healthy squirt of honey from a Honey Bear.  Shake it up and pour on shampooed hair & scalp.  Comb through and make sure to get your scalp fully massaged.  Rinse, condition your ends and you are in for a treat= stunning shine.

3. Use a beer rinse alternate weeks with your Apple Cider Vinegar rinse.  It adds body, luster and just plain feels good, even if your shower smells like a bar for a few minutes.  Use flat beer.  Up to a full can. Just like above, pour on after shampooing hair, massage and then rinse out… no need to condition!

4. Add a squirt of honey to your usual conditioner (best if its free of silicones) when your hair is feeling dry.  You can stash a cheapie honey bear in your cupboard expressly for this purpose!

5. If you are not a fan of vinegar or find beer to be difficult to imagine in your bathroom, baking soda can be your weekly hair wonder to get your hair squeaky clean.  Mix up 1 part baking soda to 6 parts nearly hot water (essentially enough baking soda to have the mix look like shampoo but not enough to make it a “paste”… ) just before your shower.  Wet your hair fully, then dump the mix over your head scrubbing with the pads of your fingers for a minute or so to be sure your scalp is super-clean.  Rinse this out very well.  No need to condition unless you really want to!

6. Oil!!! Olive oil is incredible.  No special type necessary!  A few drops rubbed into your hair ends at night can be transformative.  The only thing better? Virgin Coconut oil.  Sleep with either in your hair the night before you do #2, 3 or 5!!!

7.  Strive to Stay Balanced!!! If your hair is falling out in mass amounts (scary, but extreme stress, illness, medications and the like can cause massive hair fall-out- (* I’ll write much more on this later…)- but the first thing to know, especially if you are vegan/vegetarian, is that  an iron deficiency can trigger the shedding.  Get your iron levels checked.  Also, start taking biotin and a great b-complex vitamin, and look into Viviscal supplements (*not vegan, they have fish products in them) or  my favorite, magical Phyto vitamins.  Note that crash dieting, in addition to being horrible for your body and mind,  can also cause a huge amount of your hair to fall out— you have now been warned!

8.  Oh, yes, lots of protein and good fats are important for healthy hair inside and out.  That said, you can whip up an egg yolk mayo in moments and infuse your hair with both deep moisture and strength once a week for about 50 cents a treatment.  These instructions from Daily Glow help you to master this beauty treat step by step.

9. If you have curly/ wavy hair, consider going Curly Girl method as I raved about in the recent past. Once you get through the initial few weeks of transition, you will be so grateful you made the switch!

10. Nothing looks worse or feels worse on your head & scalp than hair breaking along your hairline from pulling it tightly back into ponytails or other elastics or clip-on extensions.  Release the tension and opt for cloth-covered fasteners, let your hair fall free in the front, and never sleep with rubber bands in your hair.

Now… we just need Spring to get here soon!!! xoxo Dana