How to Give Your Hair a Fresh Start or Transitioning to Shampoo Bars

Something that I like to do for my hair once a year or so is a vinegar hair rinse. A vinegar hair rinse is a conditioning treatment suitable for hair that has not been chemically colored. Henna-colored hair is fine. A vinegar rinse helps to remove build up from shampoo and other hair care products, and helps smooth and slightly straighten the hair. I like the bounce that my hair gets from using my bar shampoos, but I recently gave my hair a treatment in between testing new shampoo bar formulas. It was a bit over due, the last time I did it was over 2 years ago. During that time I had been testing a few new shampoo bar formulas, so it was nice to have a fresh start. I suggested this treatment to a customer who was new to shampoo bars and was having trouble with the transition. She really liked the result and I have been meaning to share it. I hope if you try it you like the results. It is very simple:

Mix 2 Tablespoons of Vinegar (Apple Cider Vinegar is best) with 2 cups of warm water. Wet the hair completely in the shower, then pour the rinse completely through the hair. Allow it to sit on the hair for a couple minutes and then rinse with fresh water.

You can have more fun by making an infused herbal vinegar like the one pictured by HerbalMother.com.

Enjoy!
Cory Trusty
http://aquarianbath.com

Thyme Cough Syrup Recipe

Thyme can be used as a primary ingredient in cough syrup. Thyme likes well drained soil and can be killed easily from being inundated by daily rain storms that here occur here in Central Florida July through September. Thyme is an expectorant herb which relieves bronchial spasms to stop coughs. You can use Thyme to calm the cough and throat in cases of Bronchitis, sore throat, inflamed mucus membranes, whooping cough (Purtussis), and gas and bloating.

Mint is another helpful ingredient for cough. It can calm inflammation in the head, throat and eyes. It needs to be added towards the end of the recipe and brewed only for a short time to prevent the fragile aromatic essential oils from dissipating.

Thyme Cough Syrup Recipe:
1 oz dried thyme
1 oz dried mint
4 cups water
sugar or honey

Boil dried Thyme down to about 2.5 cups of water, then strain. Add Mint and let boil for 5-10 minutes. Strain the decoction and add it back to the pot noting the final volume. Add 2 times the volume of the strained decoction in sugar or honey. If using sugar, dissolve it into the decoction.

The suggested amount of syrup to take is 1 tablespoon up to 5 times a day for adults. For children 4-10 years the dosage is 1.5 - 2 tsp up to 5 times day depending on weight.