Honey Egg Shampoo

My bathroom smells like scrambled eggs. So does my hair.

You guessed it – I tested homemade honey egg shampoo for the first time today. I thought it might be worth a try since my scalp has been acting up a little lately, even though I’ve already switched from high-SLS-shampoos to very mild ones. I’ve never before washed my hair without any form of soap or tenside, so I’m really curious about the results. The internet assures me that this all-natural, right-out-of-the-fridge-and-pantry-concoction actually cleans and nourishes hair. So let’s see.

1:15 pm

I have just stepped out of the shower. I applied the shampoo around noon and left it in for 45 minutes (it just happened that way. I think 15 minutes would have sufficed) before thoroughly washing it out in the shower.

It felt nice rubbing it into the scalp, but I made one hell of a mess. I wet my hair and applied the shampoo standing over the washbasin. When I was done, the basin was speckled with yellow-ish globs of shampoo, so was the floor around me. If it turns out to be good for my hair, I’ll definitely have to work on my technique. I applied it to the scalp only and massaged it in. When I was done, I wrapped my hair in a towel and went about my day.

Washing it out was easy. I also followed the advice from the LHW (German LonghairWiki) and rinsed for a minute more than I thought was necessary. My hair felt literally squeaky clean afterwards. At the moment, it still smells of eggs and lemon, but I’m hoping that’ll stop once it’s dry.

I’ll update when it’s completely dry, in the meantime here’s the recipe I used. The original recipe calls for 1 egg, 1 yolk, the honey, and lemon juice only. But I can never leave well enough alone and just start my first trial with the basic recipe. I never do. So I added a couple of things I read about in the LHN (German LongHairCommunity), and this is the result. I’m calling it CHEMS, just for laughs (that’s Cinnamon Honey Egg and Mustard Shampoo).

2 eggs

1 tsp honey

1/2 tsp yellow mustard

good pinch of cinnamon

lemon juice (ca. 2 tsp)

Apparently, it’s important to mix eggs and honey before adding the rest of the ingredients, since the honey stops the eggs from being cooked by the acids in the lemon juice.

Btw, I whisked all this with a milk frother. It was a leeeetle bit of a pain to clean afterwards, but anything for my hair, right? Our coffee will taste funny the next couple of days, but oh, well.

I used about two thirds of this amount, so maybe next time I’ll try it with just one egg.

3:26 pm Update

My hair is almost dry, just a little damp. It smells like eggy pancakes. And not in a good, yay-breakfast way. Looks and feels alright, though. I haven’t combed it through, yet, but I expect it to be shiny.

3:52 pm Update

I’ve carefully brushed my hair now, and it looks stunning! It was easy to comb through and feels smooth and strong. It’s also shiny, as expected.

I’m amazed that this egg-mixture actually cleaned my hair. It had been almost four days since I’d last washed it, and it was just a tad (a teensy tad) greasy. That’s all gone. My scalp is also happy so far. I’m curious to see how the next couple days will turn out.

1:11 am Update (next day)

Well, it still stinks. I braided my hair once it had dried completely, and doused it in hairspray just to cover the smell, but to almost no avail. I think I’m going to be an egghead until I wash my hair again. Maybe tomorrow. I’ll have to tweak the CHEMS recipe a bit, because I won’t give up that hair-feel without a fight!

10:22 am Update (next day)

Personally, I don’t smell the egg anymore (Hubby says he does, though). But I’ve also lost some of that special hair-feel already. Just got used to it too quickly Nevertheless, I will try the following things in the future:

• Use only the one egg, maybe even just the yolk (some say it’s the whites that stink)
• Add more cinnamon
• Add coffee grounds (for a supposedly nice peeling effect and better smell)
• Use orange juice instead of lemon

And I’ll let you know how it goes.

3:05 pm Update (next day)

I don’t think my hair smells any more. Maybe drowning it in hairspray and combing the spray through the hair the next day does the trick. Will have to investigate further.

Noon, two days later

The thrill is gone

The thrill is gone away

So is the smell.

When I washed my hair earlier (with my usual shampoo, since I didn’t have any eggs handy), there was a distinct wet dog-smell in the air again, but I think I’m a-ok now… if I disregard the fact that my hair feels dry and imperfect, compared to the silky smooth softness after the egg-wash (*giggle*).

Btw, my scalp decided to start itching again yesterday, so it seems that I’m still a ways away from the perfect solution for my head. Fair enough, though; the itching started a whole day later than usual, so I won’t complain.