My daughter and I both have this thick hair with natural curl that dries out and snarls easily. With the summer sun and pool chlorine, we need a little help in keeping our hair manageable without breaking the budget. The two treatments we tried at home and WORK! that I will share with you are vinegar rinse and a detangler.

 Vinegar Rinse

Gather your supplies of a quart jar, vinegar, hot water, and an herbal tea bag (optional, for fragrance.)

Pour 3/4 cup of vinegar in to the quart jar.

Fill the remaining space of the jar with hot water.

Place in tea bag and allow to steep for a minimum of 10 minutes.

To use, work approximately 1/2 cup into your hair after shampooing.

Only use this rinse a 2-3 times a week to help remove buildup and increase the luster in your hair. Using this more often could have a drying effect on your hair.

It cost me 20 cents to make this hair rinse (10 cents of vinegar and 10 cents for a tea bag.) The per application cost is less than 3 cents. It will cost you less than a penny an application if you do not need the tea bag for fragrance.

Hair Detangler  

Gather your supplies of conditioner, water, a blender, a funnel, and a squirt bottle.

I recommend reusing a detangler squirt bottle rather than putting it in the recycling bin or trash. If you need to purchase one, Wal-Mart sells them for 88-cents.

In a blender, puree 2 tablespoons of conditioner with 2 cups of water.

The mixture will foam up, so allow to sit for about 10 minutes before pouring in to your squirt bottle. Use a funnel to pour it in to your squirt bottle.

To use, spray directly on dry or wet hair and comb as usual.

This treatment would be a great way to use up those small bottles of conditioner you receive as a sample in the mail or from a recent hotel stay.

So, instead of paying $4 for a bottle of hair detangler, you can make it for free. If you don’t have any free samples of conditioner to use up, you only need 2 tablespoons of your favorite conditioner. A bottle of detangler made with a $1 bottle of conditioner will cost you 4 cents to make 2 cups of detangler.

I wish I could tell you how long 2 cups last, but my daughter uses it likes it’s water (well, almost.) I love that I can make this for free.

The little bit of conditioner blender with water makes a world of difference in trying to comb out her long curly mop of hair that just spraying down with water couldn’t do.