Victorian-Inspired Hair Care for Strong and Healthy Locks

Grow your hair healthy and strong with this Victorian-inspired, all-natural hair care routine!

Hair Care Supplies

Some of the first things I tried to make while replacing all of my store-bought products were shampoo and conditioner. As a curly girl, my hair care was getting crazy expensive, with my three different kinds of shampoo, two kinds of conditioner, protein treatments, mousse, gel, and more. Plus, being super sensitive to fragrances, a lot of these ended up giving me horrible migraines throughout the day. So I tried multiple types of homemade shampoos and conditioners. Yet nothing seemed to work. That is until I decided to research what people from the Victorian era used to do. Since trying this Victorian-inspired hair care routine, my hair has felt and looked so much happier, and my curls couldn’t be better!

• Boar Bristle Brush
• Bobby pins
• Hair ties (I prefer to use scrunchies!)
• Jojoba oil
• Castor Oil
• Rhassoul Clay
• Egg yolk
• Filtered Water
• Borax
• Olive Oil
• Apple cider vinegar oil
• Flax gel (optional)

Victorian-Inspired Hair Care Routine

Washing your hair

One of the most important parts of this Victorian-inspired hair care routine is washing your hair. Or rather, not washing it! I highly recommend only washing your hair once a week or once every other week. It might take your hair a couple of months to get used to this routine if you are used to washing your hair multiple times a week. But stick with it because your hair will eventually thank you. The reason we advise that you not wash your hair more than once a week is because washing your hair too often strips it of the natural oils from your scalp and damages the ends of your hair.

Shampoo/Conditioner

This might sound a little weird, but this routine has you wash your hair with eggs and clay. These will act as the shampoo and conditioner, both clarifying your hair and making it soft and shiny. What you’ll need to do is fill a cup with about a tablespoon of rhassoul clay and a cup of warm water. Mix this solution, then set it aside. Then, crack and separate an egg white and yolk. You’ll just need the yolk for this, so either discard the white or save it for a different recipe. Mix the egg yolk in its own bowl and set aside.

Loosely braid your hair into four sections. Once in the shower, wet your hair and massage the egg yolk into your scalp like a shampoo. As you let the egg sit, dip each braid into the rhassoul clay and water mixture and squeeze out any remaining water. Do this process twice, then completely rinse out the egg yolk and clay from your hair. Follow up with either an apple cider vinegar and water rinse or a borax, olive oil, and water rinse. Squeeze out any extra moisture from your hair and add a small amount of jojoba oil to the ends. Let your hair air dry—preferably in the sun if possible. If you have curly hair and need a gel to help keep your curls looking their best, try out flax or aloe vera gel.

It’s important to note that, contrary to the popular curly girl practice, I do not wet detangle my hair in the shower. I only dry detangle my hair because hair becomes incredibly fragile while wet. You can’t feel your hair breaking as easily in the shower, so wet detangling results in a lot of unnecessary breakage.

Out-of-the-shower hair care

Massaging

One of the practices whose importance I cannot stress enough is massaging your scalp for at least five minutes twice a day. Massaging your scalp helps activate your hair follicles and glands so your hair can get the natural moisture from the scalp that it needs.

Brushing

Another important aspect of this Victorian-inspired hair care routine is brushing your hair with a boar bristle brush. Get a 100% boar bristle comb, and avoid the ones with wooden or plastic pegs in between the bristles. If you have curly hair like me, you’ll probably only want to brush your hair the day before your wash day. If you have straight hair, you can brush your hair every night.

In Victorian times, they would use a boar bristle brush to brush their hair with 100 brushstrokes. The boar bristle brush isn’t meant to detangle, but rather move the oils from your roots to the ends of your hair while removing any debris. This process will reduce the number of times you need to wash your hair because you’re technically dry-cleansing it every time you brush it with a boar bristle brush.

I recommend finger-detangling your hair with an oil (like castor or jojoba) applied to your hands before using your boar bristle brush. Once you finish finger-detangling, you can replicate the 100 strokes with a boar bristle brush, or you can simply brush it as long as your hair needs. This process will also smooth out any flyaways and make your hair look shiny and soft!

Sleeping

Before falling asleep I always loosely double-braid my hair and wrap it in a silk scarf. This protects your hair from tangling while you sleep and prevents unnecessary friction against it. You can also use a silk pillowcase if you don’t have a scarf.

Styling

Another important aspect of this hair care routine is styling your hair. You want to use protective hair styling techniques to minimize the amount of time your ends are exposed to the air. This reduces breakage and splitting. These techniques include braids, twists, and buns. My favorite is to divide my hair into front and back sections. I put the back into a bun, and I twist or braid my front two sections and pin them around the bun. You can also create a milkmaid look by pinning the front sections on top of your head.

I think it is important to note how hair differs from person to person. This routine works for my 2C hair in the particular climate I live in. Please feel free to adjust the routine as needed based on your hair type and climate! If your hair lacks moisture, add the borax and olive oil rinse to the end of your shower, and try adding a slightly heavier oil after cleansing. Fermented rice water can also be a great way to add more moisture to your hair. If your hair is lacking protein, add more egg yolk and let it sit a bit longer. If your hair is overhydrated, reduce the amount of oil(s) and mix in some apple cider vinegar with your rhassoul clay and water mixture. If you have extra buildup on your scalp use a castille soap to help remove it.