A little over a year ago I stopped using Young Living shampoo and started using one from another company. I know, really dumb idea. I did it because I wanted my husband to try a product they had for hair loss. I was buying the product for Mark so, why not try their shampoo? It was totally natural so I thought I would try it. Well, in the past few months I have been noticing the “old person smell”. I am familiar with the smell because of being around several elderly people over the years. I am approaching 60 but I really don’t want to smell like that.
I kept getting a whiff of the smell and I knew it was ME! Where is that coming from? I started sniffing and trying to track it down. It wasn’t anywhere else on my body but, it was really strong in my hair.
I decided to do a Google search on “old person smell” to try and figure out what causes that smell. I learned that, as people age, there is an increase of a chemical compound called nonenal in the body. The process typically begins around age 40, and occurs in both men and women. As adults are maturing past this age, the skin ages, causing its natural antioxidant protection to decrease. This ultimately results in greater oxidation of fatty acids. As women mature and reach the stage of menopause, hormonal imbalances and changes can also effect the production of nonenal.
As I was reading the information on nonenal, I noticed that there was a Japanese product with persimmon extract that dissolves Nonenal. I also learned that the nonenal compound is waxy and it takes weeks of using the persimmon soap to totally get rid of the smell. Interesting! I have also noticed a waxy feel in my hair. It felt like a residue that wasn’t getting washed out. I assumed the shampoo was leaving a residue, but now I realize it was just the shampoo not doing as well on the nonenal as the Young Living shampoo I had been using.
That got me thinking about why the smell was in my hair but not anywhere else. That’s when I realized the reason my hair smelled but not my body is because I had stopped using Young Living’s shampoo with essential oils in it. Still using oils all over everywhere else.
I am now back using Young Living shampoo and conditioner, both with added orange essential oil to speed up the removal of the gumminess and get that smell out of my hair. First time shampooing it was much better but I could still smell it. The thing I really noticed is the gumminess was gone right away. YAY!! My silky hair has returned. It has been a few weeks now and the smell is totally gone. If I hold the hair up to my nose I can’t even get a hint of the smell. I will keep adding some citrus oils to my shampoo to make sure the waxy substance is gone and not returning. I’m sure I don’t really need to add the extra citrus oils but I am a little paranoid. 😉
Citrus oils are great for dissolving gummy substances like what is often leftover when you remove price tags and labels. It is no surprise it worked so will removing the gumminess from my hair.
I use Thieves Bar Soap in the shower. I think that is why I didn’t have that smell anywhere but in my hair. It was a lesson learned and it helped me all the more appreciate Young Living’s Essential Oil infused products.
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