I have officially gone a week-and-a-half without using shampoo.
My hair looks and feels amazing!
Weekend before last, my older daughter and I were browsing Pinterest for inspiration on stretch loop creations. Somehow, we stumbled across a blog talking about the “No Poo Method” of hair washing. I thought, Hmmm. That looks interesting and worth trying. In our house, what the mommy does, the girls have to do, so we got serious about learning more about this method.
Shampoos, for the most part, contains sulfates (usually sodium laurel sulfate or ammonia laurel sulfate). These sulfates are actually pretty strong detergents which strip hair of oils and styling products, as well as produce lather. When we use these products, yes, our hair gets clean, but then our hair has to work overtime producing its natural oils. It tends to go overboard, producing an abundance of oils, which makes us dive for that shampoo again. Conditioner helps some, but not permanently.
With no-poo, we’re washing with a tablespoon of baking soda, followed by rinsing with a dilution of apple cider vinegar (2 tablespoons diluted in a cup of water). We do that twice a week and water only in between times. I used conditioner last week to wash mousse out of my hair, and I swore I’d never do that again! My hair felt so waxy, and I’m not sure if it felt yucky because of its transition or because of the conditioner. Overall, though, my natural waves and curls are soft, springy and tangle-free. I’d like to say that this method is saving me lots of time in the shower and a good bit of water, but it’s been bitterly cold this week, so my showers are lasting just as long as they had been.
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| Nice and inexpensive ingredients here. Generic is absolutely fine! From another no-poo’er: http://ohwhimsicalme.blogspot.com/2013/04/baking-soda-and-vinegar-hair-care.html |
I still like my styling products and I like using my mousse and hairspray. I can’t go from Wednesday to Saturday (my second wash day of the week) with gunk on my hair, though. So what’s a girl to do? I think I’m going to content myself with going lo-poo in those situations. Surely I can use my own soap on my hair for one or two washings a week when I’m using the apple cider vinegar to condition it. I was vacillating about this when I got this awesome message from a friend/customer last night:
I asked [my husband], who has a LOT of scalp issues, we’re talking raised, itchy lesions on his scalp what he’s been using for shampoo, hoping to get him on board. Turns out he hasn’t had a lesion or an itchy scalp for a while now. Wanna guess what he’s been using? Your soap.
So, it looks like my own handmade soap will do the trick for keeping my hair clean naturally between washings. This is also good to know for our upcoming summer excursions to the beach.
Do you have natural solutions for taking care of your hair, body or home? Let’s hear about them!
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