Sans the chemicals...No Sham....No Poo...

So, my friend Nichole uses the No-Poo method of hair care. Instead of shampoo she cleans her hair with baking soda and also uses Apple Cider Vinegar from time to time to condition it. The theory is that store-bought shampoos are made with harsh chemicals that strip your hair of its natural oils. When you go shampoo free your body can return to the oil balance it was intended to have. Also, it keeps the chemicals out of the water supply, plastic out of land-fills and saves you money at the store.

Nichole's hair is beautiful and always looks good so I thought the concept seemed interesting. Then I shied from it as she talked about the 'transition period' that can last weeks or months where your hair could get greasy and weird. My hair does that on its own...I didn't think I wanted to help it along. Plus I love the smell of my shampoo, plus it has stuff in it that keeps lice away. Working in preschool you have to be mindful of that kind of thing. Still, I must admit that lately I've had a lot of issues with my hair needing to be cleaned almost daily because it was getting funky and was not styling right. Usually I go a day between washes. I read about this method on various websites and there were many horror stories of the dreaded 'transition period'. I decided I simply was not a good candidate for this.

Flash forward to today. I have been shampoo free for seven days. I Don't really know when I officially made the decision to try this, but after hearing Nichole and my knitting friends talking about it again last Wednesday, I decided in the shower the following morning to rinse my hair out only and see what happened. It seemed fine. And it also seemed OK the next day without washing or even wetting it (usually that's when the oil starts to build up for me). It was starting to feel a bit thick and heavy (but still not the nasty oily I usually get) and looking dull. So I did an imprecise wash with baking soda because that is the stuff that deals with the oiliness. I grabbed the BS out of the fridge and put some in my hand. I added water and made a paste like I had read to do and worked it into my hair all around the crown and anywhere that I usually have greasy spots. I rinsed and that was that...It was great. It even had something of a shine. Wednesday it was still in good shape. I was beginning to believe!

Today I used Apple Cider Vinegar because I read that it is like a conditioner. I usually condition once a week or so. It felt great this morning. It was soft and clean. It smelled a little weird, but that faded.

However, now it feels nasty. It feels like it does when I am sick and have laid in bed for three days with a fever. UGH...

I think that it has to be the conditioner aspect of it...I once tried the "curly girl' method because I have thick, wavy hair. That process is to condition only. And not often. Conditioner always tends to greasify my hair even if I only use it on the ends. So, I will research an alternative to the vinegar. Blah!

Not sure how long I will give this a go - I know it can take time to adjust...I'll stick with it as long as it never LOOKS as greasy as it feels. As noble and healthy as the reasons are for going no-poo, I will have no problem going back to the evil store-bought stuff without a second-thought....I'm not by nature a bomb-shell beauty. I can't afford to have greasy, limp hair. :)


Here is the Cliff-Notes version of my week:

Day 1 - Rinsed hair only
(yay!)

Day 2 -Nothing
(cool!)

Day 3 - Rinsed with water
(wow - a good scrubbing and H20 really does clean!)

Day 4 - Nothing
(feels thick, a little bit oily. Not bad)

Day 5 - Baking Soda
(worked to cut the oiliness...But a little dull in color)

Day 6 - Nothing
(good - has a bit of a nice shine)

Day 7 - Baking Soda/ACV
(OMG! Yuk!)