I said “goodbye” to my shampoo and conditioner two weeks ago, and if things continue as they are now, this may be a permanent separation. Yes, you read that right. I’ve stopped shampooing my hair.
Think I’m crazy? So do I! For as long as I can remember, I’ve had to wash my hair every single day because it would get so greasy and yucky after only 24 hours. I have dim memories of older women telling me that way back when, people didn’t wash their hair more than once a week–and they didn’t need to. They said that washing hair more frequently causes it to need more washing.
I was unimpressed by this theory.
I knew what my hair looked like if I went 48 hours between shampooing, thank you very much. My fine hair simply doesn’t stand up well to any amount of oil. It looks gross and feels gross. Go two days between washing my hair? No ma’am!
So how did I get into the no ‘poo movement? I first heard of it about a year ago in a class on 18th century British literature. One of the most horrifying aspects of life in the 1700s is the skincare and haircare products the women used. Their makeup was made of ground up lead and bismuth buried in horse manure to ripen. (Really.) Anyway, one of my classmates mentioned that when she was researching 18th century haircare, she stumbled across websites where modern people wrote about their great results after tossing out their shampoo. We were all skeptical, of course, but this student was adamant that somebody, somewhere was not washing her hair and having the smoothest, softest hair she’d ever had.
This time, I felt some stirrings of curiosity, but I promptly forgot all about it.
Last month, however, I happened upon a blog post at Keeper of the Home on this very subject. After doing her research, this blogger decided to forgo shampoo herself. After a couple of weeks thinking over the logic of it all, I jumped on board too. I am a total convert now!
Lest you think I never wash my hair at all, let me clarify. I use a mixture of 1 tablespoon of baking soda in 1 cup of warm water for cleansing. After thoroughly wetting my hair, I pour this mixture over my head in batches, working it in thoroughly with my fingertips, massaging the scalp as I go. After letting the mixture sit in my hair for a minute or so, I rinse it out. Next, I drizzle on a mixture of 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar in 1 cup of water. I massage that in a bit, then rinse thoroughly. (Don’t worry. The smell disappears.)
Although I’ve tried following this protocol every other day, I’m still finding that I need to wash my hair daily. This could have something to do with the humid climate where I live, or it may be that my scalp needs some more adjusting time. Gradually, I’d like to work my way down to washing every other day or every third day. We’ll just have to see how it goes. For now, though, I’m absolutely thrilled! My hair has lots of body and texture, and it feels great, smells great, and looks great.
There is more than one way to go no ‘poo. Some people, especially those with very dry or curly hair, find that they don’t need these rinses at all. They can stop washing their hair permanently by simply rinsing their hair in warm water and drawing a wet washcloth from roots to tips to distribute their scalp’s natural oils. Others use the baking soda mixture only once a week but apply the apple cider vinegar rinse 2 or 3 times per week. Others make a paste of the baking soda and water and massage it only into their roots. Still other people add honey or herbs to their routine.
In every case, however, not only are these men and women saving huge money on their hair care, they are eliminating one of the most obvious sources of daily chemical exposure. We all know that purchasing safe personal care products is much more costly than buying VO5. What if you could wash your hair more safely than you could with those expensive nontoxic products, while paying less than you would for a bottle of Suave? It might be worth a try. Personally, I’m tickled pink!
To read more about going no ‘poo, check out these resources:
Going No ‘Poo? The blog post that caused me to seriously consider this.
Info: Shampoo Free A very thorough post on the reasons for going shampoo free, how to do it, various tips, and even troubleshooting. A must read!
The No-’Poo Do Testimony of one dry and curly-haired gal who loves her new ‘poo free life.
Why You Should Go No ‘Poo Reasons to consider ditching shampoo for good and how to do it.
Great post- I love to hear that it’s working so well for you! I’m really enjoying it too, and finding that my hair looks great as well. I am trying to move to washing every second day (I usually wash every day as well), so the second day is still on the greasy side for me, but the day that I wash it, I’m really happy with it. Personally, I’m not doing the ACV rinse very often, because it seems to add a bit of stringiness to my hair, but just the baking soda seems quite sufficient for me anyways.
Thanks for the link!
I’ve tried a few times with the soda/vinegar thing, and wish I could pull it off well. So far, no such luck. I’ve heard, though, that sometimes it takes a few weeks for the scalp to re-regulate itself… maybe I haven’t stuck with it long enough.
Toni,
Yes, I’ve definitely read that some people need an adjustment period. It happened to work for me like a charm from the beginning, but I think several weeks (and up to a couple of months) is typical before the scalp adjusts. That *is* an awfully long time to put up with yucky hair, unless you have lots of headbands, hats, and head scarves.
I tried this too and it worked very well! My hair seems a little dry, so I’m going to look up homemade hair conditioners. You have motivated me to look up recipes for homemade everything… lip gloss, lotions, etc.! Today I bought rose water, glycerine, peppermint oil, and almond oil. I have gone back to using baking soda and salt as tooth powder. I’m going to add a little peppermint oil to it today.
I’m so glad you liked this! To help with dryness, you can do a number of things: apply the baking soda solution only to your roots, use more apple cider vinegar in the rinse, add honey to the vinegar rinse, rinse every day but “wash” with baking soda less often than that, etc. I think it’s just a process of experimenting and finding what works for your hair. I don’t have any personal experience with this particular problem because my hair is so oily. But there is a lot of info out there. Happy hunting!
If you find recipes you like for these other things, I’d be really interested in them! Maybe I’ll have to give the baking soda and salt thing a try. I’m just afraid of the TASTE.
Actually, baking soda leaves a sweetness behind. I’ve also added about 6 drops of peppermint oil and that’s good too.
Somehow i missed the point. Probably lost in translation
Anyway … nice blog to visit.
cheers, Distally!!
I’m no ‘poo too!
I’ve been without shampoo for about 4 years and my hair is very happy. After a while I figured out that the bs would dry out my hair and cause the same cycle of stripping my hair/scalp of oils that the acv had to condition…it was still better for me than shampoo, but I had kinda stalled.
Then I found a blog about a no ‘poo journey (http://tinyurl.com/ypkf7z) and I got more into experimenting with new things…so fun!
Anyway, I just tried the cassia obovata as a wash (it’s “conditioning,” but it’s actually drying so it works as a wash for the no ‘poo crowd) and I LOVE IT! (http://tinyurl.com/4fa36s) My scalp feels amazing (I have psoriasis and cassia is anti-fungal) and my hair feels great and looks like it’s reflecting as much as glass! These days I just do a 50% vinegar/50% water wash about once a week and just rinse with water the rest of the time.
This from an old oily-within-one-day girl.
Have fun and thanks for spreading the word!
Whitney
(PS you often mention farmer’s markets, etc and I think you are in Dallas, too, can you give me pointers on where you go for stuff that’s actually local?? I buy meat, eggs, fermented veggies, and cheese from a farmer, but I’m stuck on veggies and fruit)
Whitney,
Thank you for sharing your experiences! I’ve been wondering the same thing about baking soda myself. I still cannot go a day between “washes.” I try, but it’s just disgusting. Although my hair looks, feels, and smells great with just the baking soda (I had to stop using the apple cider vinegar because it was making my hair too oily), I’m not at all getting out of the daily washing cycle. Hmmm.
How long did it take your hair to adjust to simply rinsing it with water? To be quite honest, I’m scared! I had no adjustment period with the baking soda, but I know for sure that I would if I simply stopped washing it altogether. Maybe I need to get some head scarves.
I’m going to check out those sites you linked to. Thanks!
As far as farmers’ markets go, I can’t tell you about the Dallas area because I live in Houston. Have you checked the Local Harvest website for leads? You can find them here: http://www.localharvest.org/. On the site, you can search for farms, farmers’ markets, and even CSAs. Another way to get some leads might be to join a Dallas Yahoo! group on the subject of organics or natural living or something to that effect. I’m a part of a Houston organics Yahoo! group, and people are always asking about where to find farmers’ markets. Beyond that, I’m afraid I’m not much help. If you come to Houston, though, I’ll hook you up!
I really appreciate your comment and hope you keep coming back. Thanks!
[...] shampoo, vinegar Earlier this week, I started an experiment. I’d been reading snippets / across / the net about people who forgo store-bought shampoo and conditioner, and decided to try [...]
[...] every day… Anyways, I was so impressed by going natural on my face that I decided to follow this blogger’s advice and try it on my hair as well using just plain old baking soda and cider vinegar in the shower. My [...]
I’ve been no ‘poo for two months. I have coarse, dark, thick hair that’s been dead dry for forty-nine years. I’ve replaced shampoo/conditioner/hair care products with 1 Tb baking soda to one cup water and after that’s rinsed off, with 1/3 cup vinegar and one cup water, bolstered occasionally by a tsp of lavender/rosemary oil mix (no alcohol) which I got at Walmart
My hair is literally unrecognizable. It’s shiny; the outer layer curls a bit to match my very curly under layer. It feels nice to the touch. My kids want to know how I did it.
WARNING: NOT recommend it for people with thin, oily hair!!! However, for people with thick, coarse hair there’s nothing better.
I have very fine hair. How can i go “no-poo” without getting the “dirty” llok???
Jaleh,
What a great success story! You’re right about that vinegar rinse not working for those with thin, oily hair. I don’t use vinegar at all anymore, and it’s perfect. The baking soda alone works for me.
Sharon,
I have fine hair too (hairstylists often remark on it, so it’s not just my imagination), and no ‘poo has worked great for me. You may want to start out just using the baking soda mixture and avoiding the vinegar rinse. Also, you may want to beging by “washing” your hair every day with the baking soda mixture, then slowly working down to every other day or, if possible, less frequently than that. Honestly, I still have to wash my hair every day with the baking soda solution, but I’m still just so glad not to be putting chemicals on my body. I love how cheap it is too!
I am veeery tempted to go no poo. I’ve not managed to find a natural shampoo I love yet so what have I got to lose. I might try and increase the days between hair washing gradually so I don’t have to go cold turkey
Great article!