I’ve been thinking about it for a while now: I am going to stop washing my hair with shampoo.
I have read a lot about the “no poo” method for hair, where you stop using traditional shampoo and conditioner and instead “wash” with baking soda and “condition” with apple cider vinegar (not white vinegar, as pictured above). As I read about it over the years, I saw a lot of people complain that it doesn’t work unless you have fairly curly hair. Since my hair is pretty much stick straight, I had assumed it would not work for me.
Then my friend Rebecca (who is, like, my medicine woman!) tried it. She has hair that is straight, just like mine. Her hair looks great! You can’t tell at all. She said that sometimes it takes up to 3 months for the hair to regulate, but that’s OK with me. Her point is that we can always just start washing with shampoo again any time we feel like it.
So, I am on Day 2 of Not Shampooing My Hair! Day 1 (yesterday) I think I used too much baking soda and it got super crunchy in the back. Christian said it looked completely normal but the crunchiness drove me a little crazy. Today I used less baking soda and a ton of vinegar, and that seem to balance it out. It’s much softer than Day 1, although still kinda crunchy-ish. I don’t have any greasiness yet. My hair looks and smells normal.
I’ll keep you updated on the progress!
Related: See all “no poo” updates, including the one where I quit “no poo”!
Alright, I’m going to try this finally!! You’ve convinced me to give it a whirl. Where did you start w your research??
Very interesting! I have thought about trying the waterless shampoos I’ve been seeing, but hadn’t heard of this. Keep us posted, I just might try it.
Ack, just saw your comment, Calley! I think the main site I got info from was Simple Mom’s post. I have heard different ratios, but I am starting with hers which is 1 tbsp baking soda to 1 cup of water and 1 tbsp ACV to 1 cup water. It seems easiest to remember! But I’ve not really found a great all-in-one instructional post in years!
I’ve switched to No Poo in the fall. I use Baking Soda dry and rub it into my scalp and shoulder length straight thick hair. Sometimes I just rinse with water, but most times I use apple cider vinegar diluted with water, not so much on the scalp, more on the length of hair. It took about 2 weeks to get used to it, but I have to say I don’t wash daily to begin with, so that might have something to do with it. Now I wash 2 to 3 times a week and love how when I dry my hair it handles like I put mousse in it. With no bangs, the hair would often just part in the middle. Now I can brush it back with a dryer and it stays there!! I am happy about the switch, and now scouting the cheapest places for bsoda. I buy it for 50 cents at Aldi in pound boxes, and I hear feed stores sell sodium bicarbonate in bulk as well as buying clubs have larger sizes.
Oh thank you, I didn’t think about trying the baking soda dry! That might be a good option for me if I keep having greasiness, which I think I am starting to see right now. I haven’t researched it, but I know Costco also sells these huuuuge things of baking soda. I think will try that soon.