No-Poo Update 1

I'd been trying to go longer in between my natural washings to see what my hair really needs.  I was going 2-3 days easily, sometimes 4 before really needing to do my baking soda wash and vinegar rinse.  A couple weeks ago, I noticed all of a sudden every day didn't seem often enough!  My hair was greasy.  I put a little extra baking soda into my cup of warm water, and massaged it in longer.  It made my hair tolerable every day, but not great.  One day I was so greasy, I decided to just dry wash with just straight baking soda, then do a normal baking soda wash in the shower.  I also started only using my vinegar rinse on the ends, thinking maybe it made the top too shiny or something.  Either the dry baking soda on my scalp or the lack of vinegar screwed up something new on my scalp.  With shampoo, I've had itchy scalp and flakiness (the dermatologist said it was a type of eczema).  That started up, but not the itching.  Who wants flakes and greasiness!  I started to freak out.  I've been no poo since the beginning of July exclusively (and a few months before that with a weekly breakdown of using shampoo).

I decided to go back to my original formula, and try to go as long as possible between baking soda washings and vinegar rinse (including my scalp).  After a week of craziness, I can now go 3-4 days without feeling greasy, and the flakiness is almost all better.  I read a few posts about a repeat transition time, so I assume that is what I had.  Contribute it to hormones, stress, natural changes in my body, who knows.  All I know is I'm happy with my hair again!  Yay for natural stuff, and I'm so glad I don't have to keep trying new things, or go back to shampoo.  I may even whip out an egg and try that once, just to see how it works.  It still sounds yucky, but maybe it will help with the static that's starting to happen since it's getting colder.  I wonder what will happen this winter!  I'm also going to watch for a huge container of apple cider vinegar (acv) since that's what is most recommended as the vinegar rinse, and my husband may prefer that scent.  I'll keep you updated!  Remember, transitions can apparently happen more than just at the beginning of your no-poo journey!

No More Shampoo

The Beginning
I have long, thin hair. It breaks easily and has lots of fly-aways. I trim it once a year, maybe and rarely get split ends. Probably cuz it’s broken so often. I used to shampoo and condition daily. Sometimes the conditioner would build up and I would look oily.  I started researching alternatives, and I remembered a friend saying she wanted to try no-poo.  That's no shampoo.  I thought that sounded gross.  I googled "no shampoo" and found numerous ways to approach this.  


You can wash with water only.  
You can wash with conditioner only.  
You can wash with a natural shampoo bar (although, I guess that's not technically no-poo).  
You can wash with eggs.  
You can wash with baking soda.
You can rinse with vinegar.
You can make a rinse with honey.
There are more ways.
Many more ways. 


I decided baking soda and vinegar sounded cheap (I already have tons since I use them a lot to clean with).  They also sounded less nasty than some of the other ideas.  I tried conditioner only for a few days at the beginning, but my hair seemed oily faster.  Not really yucky, but more than I wanted.

I started slowly with no-poo. First I stopped the silicone conditioners and started using baking soda and vinegar. I like Suave Naturals – it’s cheap, has no silicones and smells pretty. 

My Method
I would use 1T baking soda in a cup of water to wash. I use a little plastic container I fill up when the water’s hot, cuz I hate dumping cold pre-mixed stuff on my head. I dump it on, rub with my fingers like I was washing with shampoo, then rinse really well, still rubbing my head. Then in the same container, I dump a cup of warm water with about 1T vinegar (I’ve tried apple cider and plain white with success - the only difference is the smell, I think). Then I’d rinse that out after letting it sit for a minute, then I’d use my Suave Naturals conditioner and rinse again.

Warnings
My husband insists he can smell the vinegar on my head, so I keep using the Suave on the ends, but when I skip the conditioner and smell my dry hair I smell nothing. Maybe he is imagining it 

I thought baking soda and vinegar would dry out my hair, but they didn’t despite warnings from. At the beginning I could only go about 1 week with no shampoo. I felt a bit oily. This was probably from the constant touching to see what it felt like.  After a week I’d break down and shampoo, vinegar rinse, followed by Suave Naturals conditioner. My hair would look horrible for a couple days with lots of fly-aways, then look nice again.  I tried to go longer, but couldn't.

The transition to fully no-poo and being happy can take a while.

People will think you're strange.

Now
After about 2 months of this crazy transitioning, I decided to see how long I could go before needing shampoo. It’s been almost a full month with no shampoo.  I'm not getting oily anymore and my fly-aways are much better.  I'm not dirty or gross.  I’m just using natural things to wash my hair. I also used to have dry scalp and eczema.  This natural cleaning has helped with both.  Much less dryness and itching.

Next, I’m going to try some other homemade things to save money and be healthier.  

Challenge
You should take the challenge and go "no-poo."  Even using shampoo less often is an improvement.  Do what works for you, but try it and see how it goes.  You'll save money and the environment for a bit if nothing else. 

Join all the others participating in the No-Poo Challenge at Feelin' Feminine.