When you spend any amount of time browsing "natural lifestyle" blogs, you're bound to run into someone(s) touting the "no 'poo method." (Each mention of it is followed by a dry joke about this having nothing to do with constipation.) The premise? Shampoo is bad for you. Going without is natural, frugal, and doesn't involve slathering your skin with chemicals. It's more complicated than that, but let me let people who know more than I do explain:
Keeper of the Home
Simple Mom
Crunchy Betty
I click every link to everything and read and read and read . . . but still, there doesn't seem to be a consensus on the best way to go no 'poo (since it all depends on hair type, etc.). I thought I'd keep track from my first day (May 31) until . . . until when? I told myself three weeks, or maybe a month, or until I can't stand it anymore . . .
Day 1: I don't have to go anywhere today, so there's no need to wash my hair.
Day 2: I wonder what would happen if I sprinkled some of this baking soda (already in the shower for cleaning purposes) on my hair instead of shampooing. (Still don't really have to go anywhere.)
---(afternoon): I might as well put some baking soda and water in a spray bottle, so that if I keep going with this I've got it all ready (easier to spray on than sprinkle).
---(evening): Isaac: This weather is doing nice things to your hair.
Me: You think it looks different today?
Isaac, suddenly uncertain: Uh, maybe? I guess I don't look very closely at your hair all that often . . .
Me: No, I agree that it looks different, you're right. I'm just asking -- do you like it poofy like this?
Isaac: completely unable to answer for fear of giving the wrong response
Day 3: MY HAIR IS SO DISGUSTINGLY GREASY. EWWWWWWWW.
Day 4: Time to revisit the kerchief look from my college days.
Day 5 (evening): Hey, it actually feels a lot worse than it looks. But can I really go to church without having washed my hair?!?!
Day 8: My hair looks okay -- not as polished as before, but okay -- and feels a little less greasy. My scalp doesn't itch so much anymore. Maybe tomorrow I'll start with the apple cider vinegar rinse. --an hour later-- I just spent a good long time reading up on what other people do in their no 'poo regime, and it looks like curly-girls sometimes do better with a conditioning-only routine. So perhaps I'll back off the baking soda and just do the vinegar rinse for a while? At any rate, I shouldn't be using the baking soda every day. Experimentation ahead . . .
Day 9: Did the apple cider vinegar rinse, no baking soda scrub. My hair has felt really gross as I rinsed out the baking soda every day, so I was surprised to find that it felt SO much smoother immediately, as I was rinsing out the ACV. From what I've read, the ACV can leave your head quite greasy if it's too close to your scalp, but of course my hair is short enough that it's all close to my scalp! So I'm anxious to find out if I'll be a greasy mess tomorrow (after finally having left the super-greasy days of early no 'poo).
Day 14: Another kerchief day, but only because I had nowhere to go. I'll be honest: it was really nice to be able to take a 3-minute shower and not be thinking, "oh my gosh, I'm not washing my hair! That's so gross!" (which is how I would have felt two weeks ago). My hair seems to be predictable, now: greasy on top, dry on the bottom. A little baby powder at the roots helps a bit with the grease; I'm guessing a little more ACV (or more regular use of it, anyway) would help the dryness. Overall, as long as nobody touches it, I'm okay. Lots of headbands, though . . . not always thrilled with the way it looks in front without any styling product to tame the fly-aways.
Days 17-18: Major turn for the worse. Unbelievably greasy. If this doesn't clear up in the next two days, I don't know what I'll do. I canNOT go to church looking like this. AGH.
Day 19: On a whim, tried washing with Dr. Bronner's. It was not at all successful, which should not be a surprise to me: my problem is too much oil, and castile soap is made mostly out of olive oil. Duh. Still, the website insists that you can use it to shampoo, so maybe some day I'll splurge on the special conditioning rinse.
Day 20: No real improvements, but I stuck with my 30-day goal. I decided all this nonsense about not wanting to go to church without washing my hair was prideful. (I did worry that the chancel spotlights would glare off of my greasy head as if I were a bald man, though.) In general, the grease dissipates throughout the day, which makes me suspect that if I didn't get my hair wet in the mornings, the oil-producing might settle down some. But I wake up with nasty, nasty hair, and I simply cannot leave the house without at least wetting it down and re-scrunching the curls (which, incidentally, are not as curly since I started this madness).
Day 23: Last night I almost decided that this would be the morning I gave up. My hair is becoming a point of stress, and I don't need that! I just want to lather it all up and scrub scrub scrub. I cut it short in the first place so that I wouldn't be so tempted to put it in a ponytail, since I feel more "together" (and less like a frazzled mom of two babies) when my hair has a style. For the past three weeks, though, it's been a lot of half-ponytails, hats, and kerchiefs! Not what I'd intended. Anyway, this morning I felt too much like I would be giving up (stubborn girl!). Plus, I keep remembering the few days when it wasn't so bad, and hoping that will happen again. And, really, today wasn't so bad.
Day 26: My hair has suddenly lost all its volume. It's all limp and stringy, though not any more greasy than before. Weird. Manageable, though, I suppose. I've been using conditioner about every day other day, and applying baby powder to the super-greasy spots halfway through the day (when I notice it, or when I need to leave the house!). --after some research-- Too much conditioner usage, I think. I might go back to baking soda once a week or so, which I haven't done in quite a while.
*A phenomenon I hadn't considered: I was packing today to head up to my parents' tomorrow, and my toiletries bag is so empty! No shampoo, conditioner, curl cream, or hairspray. I feel so unencumbered! :)
Day 30: Technically, I have reached my goal (though it wasn't precisely set). I'm definitely losing momentum to keep trying things, looking for the perfect solution. I went out today and bought a natural shampoo, so if that works at all better than what I'm doing, I hope to use it once or twice a week and go without or use baking soda another 2 days a week. Regardless, I don't think there's any reason to go back to shampooing (natural or otherwise) every day. Maybe. I hate to leave you hanging, but I'm not sure where I'll end up! I hate my hair right now, but I hate spending money on chemicals just as much.
Feel free to ask about it in the future!
Oh, and one last comment: when I say things like, "I hate spending money on chemicals," please don't hear, "I think you're all bad people for using shampoo." I'm in a discovery mode right now that has me fanatical about things that I have never even though about, let alone cared about, until a few months ago. Eventually, this too will subside and I'll find my happy medium. It's very likely that that happy medium will even include shampoo. I'm eager to try all sorts of new ways of doing things, but I'm just as willing to chuck anything that doesn't work for me or my family. Bear with me as I learn to temper my excitement. :)
Keeper of the Home
Simple Mom
Crunchy Betty
I click every link to everything and read and read and read . . . but still, there doesn't seem to be a consensus on the best way to go no 'poo (since it all depends on hair type, etc.). I thought I'd keep track from my first day (May 31) until . . . until when? I told myself three weeks, or maybe a month, or until I can't stand it anymore . . .
Day 1: I don't have to go anywhere today, so there's no need to wash my hair.
Day 2: I wonder what would happen if I sprinkled some of this baking soda (already in the shower for cleaning purposes) on my hair instead of shampooing. (Still don't really have to go anywhere.)
---(afternoon): I might as well put some baking soda and water in a spray bottle, so that if I keep going with this I've got it all ready (easier to spray on than sprinkle).
---(evening): Isaac: This weather is doing nice things to your hair.
Me: You think it looks different today?
Isaac, suddenly uncertain: Uh, maybe? I guess I don't look very closely at your hair all that often . . .
Me: No, I agree that it looks different, you're right. I'm just asking -- do you like it poofy like this?
Isaac: completely unable to answer for fear of giving the wrong response
Day 3: MY HAIR IS SO DISGUSTINGLY GREASY. EWWWWWWWW.
Day 4: Time to revisit the kerchief look from my college days.
Day 5 (evening): Hey, it actually feels a lot worse than it looks. But can I really go to church without having washed my hair?!?!
Day 8: My hair looks okay -- not as polished as before, but okay -- and feels a little less greasy. My scalp doesn't itch so much anymore. Maybe tomorrow I'll start with the apple cider vinegar rinse. --an hour later-- I just spent a good long time reading up on what other people do in their no 'poo regime, and it looks like curly-girls sometimes do better with a conditioning-only routine. So perhaps I'll back off the baking soda and just do the vinegar rinse for a while? At any rate, I shouldn't be using the baking soda every day. Experimentation ahead . . .
Day 9: Did the apple cider vinegar rinse, no baking soda scrub. My hair has felt really gross as I rinsed out the baking soda every day, so I was surprised to find that it felt SO much smoother immediately, as I was rinsing out the ACV. From what I've read, the ACV can leave your head quite greasy if it's too close to your scalp, but of course my hair is short enough that it's all close to my scalp! So I'm anxious to find out if I'll be a greasy mess tomorrow (after finally having left the super-greasy days of early no 'poo).
Day 14: Another kerchief day, but only because I had nowhere to go. I'll be honest: it was really nice to be able to take a 3-minute shower and not be thinking, "oh my gosh, I'm not washing my hair! That's so gross!" (which is how I would have felt two weeks ago). My hair seems to be predictable, now: greasy on top, dry on the bottom. A little baby powder at the roots helps a bit with the grease; I'm guessing a little more ACV (or more regular use of it, anyway) would help the dryness. Overall, as long as nobody touches it, I'm okay. Lots of headbands, though . . . not always thrilled with the way it looks in front without any styling product to tame the fly-aways.
Days 17-18: Major turn for the worse. Unbelievably greasy. If this doesn't clear up in the next two days, I don't know what I'll do. I canNOT go to church looking like this. AGH.
Day 19: On a whim, tried washing with Dr. Bronner's. It was not at all successful, which should not be a surprise to me: my problem is too much oil, and castile soap is made mostly out of olive oil. Duh. Still, the website insists that you can use it to shampoo, so maybe some day I'll splurge on the special conditioning rinse.
Day 20: No real improvements, but I stuck with my 30-day goal. I decided all this nonsense about not wanting to go to church without washing my hair was prideful. (I did worry that the chancel spotlights would glare off of my greasy head as if I were a bald man, though.) In general, the grease dissipates throughout the day, which makes me suspect that if I didn't get my hair wet in the mornings, the oil-producing might settle down some. But I wake up with nasty, nasty hair, and I simply cannot leave the house without at least wetting it down and re-scrunching the curls (which, incidentally, are not as curly since I started this madness).
Day 23: Last night I almost decided that this would be the morning I gave up. My hair is becoming a point of stress, and I don't need that! I just want to lather it all up and scrub scrub scrub. I cut it short in the first place so that I wouldn't be so tempted to put it in a ponytail, since I feel more "together" (and less like a frazzled mom of two babies) when my hair has a style. For the past three weeks, though, it's been a lot of half-ponytails, hats, and kerchiefs! Not what I'd intended. Anyway, this morning I felt too much like I would be giving up (stubborn girl!). Plus, I keep remembering the few days when it wasn't so bad, and hoping that will happen again. And, really, today wasn't so bad.
Day 26: My hair has suddenly lost all its volume. It's all limp and stringy, though not any more greasy than before. Weird. Manageable, though, I suppose. I've been using conditioner about every day other day, and applying baby powder to the super-greasy spots halfway through the day (when I notice it, or when I need to leave the house!). --after some research-- Too much conditioner usage, I think. I might go back to baking soda once a week or so, which I haven't done in quite a while.
*A phenomenon I hadn't considered: I was packing today to head up to my parents' tomorrow, and my toiletries bag is so empty! No shampoo, conditioner, curl cream, or hairspray. I feel so unencumbered! :)
Day 30: Technically, I have reached my goal (though it wasn't precisely set). I'm definitely losing momentum to keep trying things, looking for the perfect solution. I went out today and bought a natural shampoo, so if that works at all better than what I'm doing, I hope to use it once or twice a week and go without or use baking soda another 2 days a week. Regardless, I don't think there's any reason to go back to shampooing (natural or otherwise) every day. Maybe. I hate to leave you hanging, but I'm not sure where I'll end up! I hate my hair right now, but I hate spending money on chemicals just as much.
Feel free to ask about it in the future!
Oh, and one last comment: when I say things like, "I hate spending money on chemicals," please don't hear, "I think you're all bad people for using shampoo." I'm in a discovery mode right now that has me fanatical about things that I have never even though about, let alone cared about, until a few months ago. Eventually, this too will subside and I'll find my happy medium. It's very likely that that happy medium will even include shampoo. I'm eager to try all sorts of new ways of doing things, but I'm just as willing to chuck anything that doesn't work for me or my family. Bear with me as I learn to temper my excitement. :)
As a fellow curly girl I have for many years only 'pood two or three times a week, so the no 'poo thing I can understand. But no PRODUCT??? My hair looks like you describe yours half the time anyway, and it does have product in it :). You're a braver woman than I!
ReplyDeleteSo what product do you use? I keep thinking that if I'm not washing it out, it doesn't make sense to put stuff in every day. Plus, seriously, it's SO ridiculously greasy most days that I don't need anything. It's already weighed down. The people who claim curlies won't need anything to tame frizz are right . . . but they don't say what to do to regain any sort of volume or bounce!
ReplyDelete(And, your hair is way curlier than mine, Andrea, and I have never seen it look remotely limp or greasy!)
ReplyDeleteIt was the frizzy fly-away bit I was identifying with actually :). Come to think of it, my hair's pretty different from yours: it's superfine and very dry, so not shampooing makes it better rather than worse. But I need product to weigh it down and get the curls to cohere! I use Aussie gel (if I've wet it down) or mousse (if I've just splashed water on it to revitalize it). I also put in Paul Mitchell leave-in conditioner after shampooing. But you're right--if you've put product in once, it will last several days if you don't shampoo as long as you splash some water on it. So maybe it would really work for you to cut way back on product but still use it once or twice a week???
ReplyDelete