Basically I am saying goodbye to commercial shampoo & conditioner! WHY? Because, well, have you read all the ingredients on this stuff? I am also saying adios to a whole lot of other commercial things.. beauty products, cleaning supplies & household products, one by one. Basically every time something runs out (laundry detergent, deodorant, dishwasher detergent etc.), I'm going to make a natural, homemade version of it. I'm super duper excited! I feel like this is becoming a new passion of mine.
// WASHING:
Baking soda! What you do is take about 1-2 Tb of baking soda and mix it with about a cup of water (more or less depending on how much hair you have). You can do this in a spray bottle, squeeze water bottle or a plastic cup. I mix the baking soda with the water once I get into the shower so I don't have to worry about the water getting cold and I just find it convenient. But you could make large batches if you'd like. Swish and shake it around to mix. The water mixture should feel kind of slippery/slimy if you put your finger in it. Once it's mixed, just spray or pour it on your hair and rub it in. Focus on your roots. And rinse, rinse, rinse!
It's not going to feel anything like shampoo. In fact, it may feel like nothing at all -- just water. I remember I was worried, thinking it wasn't going to work because there was no lather whatsoever. But, I was pleasantly surprised to see how clean my hair was afterwards.
// CONDITIONING:
You want to do pretty much the same kind of process except this time you will be using apple cider vinegar. Mix around 1 Tb with another cup of water in your bottle. Start spraying/pouring it onto your hair. Avoid your roots, focus on the ends. Rinse!
The smell of apple cider vinegar is very strong, and I personally hate it. Although I'm getting more used to it. You will probably even still smell it once you're out of the shower. BUT, once your hair is dried, you will not smell it anymore!
Nice & clean! And shiny!
I have been doing this for over 3 weeks now and I am pleased with it. My hair is healthy, clean, and I don't miss shampoo or conditioner. I do this no poo method every 3 days or so. But I've always been the type to need to wash my hair a lot - if you're someone who already washes their hair only once a week then you're golden. There are a couple other things I wanted to mention...
// 1. It could take a while for your hair to adjust. Your hair is not used to this and if you wash your hair every day, your hair will be very used to needing to produce a lot of oil -- because shampoo strips your hair of it's natural oils and tells your body you need to produce more than you need. My hair seemed a bit more oily than normal but it really wasn't too bad, after a week or so it was okay. As time goes on, the longer you don't use shampoo, the less often you'll need to wash your hair with baking soda. If you're wanting to try this, you need to give it time before deciding it's not for you. For some people it takes a while before their hair feels better. Everyone's hair/hormones are different.
// 2. I ran out of apple cider vinegar for a few days so I tried white vinegar. Although it still conditioned, I didn't like it as much. My hair was more tangly out of the shower, and it became very dry. I went back to acv. But if you have very oily hair, white vinegar could work for you.
// 3. Your hair could also get very dry during the adjusting period. My ends still get a little dry sometimes, but mostly staticky. If I feel like it's dry then I melt a teeny tiny bit (JUST A DROP) of coconut oil, rub it between your hands and rub it through your ends. The first time I tried this I used WAY too much, and my hair was SO GREASY, haha. It was awful. So just make sure you only use a little.
// 4. On the third day I usually have to use some "dry shampoo". I guess it's not really dry shampoo but it does the same thing. If you are a brunette, you can take some cocoa powder and sprinkle some on your roots. I mix mine with flour or corn starch to lighten it up. If you're blonde, you don't need to add the cocoa powder obviously. This absorbs excess oil. And it also gives my hair some nice volume!
// 5. Not only do you need to give this time, you also may need to do some trial and error. If your hair is way too greasy, maybe do less vinegar or more baking soda. If it's too straw-like, try less baking soda. You get the point. The amount that worked for someone else may not work for you. So if you're not seeing good results after a while, fool around with the amounts and see what works better.
This is on day 3 after a no poo wash, not too shabby..
I have noticed that my hair is much less tangly. Since my hair is very soft and fine, I normally have to brush it a lot or else it will become like a rat's nest in the back. But not anymore! It's wonderful. Also, like I said, I find I have more body. Shampoo & conditioner actually soften my hair too much thus making it completely FLAT! Now, my hair actually feels thicker!
We are going to save some good money this year with not buying hair products! I was thinking, wow, the whole time I was pregnant I was using some really expensive natural shampoo because I didn't want to pass all those harsh chemicals to my baby boy. It was like $10 for an itty bitty bottle! I wish I knew about this back then!
// ONE MORE THING!
If you are not completely ready to go no poo all the way, here is a beautiful alternative. Another blogger called it, "Sorta Poo". I tried it once and it was really nice. I might do this once a month or something just for a treat. Here's what you do..
Go to a health food store and buy Castille Soap. It's made from natural ingredients and has far less ingredients than shampoo. This is basically just a natural liquid soap in a concentrated form. You can make all sorts of things with it. I already made some liquid hand soap for my kitchen using this (it's easy, I'll write about that in my soap post). While you're at the store, pick up some coconut milk if you don't already have some handy in your fridge.
See the ingredients? This is the brand I use -- Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps
Mix 1 Tb of the Castille Soap with about 1 tsp of coconut milk. Shake it gently. Pour into your hair and LATHER up, baby! It creates an amazing lather which baking soda of course does not do. And who doesn't love the smell of coconut milk!? SO, if you're wanting to go more natural but still feel the need for a nice lather, try this!
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