no shampoo!
One day near the end of April, I read this page on DIY “green” cleaning products. I tried the salt and boiling water trick on our sluggish bathtub drain and it worked like a charm. That page led me to a page about a method for washing your hair with baking soda and apple cider vinegar. Sounds odd, eh? But I read through it and figured I might as well give it a try, since my hair is a constant source of misery (brittle the day I wash it, even when I condition, then greasy and nasty the next day). KC pointed me to another page, with a slightly different method (dilute the baking soda instead of making it into a paste) which is easier. I dare you to read that page and then put ordinary shampoo on your head. EWWWW.
I started my experiment on May 1st, and have not used “real” shampoo since then. I am shocked and delighted to find that, from the very first day, my hair has turned out soft, clean, and shiny! It’s never brittle, and stays clean and nice-looking for two days. It really works! Here’s what I do:
Put one cup of warm water into each of two small plastic containers. Put one tablespoon of baking soda into one, and one tablespoon on apple cider vinegar into the other (ran out of ACV a few days ago and have used white vinegar since then, seems to work fine, but I’ll pick up more ACV soon).
While showering, I rinse my hair first, then trickle the baking soda mixture over my head and work it in well. Sometimes I comb it through. I leave it on my hair for a minute or two, then rinse well, then do the same thing with the vinegar mixture. Easy.
Now, it’s only been a week, but so far so good!
Category: Blog 8 comments »
May 8th, 2008 at 10:18 am
I’ve tried the “no poo” thing a couple of times, and I think my problem is I haven’t yet tried an alternative. I really should do the baking soda and apple cider vinegar thing, but we don’t have baking soda on handy and I forget to buy it.
May 8th, 2008 at 11:14 am
Okay. I’m game. I just tried it. My hair is still wet. Definitely, doesn’t feel “clean”, but maybe that’s because I’m used to the shampoo stripping everything. I’ll give you an update later. (:
On a related note, you can get the most wonderful soap at the health food type stores. It’s called “Dr. Bronner’s Castile Soap. It’s condensed so you can use it for all kinds of stuff. My favorites are peppermint and almond. You can read all about it on his web site, but I think the photo on the front makes him look a little creepy. LOL. So, I’ll just direct you to the soap page of the kind I’ve used: http://www.drbronner.com/DBMS/LS.htm
May 8th, 2008 at 10:42 pm
@Kristin: how can you not have baking soda handy? How do you BAKE? ;-)
@lena: We love Dr. Bronner’s soap! It’s made here in San Diego. We like the peppermint bar soap too. I love reading all the nutty stuff on the bottle of liquid soap :)
Let me know how to the “no poo” goes. My hair is still very happy! But I have read that you might have to put up with a couple of weeks of icky hair before is adjusts to not being stripped every day.
May 9th, 2008 at 5:49 am
Hehe well I don’t really bake, and I used it all in the fridge to remove some yucky smell. I have baking powder, just no soda.
May 11th, 2008 at 8:05 pm
I am definitely going through the ucky gunky hair phase! It really is quite horrid. It actually feels *worse* after I “wash” it. I think this is because normally my hair is oily anyway. I hope this works! hehe.
May 15th, 2008 at 4:01 am
Update: I have had no ucky hair. It doesn’t seem to get as oily before it needs to be washed. I am not completely used to “no suds” and I am starting to get used to this new kind of clean. But, my hair feels nice when I’m all done.
My hair is pretty long, so I might try doubling the recipe. I think I am also ready to just keep a tub of soda in the shower with me, an empty tupperware container. I can eyeball it.
May 15th, 2008 at 7:40 am
Yup, I stopped measuring, too. I bought a big box of baking soda and a gallon of ACV, and keep them under the sink. I dump a bit into a each container, and then just fill them up with showerwater.
May 16th, 2008 at 8:30 pm
Okay. I have a GREAT share! Make your own laundry detergent. Super easy and it makes a ton for about a dollar! I am SO doing this when we run out. I can’t wait!
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/821928/make_your_own_laundry_soap/
I also found some cool articles on making soap with olive oil (and other oils) and an immersible blender. I think that would be fun. Apparently to get to trace by stirring can take an hour, but with an immersible blender, you can do it in about a minute. Rock on!