Alright. I’ve been thinking about it for awhile now.
You know, that trend.
The trend that’s been hitting homesteading blogs like thunderstorms have been hitting Alabama.
I’m talking about the ‘No Poo’ trend people. And no, that isn’t a trend to cease going…. never mind…
Rather, it’s a trend that says ‘No!’ to commercialized hair products like shampoo and conditioner.
I’ve been thinking about it for a few reasons:
1. I’ve been trying to go longer between washing my hair. I don’t have super thin hair, but my strands are very fine and limp. Plus, it’s dirty blond. When it’s oily and greasy, it is repulsive. But what I’ve found is that after the initial greasy period, my hair will stay much cleaner and less greasy between shampoo sessions if I do it less. Which makes sense, when you think about the fact that shampoo strips the hair of it’s oil (because eww, who wants oily hair?!). To compensate, our scalp produces more oil.
It’s a vicious cycle, my friends.
2. Like I mentioned last week, we’ve widdled our grocery/cosmetic/cleaners/extra budget down even further than before. That being said, if there’s something more expensive that I can not easily not purchase (ie: shampoo and conditioner) that I can easily replace with cheaper ingredients from the pantry, I’m all for it.
I could also easily jump on the anti-chemical/nasty ingredient/green band wagon of this whole movement, but frankly, it’s more of a cost thing for me at the moment. Because my bottles are almost empty. And I don’t want to spend $15 to replace them.
Phew. Glad I got that off my chest.
Then, I figured if I’m going to take on the ‘No Poo!’ challenge, I’d love to do it with a captive audience. Ahem. That’s you. You’re welcome.
So, here’s the game plan. Beginning today, I will only be using a baking soda/water paste to ‘wash’ my hair. I will then be using a vinegar/water mixture to ‘condition’ and detangle my hair. That’s it, and that’s all.
I may add a few drops of lavender, tea tree, or eucalyptus essential oil to the mixture if I’m feeling fancy. Which normally I’m not, but ya never know.
I’m excited about this! I love the idea of eliminating chemicals, waste, and costs out of our lives. Our shower is already pretty empty of beauty bottles, as the only other product we use in the shower is castile soap (this is Georgia’s shampoo, too) and this just really helps to keep us where we’d like to head.
Plus, I’m re-reading the Little House series, and I’ll be danged if Ma didn’t use any Bumble & Bumble.
I’ve decided that for a month or so, I’ll give weekly updates to the ‘No Poo’ challenge. Hold me accountable. I tend to blog about what’s on my mind and omit any form of structure. I’m expecting for my hair to be kinda oily the first week as my scalp adjusts to the new routine, but I’m hoping that by the end of the month, it will have regulated itself a little better.
Do you No Poo? How do you like it?
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I have been doing the no poo thing since…January?? I went cold turkey first for like two weeks and…it was bad. haha I went from washing my hair with shampoo everyday to *BAM* baking soda/apple cider vinegar. I’ve now just gotten to where I wash with shampoo once a week and use BS/ACV the rest of the time, and sometimes go even longer. I’m loving it. I will continue to stretch it out as I can without looking…well…gross. haha I would suggest using about a Tablespoon of BS/ACV to 1 Cup Water (making them each with water separatey of course). I found that making a paste with the BS made my hair cakey after doing that a couple times in a row. Just a thought. Good luck and hang in there! Sometimes the marathon approach is better than the sprint, at least if you intend to go anywhere. Just my 2 cents. = )
I did the no-poo method about 3 months ago and while my hair “looked” ok it didn’t “feel” ok. It felt heavy and oily but didn’t look oily. I am still thinking of trying again because the more I read about chemicals, the more I want to get rid of them! My hair is VERY fine, limp and thin with oily scalp and dry ends so I think I will need to experiment a bit more.
If you like the Little House books, have you perused the Littlehouseliving.com blog? Very sweet and very helpful info.
I started trying to eliminate shampoo before it was cool—about a year ago when a friend with curly hair told me that curly headed people shouldn’t use it and just use conditioner instead. I have an all-natural conditioner that I use minimally now, and I will shampoo once a week. I’ve also replaced my anti-frizz/smoother with coconut oil.
I have tried 🙂 I have settled with the fact that I <3 my smelly stuff for my hair and I only wash my hair once or twice a week - so I use Aveda and roll with it. I don't go through it fast at all since I only wash my hair 1-2 times per week, and it comes out clean...I never felt like I could get away from the itch or feeling of dingy hair...I have pretty fine hair but a TON of it and it's curly. It wasn't pretty. I do just use castile soap for my body and coconut oil for moisturizer :) I do NOT use fance face stuff - I was turned on to using raw honey on my face to wash last year and I LOVE it!
Good luck! Excited to see your results!
I did it for a couple of months and went back. There seemed to always be this spot in the back of my head that looked like a grease ball! It was awful.
I love the idea, but the execution will need some help. For now I think I will start looking for natural conditioners and maybe just use my home made castile soap for shampoo.
I have REALLY thick and LONG hair, so it sucks up a lot of conditioner!!! On that note, have you ever heard of using olive or coconut oil for conditioner?
I have very long hair and have used the BS/H2O with rose oil and my hair feels wonderful but it’s very hard to comb out afterwards. I still have to use silk drops on it. I would like to know what form of coconut oil ya’ll are talking about and where do you get it?
Hello,
My daughter and I and now my son (17) have been using baking soda for about a year. We add 1 quart of nearly boiling water
slowly, stirring slowly to 1/4 c baking soda in a quart canning jar. When it is completely cool, we transfer it to a plastic bottle and pour some on and rub into hair. Let stay in hair while you shower. Then rinse. We got this from http://onjustacoupleacres.blogspot.com/2011/04/all-natural-hair-care.html
Sometimes we rinse with apple cider vinegar.
Lucy
I’ve used beer as a final rinse and my fine, limp hair has a little more body and is still reasonably easy to comb out-but then it is super short so not much to get tangled! The usual purchased conditioners actually make my hair too soft (read limp).
For awhile I was also using the combination of beer and castile soap (baby shampoo). I’m slowly eliminating stuff with manufactured chemicals. I’m going to try the BS/AC wash for the rest of summer.
I came to your site via My Mind-My Life and love both of your sites. SOOOOO much good info. Thanks and keep up the good work.
Chris
I should note that I don’t buy beer just for my hair rinse. I use left over stuff from either entertaining or cooking-so I don’t have it all the time.
I used the baking soda and water ‘shampoo’ yesterday and love it! So many thanks.
I’ve been no-poo for years and love it. I use baking soda/water/tea tree oil wash. I find the tea tree oil helps keep my scalp really clean. I rinse with ACV and then put just a dime sized dab of conditioner on my ends. I live in the South too and have wavy/very dry hair and find this makes all the difference. I love this routine and it really works well for me!
I know this is a few years later, but I’ve been no-poo for 2 years now. I have noticed it will/won’t work depending on where you live/water type. At the beach I have to use castile soap because beach water is essentially like hard water and the minerals just stick to my hair. But I take that in stride since I’m only there a couple times a year. I don’t even use ACE to rinse anymore (I was lazy for awhile and it stuck). My hair is only tangly when I need a hair cut. I do miss having good smelling hair but is rather have no smell than go back to shampoo! Play around with the amounts as you go along. I usually use 1 teaspoon per 8 oz of water but sometimes I bump it to 1.5 teaspoons. I started at 1 tablespoon and reduced until I couldn’t go lower without re-washing my hair. Also I only wash my hair 1 to 2 times a week (I like to see how long I can go between washes! 🙂 )
I know this is a few years later, but I’ve been no-poo for 2 years now. I have noticed it will/won’t work depending on where you live/water type. At the beach I have to use castile soap because beach water is essentially like hard water and the minerals just stick to my hair. But I take that in stride since I’m only there a couple times a year. I don’t even use ACV to rinse anymore (I was lazy for awhile and it stuck). My hair is only tangly when I need a hair cut. I do miss having good smelling hair but I’d rather have no smell than go back to shampoo! Play around with the amounts as you go along. I usually use 1 teaspoon per 8 oz of water but sometimes I bump it to 1.5 teaspoons. I started at 1 tablespoon and reduced until I couldn’t go lower without re-washing my hair. Also I only wash my hair 1 to 2 times a week (I like to see how long I can go between washes! 🙂 )
Is this still working for you Shaye? I couldn’t find any other posts on this topic. I think I’m gonna try it!!