There is a movement called "No Poo". It isn't what it sounds like. It is a movement against store bought shampoo. Shampoo is chock full of chemicals and while one would think that it must be safe since it is out on the market, many chemicals and additives in our beauty products are not safe. It is not common knowledge that anything we put on our skin is indeed absorbed and cycles through our blood and organs. In fact, our skin is our largest organ (who knew skin was an organ?!) . In tests it has been shown that what we put on our body can be found in our body within minutes. So those who switch to natural soap and beauty products often also switch to "no poo". Many others who are not on the natural body care movement just do not like how their hair feels with regular shampoo. They say it weighs it down and that they actually have increased hair loss with the use of regular shampoo.I tried this movement over two years ago. I quit within a week because I didn't like the way my hair felt. But those on the "no poo" movement swear that within a couple weeks your hair adjusts to the new cleaning regimen and is easier to manage and better looking than when they used shampoo.
What do no poo users use? Some use natural shampoos that can be found in stores, but most make their own hair cleanser with baking soda and vinegar. Take 2 tablespoons of baking soda and while in the shower mix it with a tiny bit of water to form a paste, then massage this paste throughout hair and rinse. Then take a couple tablespoons of vinegar (apple cider vinegar is recommended, though white works in a pinch) and mix with a little water, pour over hair and rinse out. Your hair will smell like vinegar until dry but then no smell lingers. It is recommended to just comb and let air dry.
The first few days that I did this I loved my hair. It was not frizzy and easy to comb. But then it started to feel greasy and weighed down. I went back to regular shampoo after that. From what I read, this happens in the normal transition period. You either need to cut down on the baking soda, skip the vinegar to only every other day, or pour it just on the ends of your hair instead of the roots. I am considering trying it again to see what my hair is like after several weeks of no poo. For now though, I just use the baking soda and vinegar cleanser about once a month to strip all the hair styling products out of my hair and it does an incredible job at that.
Whether you want to try going fully no poo or not, I suggest you try this baking soda and vinegar cleanse at least once. I bet that you will notice a huge difference in your hair that day!Are you a no poo follower? Have you ever tried a baking soda and vinegar cleanse? I'd love to hear your thoughts, and would love to hear back on whether you tried it once and how you like your hair now!
When my son was little, he was diagnosed with excema. I tried everything that was natural.We switched our bar soap. I tried that Pure and Natural soap. Everyone complained that we just didn't get as clean as we should. At that time my dh worked with a lady that really was pushing the idea of "natural" shampoo. She said that the store bought shampoo's are full of chemicals. The kind of shampoo that she was using was VERY expensive so I thought that it was not for us. After reading your post I might try the baking soda and vinegar just once just to see what it is like. I do agree that we put way too much on/in our body that are chemicals.
ReplyDeleteHow interesting. You have me intrigued...I'll have to do a bit more research.
ReplyDeleteI thought the no-poo movement was for curly girls? How does it work for straight-as-a-stick girls?
ReplyDeleteI do a slightly modified no poo thing, ala Curly Girl. That book is FANTASTIC!
ReplyDeleteThe thing is that I only use conditioner. First I do a scalp massage with a tsp of conditioner. A conditioner "wash" if you will. Then I rinse that out and condition with 3 tsp of conditioner (approx). Then once every couple of weeks, I do a brown sugar/conditioner scrub inplace of the conditioner wash.
I have been doing this since just before Christmas and can not believe the difference in my curls! And I asked my husband to please tell me if my hair stunk or looked greasy and he has been very pleased with the results of this experiment, as well!
Roadrunner,
ReplyDeleteYour conditioner trick makes me curious. I have wavy/somewhat curly hair. But I also tend to have greasy hair. Do you think it would work on greasy hair?
We are not a no poo family but we do use all natural and organic products by Aubrey Organics they are the cleanest products we have found and they are wonderful.
ReplyDeleteJust a couple of weeks ago I began my own little no poo experiment. I know I have to give it a little time so I'm holding out but I'm not super impressed yet. My friend did say that my hair looked shiny and didn't look bad when I said that I wasn't impressed. So far my hair feels heavy and I haven't really noticed that it's less frizzy. I've been playing with the amount of baking soda I use and have been rinsing just the ends with a mix of 1Tbs ACV to 1 cup water. I do really need a hair cut so that might also be affecting the knotty/frizz factor.
ReplyDeleteI've tried the no poo thing too, but I too hated my hair after a few days. Never lasted the full few weeks, but I was unaware that my hair was supposed to "get used to it". Makes me want to try again. I used apple cider vinegar and must say the smell did linger after my hair was dry. wasn't bad, kinda salad dressing-y, I but definitely noticed it. (No one else ever said anything). I've also used the Aubrey products, but they are expensive. Nice though.
ReplyDeletethere is actually a brand of shampoo called "no poo" I only know this because my kids are mixed and we have some serious ethnic hair over here so I have checked out several options. I am laughing because one of my friends told me to do a post about it because it was so funny!!
ReplyDeleteI started about 2 weeks ago, and I love it! I only use 1 TBS of baking soda and 1 TBS of apple cider vinegar, though. It took me literally months of debating the idea, until I finally just sucked it up and tried it. I've been pretty lucky though, because I never had much of a transition period. I think because I started in the winter, when my scalp is usually dry and flaky could be why though.
ReplyDeleteI have been 'no poo' for at least 2 years. I started with the Baking Soda, vinegar but it dried my hair so bad that I switched to Borax Water and Citric Acid rinse. It took about a month for my scalp to adjust to no shampoo but I am so much happier with how my hair looks and feels. To do the Borax water just get borax from the store..........put about an inch in a container and add water. Shake and let settle. Pour off the water and use it to wash your hair. Refill the container and use until the borax is gone. To rinse put about 1/4 tsp citric acid in a quart of water and pour over hair. Rinse with clear water. Beautiful Hair. :)
ReplyDeleteI do Curly Girl as well like Roadrunner. Elizabeth, you might want to get the book and check it out. They say normally your hair is dry if you have curly or wavy hair though so I am not sure how it would work in your case. I have never been happier with my hair. It got so much curlier each day. Its now been three weeks. I have never loved my hair more. My mom and sister swore my hair would be greasy or smell but it doesn't it. The funny thing is though I miss lathering! Its like a craving, I am sure eventually I will get over it though!
ReplyDeleteI have a lot of friends who use baking soda and vinegar :) But I haven't given it a try myself yet!
ReplyDeleteI think you have to play with the mixture and find what works best for your head. I use 1 tsp of baking soda per 8 oz. of water. I mix it up 12 oz. at a time, putting it in a bottle made for condiments, and just keeping it in the shower. It will last me about 3 days before I need to mix more. I wet my head and then put like 4 oz. of the mixture on my head, allowing it to sit for 2-3 minutes. After rinsing, I use an apple cider vinegar mixture--1 tsp of ACV per 8 oz. of water. So, after I apply the ACV rinse, I let it sit for another 2-3 minutes and then rinse with cold water. My daughter is 10 years old and is going through some hormonal changes (eek!). So, we've played around with it for her and it works best for me to sprinkle a heaping 1/2 tsp on her wet head and then she works it in. She doesn't need the vinegar rinse except every other day. The ACV rinse, for me, works like a conditioner. For my daughter's hair, it makes it seem greasy.
ReplyDeleteMy hair, by the way, isn't straight, but it definitely isn't curly--wavy would probably be accurate. My daughter's hair is STRAIGHT as a board! It doesn't hold a curl at all and is even difficult to get into a pony tail because it is so straight.
I have very fine, thin hair, and I find that the baking soda/water makes it look and feel MUCH fuller! I don't have any chemical processes on my hair~not sure if that makes a difference. Rarely used the vinegar after.... (((((HUGS))))) sandi
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