Well, I took the plunge shortly after my birthday, March 7, and I updated a few weeks later.
I think it’s high time I updated again!
It’s now been 2.5 months since I’ve used shampoo on my hair. Wow. When I say it like that it seems pretty incredible, eh? Read the rest of this entry »
Wow. It’s been a while since I took the plunge, and I have yet to update you!
So here we are. I think it’s been three weeks. (Seriously? Where does the time go?) My hair looks GREAT after I wash it - bouncy, shiny, healthy, and it’s actually got some volume. I’m currently doing 1 tbsp baking soda in some water, pouring it over my hair, scrubbing, and rinsing and then doing a 1 tbsp: 1 cup water apple cider vinegar rinse, just a little bit at a time, since my hair isn’t too long. My hair feels so clean!
I’m trying to be a big girl and not wash every day. I’ve been washing every day for years and years and years because I’ve got fine, thin hair … and let’s get serious - it gets greasy the day I don’t wash it. I’m hoping, though, that if I stick with washing every other day, eventually my scalp will figure out how much oil it needs to make. It’s actually looking better the day after the wash than it ever did when I was using shampoo, so I think we’re getting somewhere … it’s just not as quick as I’d like! If I have to go somewhere and it’s looking particularly bad, I rub some cornstarch into the roots and massage it into the roots and comb it through.
One thing I never thought about - a great way to conserve water is to not shower every day!
So, in the same vein as when I decided to make my own deodorant, I’ve decided to do a little something crazy. Just like with the deo, I revisted Christine at welcome to my brain and re-read her posts on going no-poo - basically, not using shampoo anymore.
I know, I know. It sounds crazy. But every source I’ve read says it works!
I read this, this, and my favourite site on the subject, babyslime.
Apparently, ‘real’ shampoo strips EVERYTHING out of your hair, so your scalp over-produces oils to compensate … so when you go no-poo, your hair kinda … rebels (?) … and might get a bit greasy. To counteract this, you can use a baking soda wash and apple cider vinegar rinse - basically your shampoo and conditioner. Most people who go no-poo do their baking soda/vinegar routine a couple of times a week and just rinse their hair with water the other days. I don’t know how this will work out for my hair, but some of the comments I’ve read from people with lifeless, fine, thin hair say their hair is healthy and shiny and has more volume!
I’ll let you know how it works 
There’s a few things that I’m excited about for this new plunge: shampoos contain GROSS chemicals (basically laundry/dish detergent with pretty smelling stuff …), shampoos - especially if you’re trying to buy organic - are expensive, and shampoos come in bottles that, although we recycle them, are still more manufacturing, shipping, and waste. If I can cut shampoo out of my budget, I’ll be saving a little money and a lot of environment!
Wish me luck!
(p.s. Today is my 25th birthday! What a weird thing to be excited about on my birthday …)
