No Poo – One Month! (With instructions)

I have made it a whole month without using any shampoo, conditioner, or hair products of any sort in my hair. For those who don’t already know, I’m using the “No Poo Method”. Do to the many questions I’m getting on Facebook about how to do No Poo here are the basic instructions:

No Poo Basic Instructions

What you need:

• Baking soda
• Apple cider vinegar (I use Braggs) or distilled white vinegar for oily hair
• Squeeze bottle (old water bottle with sport top would work)
• Spray bottle

Washing: Mix one tablespoon baking soda with about one cup hot (not too hot that you will burn yourself) water and place in a squeeze bottle. Once you’re in the shower (not bath!) squirt this on only your roots and scalp. Massage it in making little circles with your fingertips until it feels sort of slippery. Then rinse very very well.

Conditioning: In the spray bottle mix two tablespoons vinegar to one cup water. After washing spray ends of hair being careful to avoid the roots make sure you saturate your hair well with the solution. Let sit for a minute or so before rinsing. Rinse VERY well. Don’t worry about the vinegar smell it will fade as your hair dries naturally.

*Note: Everyone’s hair is different some people with extra oily hair need more baking soda in their solution, and some people even use a baking soda paste. It takes some experimenting to get it just right for you. No matter what you do though, the first few weeks can will be a little rough. Your scalp is just learning that it needs to start providing the oil for your hair and it tends to overcompensate at first; so if you’re patient it will get better.

Some tips:

• You’re hair will be easier to brush and comb once dry. So, if you can wait to comb and brush it then do.
• If you absolutely need to comb it before it’s dry you can use a tiny amount of coconut oil or jojoba oil to help with the tangles.
• Wear your hair up a lot during the first bit. It really helps get you through the annoying super dry and super oily hair phase.
• You can use a homemade dry shampoo between washes. For darker hair use plain cocoa powder for lighter hair use corn starch. You can also mix the two if you want.

 

 

Honestly, I don’t think I’ll ever go back. My hair is noticeably stronger and it’s growing faster than it has in ages. Also, it’s softer and doesn’t feel so dead. I still have to wash it every 3-4 days or it’ll get too oily. I think I’ll try using white distilled vinegar to see if it helps with the oiliness. Here’s a pic I took a few days ago, sorry it’s a selfie, I don’t think Rylan could take pictures yet so it’s all I got. 🙂

No Poo – Day One

Feeling anxious about taking my first shower without shampoo and conditioner.. I’ve read that I can expect straw like tangly hair in the beginning.. Oh well, I’m gonna try this anyways. I.am.determined…

That wasn’t so bad! It’s definitely different and strange not having any suds. My hair still felt greasy even after I washed it but after drying it feels nice and soft. I was extremely worried about combing it cause I thought I would be pulling chunks of hair out, surprisingly though, it proved very easy and painless. I’m looking forward to seeing how the next few weeks play out with this.

No Poo – Intro

So.. I heard about this thing called “The No Poo Method” about a week ago on a Facebook group of crunchy moms. I had no idea what this was. All I knew is it had something to do with washing your hair and it sounded gross. Being curious me, I Googled it, and fell in love with the idea. For those of you who don’t know what it is – it is where you replace shampoo and conditioner with baking soda and vinegar respectively. Weird right? Yeah, I know.