The Return of the 'Poo

If you need to do some catching up, check out these posts.

Well, it has been 2 months since I went "No 'Poo"....and guess what I did for the last month?? I used SHAMPOO!!! Eeek! I know! I made it a whole month using the baking soda but I just HAD to use shampoo again! I had to feel the silky smooth liquid on my hands and the nice suds on my hair & scalp....plus, I had some shampoo left so I couldn't just throw it out! ;-) But after using shampoo for a month (washing every other day, usually) I have noticed that my hair gets greasy faster and is definitely flatter, does not have as much volume as with the baking soda. Soooo....I think I am going to use the baking soda again, at least until I need to feel the luxurious lather of the 'Poo! Now, I AM open to a good all natural sudsing shampoo, so if anyone has any suggestions on something, preferably inexpensive as I can't afford to spend much, please let me know! Well, I guess that is it for now, thanks to everyone who has followed along with me on this little experiment, sorry it wasn't more exciting ;-) Now, on to find something else to try out....

No 'Poo Update.....FINALLY!

It is Day 20 of my No More Poo experiment. Wow, has it really been that long?? I am sorry I haven't updated in so long, but it really hasn't been very exciting. Until today that is..... ;-)

I finally got some apple cider vinegar so here are some pics. And a little surprise....I cut my hair! It feels so much better now. Ok, now for the pics:

This is what it looked like after hubby cut the ponytail off:

Then I trimmed it up and washed it with the baking soda and used the apple cider vinegar for a rinse. Then this morning I straightened it and trimmed it up some more.

Sidenote: When I had cut my hair before it was at my dad's old house where I had one of those mirror medicine cabinets with the 3 doors so I could angle the mirrors the way I needed them so I could see my hair from all angles. WELL, I kinda forgot I didn't have that anymore so I was trying to hold a hand mirror and see where to cut then look in the big mirror....etc...etc...wasn't working so well. So this morning I propped up my full length mirror on the bathtub and I was able to angle it so I could see the back of my head hands free! Shew! So I fixed my hair up pretty well, it could be better, but I really don't care lol. Plus, when I let it air dry, it is wavy so it is harder to see the uneven-ness.

And here is my part, all nice and clean, no ickyness =)

I really am liking washing my hair with baking soda. I have always liked to be "different" so this fits right in! It does take some getting used to, it is kinda strange to put gritty stuff on my scalp, and there have been a couple times where I see my shampoo that is still in my shower and just feel like dumping it on my head and massaging it in! But I know in the long run, the baking soda is just so much better and cost effective. Now, as for the apple cider vinegar, my hair feels great after rinsing the ends in it, BUT I could smell it after I got out of the shower and my hair was drying. I can't smell it now, so I think it is ok, but that would be one thing to be careful about. If you decide to try it, make sure you rinse it really well if the smell might bother you. I will have to have Jim give my hair a sniff test ;-)

Ok, now one last photo: Me with my shorter hair! Not the best pic, but I thought I should try to show my face a little more around here lol!

Day 3 of No 'Poo

Quick update, I washed my hair again with baking soda today, came out a little yucky feeling this time, but I blow dried it and straightened it and it seems pretty normal. Here is a pic:

Also, if anyone with curly hair is trying this or would like to be a guinea pig and blog about it too, let me know. I would love to link to your blog so that all my curly haired readers could see how this works on curly hair. Thanks!

Day 1 of No 'Poo

Alright, I did it. Today was the first day I washed my hair without shampoo. See my post here if you need to catch up =)

So I took some pics for you to see.

Before:
This is my hair from the back just so you can see what I am dealing with =) Yes, I need a haircut. I usually straighten it, I will have to take a pic of that at some point too. Anyway, this is after the last time I used shampoo and conditioner.
After:
Here is my hair from the back AFTER I washed it with Baking soda and a lemon juice rinse on the ends (I would have used apple cider vinegar but didn't have any)It looks a bit lighter colored, but I think that is just because of different lighting from before (in the next two photos my hair looks darker). This pic captures how dry and "dead" looking my hair is though. The hair underneath is always so nice and smooth, but this, bleh! I hope a haircut and my new routine will banish this! It makes me feel like Hermione Granger! (character from Harry Potter for those of you who don't know ;-) )


Before I washed it with Baking Soda for the first time. I hadn't washed it in 2 whole days! Blech ;-)
After - came out looking like always
Ok, so over all, I was very pleased with my hair after washing it with baking soda for the first time. It came out very soft and I was very pleased to find out that I could comb it quite easily when it was wet. I was so afraid it was going to be a tangled mess! I did make sure to brush it well before I washed it, so I know that helped, but nonetheless! So, day 1, victory! Stay tuned for more. I will post about this every couple days to keep up to date. I am interested to see if there really will be a difference after a couple/few weeks.


Edited to add the answer to the question from Ginspaghetti:

Question: How does it *feel*??? Does it still feel as fresh as with shampoo?

Answer:
I was actually surprised, my hair was squeaky clean. I remember when I was little, my mom always told us to rinse our hair until it squeaked, that way you knew the soap was all out. Well, I have always followed that rule and today it was even more squeaky! Now, if you need suds, this would not be for you! It is all gritty and when you massage it in, that part doesn't "feel" luxurious lol! But once you rinse it, it is alright. I think the feeling may change a little over the next couple weeks, so we shall see!

No More 'Poo

I just found this article tonight about ditching your shampoo. Check it out here. It was quite intriguing to a mom that has been getting more and more "natural" since her son was born 15 months ago. So I did a little looking around and came across this article here. It really made me think. I mean, I knew shampoos have chemicals in them, etc. but I never really thought much about it. Then I got to the part about zinc pyrithione (the stuff in those dandruff shampoos, which hubby and I do use occasionally) and how toxic & deadly a small amount can be and I decided that it is time to get rid of that! Yikes! And then the article mentioned how all these chemicals get washed into the rivers and bodies of water, etc...and I know all that, but now I am paying attention! We have a septic system and a well so that hits close to home! AND we live right next to a creek so I really don't want to be contributing to polluting our water and hurting the wildlife. And not just with shampoo, etc, but that extends to household cleaners, etc.

So anyway, the more I am researching this whole "No Shampoo" thing, the more excited I am becoming about it. Here is another good article I found about it. I think I am going to try it. I am going to post pics too, because I really haven't found too many (there are a couple in the first linked article, on MSNBC). So you all get to follow my "experiment" and I promise I will be totally truthful about it! I read that it can take between 2 weeks to 2 months for your scalp to readjust its oil production, etc. so you will probably get to enjoy some lovely icky hair pics. And, my hair is quite long, so I am going to have to decide if I will cut it in the next day or two, to reduce tangling and just for an altogether fresh start. I shampooed & conditioned my hair today (usually do every other day) so I will take my beginning pic tomorrow. So no more shampoo for Ali!

Oh, one more thing, in my short research, I read that coarse, thicker, wavy/curly hair can have better results with no shampoo (but I did find some people with soft straight hair that said they loved their results). My hair is pretty much like that. I have always had a problem with it being thick, frizzy and a little wavy, but not enough to look good so I straighten it or wear it in a ponytail or clip. I also have itchy scalp problems and I read that will go away too. I even found where people were saying their frizzy/slightly wavy hair ended up having a very nice natural wave to it. I am very hopeful!

You DO still wash your hair but the way you do it is with baking soda and occasionally apple cider vinegar. Or you can use only conditioner every couple days. I am going to try the baking soda to start with. All you do is dissolve about 1 teaspoon baking soda in enough water to make a paste and then massage it into your scalp. Then you let it sit for a bit and then rinse it out. You can follow with the apple cider vinegar (or lemon or lime juice if that is not satisfactory) rinse for the ends of your hair a couple times a week. I don't think I will do the ACV, at least not to start, mostly because I don't have any at the moment. I will let you know if I decide to use it. Alright, that is it for now, wish me luck!