No Shampoo - A Baking Soda & ACV Hair Update {Part 2}

*I am no expert and am only relaying my own experience with this process. Please do your own research before deciding to use this method. It works great long-term for some, but I do have a reader that had her hair start to fall out after using this method for several months and could possibly be due to dry-out from the baking soda. I do currently use the method with no issues, but I take a break and use shampoo a couple times a year for a few weeks. 

Took me longer to get to Part 2 than I anticipated - sorry about that!  And don't hurt me - I've just realized that I will need a Part 3 because I am just.too.wordy!!  Part 3 will have links to other "no poo" blogger updates and reference info.

So by now you've seen Part 1 and you see that after the hair adjusts to no shampoo it looks normal!  But what about the process to get there and how much baking soda to use, etc.?

Let's talk about the adjustment period first:

It will take your hair 3-4 weeks to adjust.  Sounds weird, but it takes your body that long to figure out the correct amount of oil to produce for your hair.  Normal shampoo strips the hair so your scalp produces extra oil to make up for it (which is why you end up with greasy hair the next day or 2 later).  Once you stop the "poo" your scalp may produce too much or too little during the adjustment period.  Now - not every day is a bad hair day during this time.  But one day you might have flat greasy hair and 3-4 days later you might have really dry hair with static.

The first time I went through the adjustment period, I had fabulous hair the first couple of days because the baking soda removed styling product and shampoo buildup.  After 1 week, I thought my hair was decent as you can see in this pic here from last year:

But I was in for a surprise after that! The 2nd week my hair was fairly dry.  The 3rd week my hair was greasy/icky and I almost quit the whole thing!  By the 4th week, I had some good hair!  Although I have to say I had a couple of super-fabulous hair days and haven't had them as good as that since - not sure if the planets had aligned just right or what, but if I could get that back I'd be a happy camper!  :)

The second time I went through a transition it didn't take as long and I didn't have as many crazy shifts in hair condition.  Or maybe I knew what to expect and adjusted along the way as necessary which made it easier.  I do get my hair cut and highlighted every 6-7 weeks (yes I know, I go natural on the shampoo but still color my hair - baby steps, baby steps) and my stylist uses shampoo/conditioner on my hair.  I notice a slight transition over the few days following, but no big deal really.

Now for how much baking soda and ACV to use:

When I first tried this last year, I started with these amounts:
~ 1 tablespoon baking soda to 1 cup water
~ 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar (ACV) to 1 cup water

During the first transition, I hardly used the ACV as it seemed to make my hair too greasy.  I also tried white vinegar which works, but it's less acidic.  I later gave up on that and realized that I actually did need the ACV and even a larger proportion.  I decided that for my hair this amount of baking soda was too much and was causing a bit of dryness in my hair.

Now I use:
~ 2 teaspoons baking soda to 1 cup water
~ 1/3 cup ACV to 2/3 cup water

This amount of baking soda seems to get my hair clean but not overdry my scalp.  And I've even used up a 1/2 mixture of ACV and water - just depends on the season and how my hair is.  Think of the ACV as your conditioner.

In between the baking soda/ACV uses, I "wash" my hair with water.  I just rinse it out really well and use my fingertips to give my scalp a bit of a massage.  Once your hair adjusts, you'll be surprised how often it can get clean with just water!

How to use it:

I mix my baking soda solution in a squeeze bottle.  In the shower I give it a shake and then squeeze the solution onto several different areas of my scalp.  I then use my fingers to massage it into my scalp all over.  No need to work it into hair - only the scalp!  I rinse it well using fingertips to make sure it's all rinsed off my scalp.

I mix my ACV solution in a spray bottle.  After rinsing the baking soda out, I spray my hair with this - focusing on the hair, not the scalp.  Sometimes I work it into the longer hair a little, then I rinse it all out.  That's it!  The ACV works as a conditioner and detangler.

Tips:
 
~ Don't give up!  Get through the adjustment phase before you decide if you're happy with it or not!  That break from shampoo will be good for your hair anyway.

~ Adjust amounts as necessary.  If your hair seems especially dry or your scalp is itchy, decrease the amount of baking soda.  If your hair feels greasy all the time, use less ACV or only use it every other washing.

~ Don't wash your hair every day.  If you are absolutely an everyday hair washer, your transition may take longer.  I highly recommend using water in between and just dealing with the icky hair for a while - might as well let all the adjusting happen at once!

~ Use whatever mixing method you like.  Some people make a little baking soda paste to put on the scalp in the shower.  Some pour the ACV rinse over the hair.  I like my squeeze bottle and spray bottle, but use what's convenient for you.

~ You hair will NOT smell like vinegar!  The smell evaporates quickly and does not stay in the hair.

~ Your hair color should not be affected.  Shampoo and even water gradually strip out hair color, so this will be the same.  Of course I don't have dark hair, so I can't say for certain but as far as I know nobody has experienced changes.  And on blonde - I don't notice any permanent changes.  If anything, my color lasts longer because it's not being stripped as much since I don't wash it as much.

~ After your hair adjusts to the "no poo" method, try spacing out the days you wash it.  For example, if you normally wash every other day, try every 3rd day.

Does that all make sense to you?  Are you going to give it a try?

OK - what did I leave out?  And what questions do you have?  I'll try to address any other questions in Part 3 (again - please don't hate me for adding a Part 3!) along with giving you links so you can read about how other ladies in the blogosphere are doing with the "no poo" process!

Have a great day friends!

No Shampoo - A Baking Soda & ACV Hair Update {Part 1}

*I am no expert and am only relaying my own experience with this process. Please do your own research before deciding to use this method. It works great long-term for some, but I do have a reader that had her hair start to fall out after using this method for several months and could possibly be due to dry-out from the baking soda. I do currently use the method with no issues, but I take a break and use shampoo a couple times a year for a few weeks. Also, I use less baking soda than I did  in the beginning - read the 8/11 Part 2 Update for the current measurements I use.

I really didn't want to do this in 2 parts, but with the pics and my lengthy explanations - 1 post would just be too long!  First I'll tell you the basics and show pics, and then on Part 2 I'll give you exact amounts that I use and what changes I've tried.

Last year I had my first exposure to "washing" my hair with a baking soda solution and rinsing with diluted apple cider vinegar (ACV) instead of using shampoo.  It was for a challenge, but I ended up liking it for many reasons.  I posted an update about it after trying it for a week.  I did it for several months, but felt like I wasn't quite getting the great hair results I had expected.  I went back to shampoo...and hated it!  Right back to greasy hair by the 2nd day - yuck! I tried various natural shampoos for 2-3 months and then went back to the "no poo" (yes, that's really what it's called!) way about 6 months ago.  I adjusted my amounts of baking soda and ACV and have had better results.

Why do this?  It's a more natural way to keep your hair clean and avoids any possibly harmful chemicals (there seem to be many in shampoo these days).  It's better for the environment and it's also super frugal!  When your hair fully adjusts, you shouldn't need to "wash" it as often.

I'll show you some hair pics so you know I'm not just hiding out with bad hair or throwing it up into a ponytail every day so it doesn't matter what it really looks like - my hair is clean and looks fine (no it doesn't look like supermodel hair, but it didn't with regular shampoos either).  Then in Part 2 I'll give you my current amount and method for "no poo."

For this series of pics, I wanted to see if I could go a whole week before "washing" again with baking soda and ACV.  I "washed" it in between with water - just water.  Also, I no longer use any hair styling products other than some hair spray at the end.  Oh, and you should know that I'm not thrilled with these pics - it's not that easy to take pics of your own hair every day.  But I was too lazy to do another entire week of pics trying to get prettier ones!!  :)

Day 1 - baking soda, ACV, blowdry, curling iron

Started this series of pics a few days after getting my hair cut and highlighted.

Day 2 - brushed, curling iron

Terrible pic, but wanted to give you a side view.

Day 3 - water, blowdry, curling iron

A good hair day. And yes, my hair is super thin and super fine.

Day 3 - a view of opposite side

In case you were tired of the same view.  :)

Day 4 - brushed, curling iron

Leaned forward so you can see it's not plastered to my head!

Day 5 - brushed, curling iron

This day was pushing it though the pic looks ok.

Day 6 - water, blowdry, curling iron

Another forward shot to show movement.

Day 7 - baking soda, ACV, blowdry, curling iron

This pic is after I had been out late at a function, so by this time my hair was pretty flat.

Day 7 - another view

And we start all over again!

See?  No greasy, matted hair.  What do you think so far?  Are you surprised that hair can be clean with just water or with baking soda and ACV?

I have to remind you that it takes about a month for your hair to adjust after stopping shampoo.  You WILL have scary hair during that time - sometimes dry or full of static, sometimes super greasy and flat, sometimes normal.  But after that, your body figures out how much oil to produce for your scalp and you get fairly good hair!  Mine would be better if it wasn't highlighted which dries it out and if we didn't have hard water - those minerals don't help.

Come on back for Part 2 and I'll tell you what proportions I use and how I prepare it and store it.  I'll answer some questions I know you'll have and I'll give you a couple links so you can see how it's going for others.

The baking soda/ACV hair-washing is definitely working for me, so I linked it up for WFMW at We Are THAT Family!

Have you tried the "no poo" method?  What do you think about it?

Have a great day friends!

Retro Runway ~ 80's Hair

Melissa from Frugal Creativity is having a Retro Runway blog party today!!  Post some fun retro pics or memories and go link up!

I already showed you some of my 80's hairstyles last week.  And I even told you the story of THIS hairstyle!

But then how does one go from that (above) to this (below)?  And in about a year and a half too!

This was my Senior picture that went in the yearbook.  It was taken the Summer before my Senior year.  I had a professional session and everything!  That hair took some time every day, especially since I have very fine, very straight hair!  I remember blow drying, using the curling iron A LOT, teasing it some, using a ton of Aqua Net hairspray and then sometimes having to start all over because I wasn't happy with it.  That meant I would go rinse it out and start fresh.  LOL!  It was all about the hair I tell you!!

Then fast forward less than a year later, after graduation - now what's happened to my hair?  I had to cut it short during the year - long story short - got mono, had high fevers, 3 months later started losing some hair, cut it short while new hair growth happened.  It was already growing out by the time the pic below was taken.  So what did I do??

I asked the hair stylist to give me a bob, but to make it unique.  This is what we came up with - cut the sides like a bob, cut it short & spiky on top, leaving a few long pieces for bangs.  Er, because that makes perfect sense, right?!  :)

This was at a family reunion and here's a pic of me, my Dad, and my sis - just so you can get the full 80's outfit feel!

Mini skirt - check.  Large LA Gear shirt with shoulder pads - check.  Big earrings - check.  Swatch watch - check.  Unusual hairstyle - check.  Dad who wears black dress socks with shorts - check.  Ah, good times.

So there's your little dose of the 80's and a bit about how often I would change my hairstyles!  Hope you enjoyed it!

Go check out Retro Runway for more fun looks into the past!!

Have like a totally awesome day friends!  :)

The Baking Soda Hair-Washing Experiment Update

*I am no expert and am only relaying my own experience with this process. Please do your own research before deciding to use this method. It works great long-term for some, but I do have a reader that had her hair start to fall out after using this method for several months and could possibly be due to dry-out from the baking soda. I do currently use the method with no issues, but I take a break and use shampoo a couple times a year for a few weeks. Also, I use less baking soda than is mentioned in this post - read the 8/11 Part 2 Update for the current measurements I use.

**For more recent info (8/11), check out Part 1 of my baking soda/ACV hair update!

Well that title is a mouthful!  I mentioned last week that I was joining up with my friend Claire from Mummy Deals to try using baking soda instead of shampoo for a week.  We were trying it because it doesn't have the toxic chemicals that are in most shampoos and it's super frugal!  I decided to add apple cider vinegar rinsing as needed because it smooths and conditions the hair.

I thought you'd like to hear how it went and see a couple hair pics.  Now, I don't wash my hair every day - I do every other day.  I used to have to do it every day because it would get greasy.  But when my hair was longer I started wearing a pony tail the second day and not washing it and my hair seemed to adjust - now it gets greasy the third day!

So in a week I washed it with baking soda 4 times.  Here's what I did:

~  I mixed 1 tablespoon baking soda with 1 cup warm water in a squeeze bottle.  I shook it before using it every time.  I still have some left!

~  I squeezed the solution all around my scalp and hair, worked it into my scalp, and rubbed it into my hair; then rinsed thoroughly.

~  I mixed 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar with 1 cup water in a small spray bottle.  I swirled it around before using each time.

~  2 of the 4 times I followed the wash with spraying all my hair with the apple cider vinegar mixture, working it in slightly, then rinsing out.

Here are pics of my hair after the week:

  

  

Watch out - I am obviously hypnotized in the above pic - there's no telling what I might do!

 

See?  My hair doesn't look like I haven't used shampoo!  I didn't use any styling products either other than some hairspray.  I did blowdry and use a big barrel curling iron to smooth a little and curve the ends under a bit.

My thoughts:

So far I'm happy with the whole idea.  My hair is not much different than with shampoo though I have seem to have more volume and thickness when I use just the baking soda.  In the pics, I had used apple cider vinegar too.  I also stopped using any styling products other than some hairspray during this time as I wanted to see what my hair condition was without those products.

Once your hair adjusts completely, you shouldn't have to wash as often - maybe 2-3 times a week with baking soda.  When I don't use the apple cider vinegar, I do notice less greasiness even the third day, so will try stretching it further.  If I use the apple cider vinegar, then it does get greasy by the third day.

I'm going to keep going with it!  I see no reason to stop.  I may need to make some slight adjustments to the amounts, but so far I'm happy.  I have heard that your hair is fully adjusted after about a month, so I want to see if I notice a difference in that amount of time.

If you think you want to try it, I suggest you read the following links for more detailed info - very helpful!

http://babyslime.livejournal.com/174054.html
http://www.naturemoms.com/no-shampoo-alternative.html
http://www.keeperofthehome.org/2009/07/no-poo-update.html

What are your thoughts?

I'm linking this to Your Life, Your Blog at Real Life!  Link up your favorite post from last week!

Have a wonderful weekend friends!