The No 'Poo 'do!

As I was perusing Pinterest the other day, I noticed a Pin about washing your face with oil. So naturally, I'm thinking, "Ooohh, oil is cheap, so am I; this could be for me!"  Well...it wasn't. For all the $$ saved, it seemed like a time consuming process! But on that post, I did see another post claiming to get rid of shampoo forever! Forever?! Well, that seems like quite a savings right there, so over I go, clicking away.  What I stumbled upon, was a post for the "No 'Poo Method" of hair care. Yeah, sounds weird, but hey, I didn't name it! What was described, by mostly tree hugging hippies (of which I am SO NOT!), was the idea of never using commercial shampoo again because the sulfates strip your hair of their natural oils, causing your scalp to have to produce more, which leads to unnecessarily oily hair.  You can find all kinds of information regarding how sulfates are the devil and you'll produce offspring with 5 limbs and cancer (joking) which is the reason why all should give up shampoo.  To me, what I was reading was making sense though, in regards to your body producing at a higher rate when the oils were taken away by shampooing frequently (just like nursing or milking cows - for all you farmers to get a visual). 

So, I thought to myself, maybe I can save a little cash by not having to buy shampoo again (although I'll have to still buy for hubby, because he hasn't been convinced - YET).  I know, I know, you're thinking: "GROSS!!! That girl is gonna be DIRTY and SMELLY!!", but I assure you, it is day 6 of no shampoo and I have showered EVERY DAY and my hair is neither dirty nor smelly (because I'm still "technically" washing it). "But wait, you said you're not using shampoo" you say; and I say "you're correct - no shampoo." So what am I using to "wash" my hair?!
After doing hours of research after Little Man's bedtime, I settled on a method for me using Baking Soda (BS - ha,ha) and Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV).  The basic idea is that you use 1 T BS either dissolved in 1 c. water or made into a paste, put on your scalp and massage well and RINSE THOROUGHLY with cool water.  Then you mix 1 T. ACV with 1 c. water and pour on ends of hair to saturate and leave on for at least a minute and rinse well.  I've read many different ways of doing the whole routine, including using spray bottles, just diluting each in cups of water, etc and I haven't quite decided what is going to work best for me, YET.  I've tried the BS paste and with it dissolved in water. I think I liked the paste better, because it was easier to concentrate it on my scalp and get a good massage.  I'm thinking of investing in a spray bottle for the ACV because when I poured it on, it was too hard to just get it onto the ends (apparently the ACV on your scalp can cause more oiliness). You will only need to do this routine once every 3-4 days with either just a water rinse in between or keeping your hair dry during the shower (a turbie towel worked well for this).

Apparently there is an adjustment period of a week to a month where your hair is still producing the amount of oil if would had you been washing with shampoo and it can look nasty, but I haven't had any issues with that yet. My last shampoo wash was Thursday am. I did a BS/ACV wash on Saturday and one again today (Wednesday).  
My hair has been easier to style (held a curl all day with no product) and softer.  The only negatives so far have been that: #1 I actually have to get up and put a little effort into my hair each morning (for now) to make sure I don't look like an oil pit & #2 I had a little bit of flakiness on my scalp last night but this has mostly gone away since my BS/ACV wash this morning. I was a little worried that my hair was going to smell funny, not only because of the excess oil, but from the vinegar (which I could smell when wet and while drying), but I asked hubs and some brave co-workers to smell my hair which they said smelled like...hair, so no worries there!
 
I've been pleasantly surprised by this experiment, so far.  I went into it thinking of all the $ I was going to save, and I'm starting to believe I might be able to save some dough and get a good 'do in the process!  The theory is that your hair will become healthier, easier to manage and not need all the product that you are currently using.

Oh...pictures.  I was disappointed because I could not find any day to day pictures while I was researching and that was one thing I wanted to do. So here you are: (btw, I don't have a good "control" before of just a wash and air dry, but believe me, it was a frizzy mess).  This is me on day 6 (air dry and no brushing):

Yes, I know, it's still a hot mess, but it actually much better than any other air dry hair day I've EVER had. Seriously, EVER! I have had notoriously bad hair for as long as I can remember (cuts included): dry, frizzy, coarse, one side flips under the other out, etc. etc.. So bad that me and my mild temper (ha) actually threw a brush at a bathroom door when I was growing up because the hair just would not cooperate, causing a nice half dollar size hole in the door- and it's still there to this day!

Anyway, I'm done ranting for now. I will continue to update with pictures on how the No 'Poo is holding up with my crazy hair!!

Feel free to post any questions, I'll do my best to answer, but for some "real" insight, you can Google (or Bing or whatever you use): The No 'Poo Method for LOTS of crunchy granola info!! :)