i gave up Shampoo a long time ago, probably at least a year and a half, and i have never been happier with my hair. its not always super dried out anymore, and I’m sure I’ve saved tons of money by not buying shampoo. i tried the balking soda thing for a while and the “transition period” lasted to long, so i just use my glycerin bar soap if i feel like i need to wash my hair, other wise i just get it wet when i shower and it seems fine. it never stinks or looks or feels dirty. i recently got it cut so i want to try the baking soda again. every time i get my hair cut now, the hair dresser tells me how nice and healthy my hair is.
This post was submitted by Tabatha.
I too am “no poo” on my curls, and my hair is the healthiest its been in 15 yrs.
i use lush’s shampoo bar (which is also a body wash bar)
and its great.
once a week i dip my ends in olive oil and leave it on for an hour or so.
i have saved so much money ( and consumer waste) not buying into all those expensive hair products
alot of the hair products out there contain harsh chemicals ( basically its like using detergent on your hair..eww)
devacurl has a good video on the bads of shampoo.
Comment by mabel — September 26, 2009 @ 10:31 am
I would love to know more about this shampoo bar you are using. Where can i buy it? Thank-You
Comment by Maggie — September 27, 2009 @ 3:04 pm
i used this until is ran out
http://www.lushusa.com/shop/products/hair/solid-shampoos/new
and now i am using this one
http://www.lushusa.com/shop/products/hair/solid-shampoos/karma-komba
and i have a reusable tin for it
http://www.lushusa.com/shop/products/gifts/accessories/shampoo-bar-tin
it travels great. no more spilled shampoo etc.
Comment by mabel — September 28, 2009 @ 2:20 pm
I’ve been “no poo” for over a year and I LOVE it. My frizz is gone, and my hair feels shiny and healthy. I wash it once or twice a week in a solution of baking soda and sometimes a little Borax if it feels really dirty. Then I rinse with distilled vinegar with a few drops of lemongrass oil mixed in to cover the vinegar smell (be sure to rinse the vinegar out if you try this). My hair is never greasy and it just feels fantastic!
Comment by Rebecca — September 29, 2009 @ 7:14 am
I don’t do “no poo”, but I do wash my hair infrequently and have had a number of similar benefits. We probably buy shampoo about once every six months in our family. So this sounds really plausible to me.
Anyways, I’m gonna give the baking-soda thing a try. Probably the olive-oil soak for the ends, too - maybe that will let me cut out conditioner as well? If these work for me, I bet DH will give them a try as well.
Anyone tried baking soda and olive oil with their kids’ hair?
Comment by Ethel — October 20, 2009 @ 4:10 pm
Ethel - if you try baking soda, don’t skip the vinegar or lemon juice rinse, especially if you have hard water. Otherwise you’ll get a soap-scum like build-up that won’t rinse out well. And, if you’ve used any product or conditioner that contains silicones (anything ending in “cone” or “xane”) it’s important to wash those out with shampoo before attempting to go “no poo”. The silicones coat the hair shaft and make it so the natural oils can’t soak in, so you end up with a greasy mess. I made both those mistakes when I first started and it was ugly!
I haven’t tried olive oil, but if the ends seem dry, which is rare these days, I use a little jojoba oil because it penetrates the hair shaft much like the natural oils do - at least that’s what I’ve read. It seems to be true because it never leaves it at all greasy.
Good Luck!
Comment by Rebecca — October 20, 2009 @ 4:46 pm
p.s. With baking soda and vinegar you shouldn’t need any conditioner. The vinegar rinse softens the hair and provides pretty much the same function.
And… (sorry, I’m on a roll here). Another thing that helps at first is to brush with a wooden bristle or boar’s hair brush. It helps to move the oils and sebum (the waxy stuff) down the hair shaft. The sebum also sticks to the wooden bristles… it’s a little gross, but it helps to remove the excess which your scalp will produce for the first few months until it adjusts. You can also get this effect by “brushing” your hair with a wet washcloth in the shower or bath one handful at a time.
OK, and as long as I’m talking brushes and sebum. I actually came up with a great way to remove excess sebum, it’s actually a cat brush called the “furminator”. It has REALLY fine metal bristles and it will literally scrape the excess sebum from the hair shaft. You have to be REALLY careful though and only brush a tiny handful of untangled hair at a time, because it’s easy to break or damage the hair if you’re too rough.
I’ll stop blathering now… hope some of this helps…
Comment by Rebecca — October 20, 2009 @ 4:58 pm
Thanks, Rebecca! I won’t be able to buy the jojoba oil for a bit, or the special brushes, but I’ll make sure to put a little vinegar in afterwards. I knew vinegar softened cloth diapers, how neat that it can do the same for hair!
Comment by Ethel — October 20, 2009 @ 9:22 pm
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