Well, well, well!  The last day of 2009 is here, and can I say I hear a collective sigh of relief?  A tough year for the whole country no doubt, but good things come out of tough years too.  Like my decision to go no ‘poo.  How much does the average woman spend on hair care products a year, anyway?  I’ll have to research that one after my vacation time is done, but I can assure you that going no ‘poo is more than just being a spendthrift.  It’s about reclaiming your hair!  Here’s my fourth no ‘poo update that originally ran this summer:

Eureka! My Personal No ‘Poo Challenge Update

So this is what happened:  We decided on a trip to the beach last week on a sweltering day.  Seems everyone else did too, because the beach was crowded and so was the water.  Imagine hundreds of people coated in non-biodegradable sunscreen filing in and out of the lake all day long. I didn’t notice it at first, but at the right angle you could see what looked like a mini Exxon Valdez oil spill floating on the surface of the water. I didn’t notice it until after I’d submerged my head in the goo.  When we realized we were all feeling a bit slippery for a dip in a freshwater lake, I knew my hair would need a serious scrubbing.  So when we got home I decided to try the baking soda scrub followed by a cider vinegar final rinse.

Oh my GOSH.

You know I don’t type in all caps, but…

OH MY GOSH!

Now I know what makes the whole “No ‘Poo” thing such a big deal.  What I assumed would turn my hair into a tangled dry mess, what I assumed would be an unpleasant gritty experience, actually turned out to be the best-kept natural beauty secret I’ve ever blabbed on the internet.  Yes, the baking soda scrub is gritty as all get out, and yes it feels a little weird initially, but it rinses out very well.  And if I just put the recommended tablespoon or two of cider vinegar in a mug of cold water, dump in on my head at the very end without rinsing it back out, I have the most amazing hair of my life.  No, I don’t smell like Thousand Island dressing, but the shine is about blinding.

I’ve been doing this treatment every day for about a week now and my hair improves by the day.  At first I lost some of the new curl I’d gained, but it has returned and in a much shinier version.  Still no tangles to contend with, no need for conditioners.  My hair has become softer with some natural highlights coming into play.  Cider vinegar does give you reddish highlights over the long term which actually works well for me, so I’m happy.  

I see now why some super models and famous hair stylists recommend no ‘poo.  I get it.  I really get it now.  I don’t know how the adjustment would have been if I’d started out with baking soda and vinegar rinses right from the start, but I have a feeling it would have made things a little easier.  People who have done this treatment much longer than I have say there’s still an adjustment period of one to three months, even longer sometimes.  But now I can say with confidence, and in all caps, IT’S WORTH IT!!!

Read all my articles on my No ‘Poo Personal Challenge here.

Yes, enjoying myself on my vacation time!  Hopefully you’re having a great week as well.  Today we look back at my third no ‘poo challenge update, which originally ran in the last week of June 2009.  I know you all want before and after pictures, and I promise to have that for you soon – but in the meantime, here’s what happened after I went no ‘poo for three weeks:

To ‘Poo or Not to ‘Poo – My No ‘Poo Challenge Update

It is week three, and I’m still going strong with my personal no ‘poo challenge. I’ve had a wonderful response from you all, through comments and email, encouraging me and telling me your no ‘poo stories.  It’s been a real eye opener finding out there are many of you who don’t ‘poo, and that you love it.  Some of you have been doing it for years!  But what am I thinking in week three?

I’d say if anything, I’m getting more enthusiastic.  My naturally curly hair (which in the past was more like intensely unruly waves) is actually more curly and easy to manage.  I certainly wouldn’t have imagined curlier hair to be more manageable!  But there you have it. I’ve even stopped blowdrying, so my overall “get ready” time is much, much shorter.  With thick hair, I’ve always spent way too much time blowdrying and styling. Speaking of styling, my hair doesn’t require conditioner, mousse, gel, or even hairspray.  I used to use mousse for special occasions to try and tame my hair, then I’d have to load up on hairspray so my hair didn’t move as freely as I wanted.  I love the freedom of not weighing down my hair with stuff, and the fact that even though it moves around and shifts as the day goes, it still looks good if I just scrunch my hair a little with damp hands.

I’m still tinkering with how I like to do things.  For instance, I use rosemary oil on my wet hair and rub it into my scalp after I’m done scrubbing with water.  And I’ve discovered cold water (at least at the end of the shower) really makes a difference in shine and seems to make my hair feel and look smoother too.  I’ll want to tell you more about the rosemary oil later because I’m discovering a lot of great benefits with that, so perhaps the next post I’ll fill you in on what I’m experiencing.  

Let me end with what is perhaps the coolest part of my no ‘poo testimony:  This weekend my husband kept looking at me and laughing.  ”What?” I asked, “Is my hair going bad finally?”  It was extra curly that day, and I’m still a little hair paranoid at times.  ”No,” he said, “I really like it.  It’s just that women pay really good money to walk out of a salon looking like that.”  Huh.  And I don’t even do my hair anymore.

Read all my articles on my No ‘Poo Personal Challenge here.

Day 2 of my “last week of 2009 vacation” is also Day 2 of my “No ‘Poo” recap.  Here we have the second post I did on living a no ‘poo lifestyle, written back in June.  Oh, and if you’re wondering I’m still very happily a no ‘poo girl!

Day 12 of My Personal No ‘Poo Challenge

By now you’re all wondering, “Did she cave?  Did she finally crack open a bottle of shampoo, dump it all on her head, and lather away?”  Well, not entirely.  Even though my hair has been fairing much better than I ever would have expected without shampoo, it’s not without its little challenges.  Not using shampoo may sound quite disturbing to some, but I think we can all agree the concept sounds simple – just don’t use shampoo.  But there are many ways around the shampoo issue as I’ve learned.  Some no-poo people prefer to scrub at their scalps with baking soda, rinse vigorously, then apply conditioner.  I haven’t tried this, but from what I’ve read you can have quite a head of tangles with this method.  I already suffer from that and have my whole life, so adding to the problem didn’t appeal to me.  Besides, not using shampoo has allowed me to have the most tangle-free hair of my life.  I don’t even need a comb after washing my hair – I literally run my fingers through my very thick hair to “comb” it.  This has been the best part of being a no-pooer.  Finally, snarl-free hair!  

Other no-poos use the tea rinses, which I thought worked pretty well.  The rosemary tea, for instance, adds shine and is pretty good at cleaning.  But a few days ago I didn’t have time to make the tea and let it sit for long enough.  So I grabbed a little bottle of rosemary essential oil.

I’ve used rosemary essential oil in my hair in the past, just a few drops rubbed in the palm of my hand and worked into damp hair to restore shine, support a healthy scalp, etc. so I figured this would probably work pretty well.  And it did!  I had great shine, my hair smelled wonderful, and my hair and scalp felt clean and fresh.  Alas, the next day I decided to shampoo anyway.  Sort of.  Using the most natural shampoo I own, I did wash it.  But since I’m no longer used to conditioning, I forgot that little step and had to really work on all the tangled mess I’d forgotten my hair can be.  Yesterday and today found me a no-poo chick once again, and with the aid of my rosemary oil, I’m rather enjoying my radical new me.

I still don’t know if this is a permanent change for me or not.  I think it calls for some more experimenting in what works best for my hair type.  I may just shampoo occasionally with my favorite natural stuff, or I might awaken one day to feel totally hippie-rebellious, pulling all my shampoos and conditioners into the shower with me to enjoy a suds fest.  Either way I’ll keep you posted.  So far it’s certainly been one of the more interesting experiments this blog has found me in!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!  We certainly did.  And now it’s the last week of 2009, a week I’ll be spending with family taking a blogging vacation.  So since I’ll be doing a “no bloggy”, I thought I’d share with you the “no ‘poo” posts I’ve done this year.  Throughout the week I’ll be posting once again my no ‘poo challenge updates, some of the most popular posts done here to date.  I certainly get a lot of email on living without shampoo, and I’m happy to say I get email every week from those of you who have given it up too, and love it!  So to start, here’s my first no ‘poo update taken from early this summer when I first began my life with totally chemical-free hair:

My Personal No ‘Poo Challenge

No, I haven’t given up my beans and roughage.  I’ve given up shampoo.  I know it sounds radical, but I gave it a lot of thought – at least 7 minutes – and decided I was up for the challenge.  I recently finished reading Sleeping Naked is Green, and so I was inspired to do something extra.  I’ve been using natural and chemical-free shampoos for years and with great results, but for some reason my hair has been acting up lately.  Perhaps it’s the changing seasons or (ahem) my changing age, but even while using my most trusted bottles of natural shampoos and conditioners, my hair was completely disobeying me.  

So in a strange blend of experimentalism and curiosity, I set aside my shampoo and went the no ‘poo route.  For the past seven days (did I really make it that far already???) I’ve been using either a vinegar rinse, the rosemary sage tea I talked about last week, or just plain water – and lots and lots of scrubbing!  So far the results are very surprising.  My hair feels clean and not oily, I don’t need a conditioner, and my very thick mane that has always given me fits is easily combed through with my fingers.  I haven’t needed any hair product except occasional light mists of hairspray on windy days.  I’ll be honest, I’m a little icked out that I haven’t used any shampoo, but my hair actually looks and feels good, and it’s much more manageable than I’m used to!  The rosemary keeps my hair smelling really good, but even on the days I don’t use it, I haven’t had any issues or spousal complaints.  Since I’ve always rinsed out vinegar after using it (not everyone does), I never smell like a salad bar.  

But still I’m a little icked out.  

I’ll keep up the experiment for as long as it works, and I’ll keep you posted either way.  I did a lot of research on the subject today (perhaps I should have done that a week ago), and I’m finding there’s actually a lot of controversy and heated debate on the topic!  I imagined it would work differently for everyone, but the two sides of the issue are pretty strong.  I’m still teetering in the middle somewhere.  I haven’t had the grease issues a lot of people go through, but I imagine that’s because I haven’t used conventional shampoos for a few years, so my hair didn’t have to go through the transition of figuring out how to deal with no sulphates or other chemicals.  

Overall, I’m bouncing between a self-satisfied “Bear Gryllis would be proud” moment to “Ick – what the heck am I doing?”  At least I can enjoy the survival aspect of it even though it’s hard to feel like a survivalist in the middle of suburbia.  In the meantime, please let me know if you’ve ever tried this, thought about trying it, or know someone who did and suddenly woke up bald.  I’ll keep you posted on my results and whether I get bogged down by the ick factor or eventually start up my own survival show living off dandelions and tracking wild carrots in the depths of suburbia.  Or if I end up looking like good ol’ Fido here.

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