Day 12 of My Personal No ‘Poo Challenge

17. June 2009 · 5 comments · Categories: No 'Poo, Remedies · Tags: , ,

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It is true. I do have a natural mane.

It is true. I do have a natural mane.

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!

My Personal No ‘Poo Challenge

12. June 2009 · 7 comments · Categories: No 'Poo, Remedies · Tags: , ,

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Hoping I Don't Look Like This Next Week...

Hoping I Don't Look Like This Come Next Week...

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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