Day 24 No Poo Update!

I feel like it's unnecessary to update every day now. Most days are the same- my hair still isn't to its 'normal' stage. I wash and massage with water every day, and baking soda every 2-3 days. The hair itself is becoming more healthy each day (lots of new growth, body, and natural curl, although my roots still often have that heavy/sticky feeling between washings. I look forward to the end of 6 weeks!

 I also tried something different where I added a few drops of tea tree oil to my baking soda. This zapped my dandruff amazingly. Still not turning back to shampoo, ever!! I believe in this journey 100%. I've almost hit 1 month!

And of course, an updated photo:
I washed with baking soda 2 days ago. Water this morning.

Well hello there, Day 12

Ok, so tonight I knew I was going to be in someone else's very near vicinity. Self conscious, I broke down and finally used Baking Soda on my roots (remember: NOT the length).  Let me tell you it was possibly the greatest decision I've ever made, next to not circumcising my kid. This is the beauty it birthed- pardon the awful pun:

Um, GREAT right?? Again, I do not use any styling products or flat irons, curling irons, rollers, etc. This is completely Wash n' Go. Yeah. I don't give a hoot if BS dulls my color (the lighting is off in this photo, but as far as I can tell, it didn't), it looks and feels awesome. Definitely recommend! I love you, Day 12~

Day #10 Without ANY Shampoo

Hey all! It has officially been 17 days since my hair has seen shampoo! Man, do I feel accomplished. And the main reason? Today, after I jumped in the shower and massaged my head with water, I felt a hint of what is soon to become my normal hair. That's right. Once it dried, it felt pretty damn close to normal, and that's saying a lot. My hair has been fair to severely waxy since this journey, and today there was such lightness and I felt myself running my hands through it out of amazement. Yes, I was amazed that it felt good enough for me to want to touch it- haha.

For those following the journey, it has been 10 days of washing with only water, and one day with an egg, which got my hair super clean, but left it pretty dry. It took a couple of days for the coconut oil and egg to balance each other out. This was the beauty that they reined: (What? I'm proud).

Sorry for the weird look and crooked lenses, my son bent the crud out of them. ;) But if you can look past the spectacle that is my spectacles, you will see that my hair is looking pretty awesome. LOTS of body and wave, which I missed so so much. There is tons of new growth as well.

Big news too: I think I've talked my mother into joining me on the no-poo journey! Like me, she cannot seem to buy a shampoo that doesn't leave her hair feeling like a giant grease pit the very next day. Time to stop spending time, energy, and money on those useless poo's, Ma. Get on board!

No Poo Transitional Tips

If you're new to No Poo like I am, there will be days where you could be self conscious to leave the house because you're afraid you hair looks like doo-doo. I'm here to ease those worries. Let's face it. We're women. We have shit to do; we can't just sit around the house all day ;)

For the light haired goddesses out there, poor a bit of cornstarch in your palm and rub hands together. Slide your fingers through your roots for an awesome result. Bye-bye oils!

If you have dark hair, you're also in luck! Cornstarch makes darker hair look grey and dull, and nobody wants that. For those sexy brunettes out there, use a little cocoa powder. Same result without the grey look!

 

Happy powdering :)

Day #7 No Poo

It has been officially 2 weeks since I washed my hair with shampoo, and 7 days since using only water or natural substances! Wow, what a journey it's been. There were a few days there that were not fun, let me tell you! But thankfully, I pushed through it. Hell, I've squeezed out a kid; I can do anything, right?!

Okay, so here's an update on the hairs.

 

 

 By last night (day #6), it was looking preeeettty raunchy. Not even gonna lie. I decided it was time to experiment with something besides water. The old H20's been doing a pretty hefty job so far, but the oils were totally winning. Thus, I decided that I would try an egg. If you will refer back to the entry listing many No Poo Alternatives, it states to whisk an egg and apply to hair. I nearly effed it big time when I went to reach for the warm water to rinse. Big mistake! Hah, use COOL WATER ONLY! I did the ole rinse, massage, repeat routine. Afterward, it felt squeaky clean. But alas, too clean.

 

That's right. I ended up with a dry haystack on my head. And so I think "Is there no happy medium??" The answer was "Kinda."

Being that it's only two weeks from the start of my shampoo detox, I've got a little ways still to go until my natural oils balance out. To repair the haystack look I was rockin, I applied a little coconut oil to the ends of my hair and rinsed it out. The result was a very nice combination of clean + oily. A combination I can completely deal with. After using the egg, the waxy, heavy feeling is gone- and thank goodness too, because it was really getting to me.

Ta da!



                                     annnddd to the side....

                                                        

 

Not bad, right?

 

One excellent thing happened while I was experiencing the haystack look: It was clear to me that there were tons (and I mean tons) of new lil baby hairs. I looked like I had been electrocuted, but this is very exciting!!! YAY for new growth! Now I kinda wish I had taken a photo if for nothing but the sheer humor in it. Also, My curl seems to be returning nicely, and I could swear I've seen growth in length as well. What do you think? Comments are encouraged!

 

 

And people, if the detoxing process is getting you down, you can always spunk up your look with a messy ponytail. :)

 

Until next time!

 



Day #4 No Poo + 10 Alternatives

Today was a dreadful day for hair-kind. Especially mine, which hasn't seen shampoo in technically 11 days. It's gotten to the point where it feels so nasty that I'm certain everyone is looking at me like "gross," but in mirrors and photos, it still doesn't look nearly as bad as it feels. I was outside a lot for a town festival. It was pretty hot, and naturally I was sweating balls. Finally I became so self-conscious of my nappy feeling hair that I tied it up in a bun. Instantly I felt better- hah.

STILL when I got home, despite the grossly hot day and tons of wind, this was the result by the end of Day 4:

Definitely NOT negating that it looks dirty, but it's not too horrifying. Heavy on the top, and a bit dry on the ends. This morning, I washed as usual with water, massaging my head like crazy. I also brushed through it quite a bit, both in the shower and right before bed. It helped transport the waxy feeling. I purchased Raspberry tea today, which I am going to try instead of plain water tomorrow. I chose Raspberry because it is a red tea. This will help keep my hair color as well as cleanse the scalp. If this fails, I plan to use either an egg or Baking Soda.

Some of you were inquiring about different no-poo alternatives to hair-washing. Here are the top ten that I've found:

One- Water! The key is in the massage- as you soak your hair, get your fingers stuck in, pushing away at your scalp and any particularly oily bits. Once the scalps chemistry resets, you should be able to do a five minute massage every five days.

Two- Bicarbonate of Soda/ Baking Soda. This gets your hair SQUEAKY clean. Make a little paste with a spoonful and a few drops of water and rub it into your scalp. Leave it for a few minutes before rinsing. The only reason it isn’t number one is because it isn’t free and I’m a cheapskate – and also the hair gets a bit bicarb weary after too many times in a row, brittle and waxy and needs a bit of Number Three Action:

Three- Egg. Use the whole egg, whisked in a cup. Pour over your head and massage in. Leave for a few minutes and rinse well.  It leaves hair SO clean and SO soft and shiny. However, the water must be cool! I have heard of a couple of scrambled disasters venturing into too warm territory….

Four- Soapnuts. These are a natural cleaner and work incredibly well. Hair is like silk after- certainly the closest to shampoo I have found. Heat them in water on the stove for 10 minutes, whisk them by hand blender and use the liquid. I am too lazy to make this my Go To alternative, but I would use it if my hair has become filthy. Buy them here and use them for cleaning a million and one things!

Five- Rhassoul Clay. This is LOVELY stuff for skin and hair.  It not only cleans but also conditions. Make a paste with two spoonfuls and boiling water. Once cool, smooth it into hair, after a few minutes, brush it through hair and rinse off. It is truly divine but a little on the expensive side for my thrifty self. (But doesn’t come close to the expense of good shampoo.) Buy it here!

Six- Henna. This might become my once-every-six-weeks deep treatment! Mix up about ten spoons of it with hot water to make a paste. Once cool, apply it all over and leave it for two hours. (Epic I know. Use a plastic bag and grips to keep it all in place.) It needs a SERIOUS rinse, and a good brush, but afterward the hair after is brighter, cleaner, softer.

Seven- Tea. This relies very much on the massage bit too, and the result is the same as water except you get a nice smell! Some people swear that the different aspects of the tea change your hair – chamomile adding a special softness, for example.

Eight- Lemon. Lemon has some seriously potent anti-bacterial properties and can work as a lightener for people wanting to be blonder.  Squeeze the lemon straight on to your greasy roots, massage well and leave for a few moments. Some have found it to be slightly drying.

Nine- Tea Tree Oil. Full of incredible properties! You would probably need a little bit too much of this to work solely as an effective shampoo. However added to the bicarb paste, the lemon or the water only wash, this makes a lovely difference. Tea tree oil is perfect for people with scalp issues, dandruff etc. In fact, one person I am VERY close to but who shalt remain nameless has had a life-long scalp issue fixed with this method!

Ten- Mustard Powder. Nettles. Mayonaise. Ketchup! These were all possible contenders that simply didn’t cut it for me- didn't want to waste my condiments. In theory they should work- they have the right mix of either anti-bacterialness or emulsifier/ acid shizzle and the internet is jampacked with people on whom these work. It just ALL depends on your hair.

A note on conditioner- Nearly all of these, bar the clay and the egg need a rinse with Apple Cider Vinegar. Use a splash in half a cup of water and throw it over the ends of  your hair, leave for a few minutes then rinse out. .

Day #3 of No Poo-ing

DAY 2, my hair was washed with pure H20. It remained very waxy, although it never looked particularly dirty. This is what I am absolutely loving about this experience so far. Even though it feels gross, it still looks acceptable in public- ha! There wasn't much of a change from yesterday to today so here is the update:

DAY 3
It's already starting to feel somewhat normal. It's a LOT less waxy today than it was yesterday. What a wonder a day does! Did not wash today.
It's incredible. If I were still using shampoo, my hair would look disgusting right now (7 days no shampoo- 3 days washing with only water).

I feel like it's got a little more body. What do you think?



Onward and up!

The Journey to No Poo

I've decided quite impulsively that I'm completely fed up with my hair feeling oily, itchy, and limp so I decided to research alternatives to shampoo. As an educated woman, I am fully aware that shampoos contain harsh detergents that really shouldn't be used on the body. It strips the hair and scalp of all its natural oils which causes your skin to overproduce them in order to compensate for the loss. This is why we shampooers are forced to wash our hair every 1-2 days. The amount of money I have thrown away on bottles of shampoo is unreal, and we all know how expensive everything is these days. My wallet is screaming, and so is my scalp.

Thus, I digress: The big DD- Decision Day to rid myself of shampoo forever. Today was DAY 1 of my journey! How exciting! Technically I have not washed my hair with shampoo for 4 days. Any other SAHM out there will fully understand this :P This morning, instead of reaching for the Tresseme like I normally do, I massaged my scalp with just water even though I have read of Two Popular Alternatives to 'Poo: Baking soda (cleanser) and Apple Cider Vinegar (conditioner). I have color-treated hair, so I am abstaining from baking soda for as long as I can, so I do not strip the color. I'll most likely break down and scrub with BS soon though. Today it feels mighty oily! (Although oddly enough, it does not appear so :S ) Much to be expected, considering my body's chemistry is all out of whack.
I think I should also mention that other than shampoo, I do not use any other products on my hair. I air dry, and abstain from any and all gels, hair sprays, and serums. Not that these are 'bad' per say, I just never wanted them.

According to my research, it will take 4-6 weeks for my scalps natural chemistry to reset. This seems like a long time right now, but I am SO ready to never buy another bottle of shampoo! I'm in this for the long haul!

Now for the photos:

This is a photo of my beautiful son and I on the last day I shampooed my hair.

Here, my hair looks dry, flat, brittle, and frankly unhealthy- especially next to my sweet little man's lustrous locks ;)

However,
After DAY 1 of massaging with H2O, my hair looks like this at the END of the day:

I dunno, maybe it's my imagination, but I already feel like it LOOKS better. It certainly doesn't feel all that awesome, but I'm trying not to touch it much- hah... need I be tempted to reach for the shampoo bottle! I'm very excited to keep up this journey of self-improvement.

Lets just see how far water takes me :)