No Poo

Here is my promised post.

I contemplated for a few days whether I should go with a controversial post or a "time to gross ya'll out" post. I decided to go with the later.

I'm sure my blog title has you intrigued, or just downright scared. Fear not!! My fair maidens...it is not as terrifying as it sounds. "No-Poo" does not mean "no more pooping" (Au Contraire! Pooping is my favorite thing to do...but that's a whole post topic on its own!)

When I say "no-poo" I'm talking about shampoo.

Shampoo, that is.

Ready for the part where I gross you all out?? Okay, here we go...I have not used any shampoo or conditioner on my hair in almost a month now. (Please don't unsubscribe to my blog. My hair is as clean as a whistle, and has never felt healthier than it does now before.)

Before I explain how I clean my hair, I'd like to give you a history lesson on shampoo.

Shampoo is basically a detergent. (Did you know one of the main ingredients in shampoo is also the main ingredient in household detergents??) None of us would use a cleaning detergent on our head or body, yet we blindly do daily in our showers.

The way shampoo works, is it strips your hair of all its natural oils. These oils that your head naturally produces are there to protect your hair and keep it strong and healthy.

Shampoo was invented in the 20th century. Before shampoos, people used good old fashioned bars of soap--which worked great--it cleaned, but didn't strip the oils from your hair. As life became more civilized and water became more alkaline filled, (bar soap doesn't do well with alkaline water) the bar soap started making people's hair weaker and rougher.

Shampoo was introduced with the selling benefits that it works in both hard and soft water.

Voila! An instant seller.

Now I'll explain why I don't use shampoo (other than the fact that it strips your hair of its natural oils).

Shampoo is full of chemicals.

Rule of thumb is: if you can't pronounce the ingredients then its probably not natural.

Our skin is our largest organ. Anything we put on our body is absorbed straight into our bloodstreams. How healthy is that?

Did you know that most of the chemicals in shampoos have never been tested for safety?

I'm not going to take the time to list all the chemicals that are in shampoos and the havoc they can wreck in our bodies (without even us knowing!) If you are interested, its so easy to find out. Just start a google search and prepare to be "awwed."

Now, how to go no-poo:

Baking soda and apple cider vinegar will become your best friend.

Baking Soda is a natural cleaner that won't damage your hair, but it gets the job done.

Generally, 1 tbsp baking soda dissolved in 1 cup water is all you would need. But, some people with curly hair or super thick hair might need a bit more of baking soda, and some might need a bit less. Play around with it and see what your hair needs.

Apple Cider Vinegar is also amazing. It's a natural conditioner, and in my opinion--it works even better than store bought conditioners. It detangles the hair follicles, seals the cuticles and balances the PH in your hair.

Again, typically its 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar to 1 cup water.

So when I take my baths, I'll mix up the BS mix, I pour it on my scalp and massage it in, just like I would regular shampoo. I let it sit for about 30 seconds and then I'll rinse it out. Then, I'll pour the ACV mix over all my hair and let that sit, just as I would conditioner. Then I rinse that out. TAda! My hair is clean and conditioned.

The one thing that I'm not fond of, is instead of the yummy smell shampoo/conditioner leaves, my hair now smells like ACV. But, I've found a remedy. After my hair is dry, I'll lightly spritz it with some lavender water (lavender oil in some water) or even drop a drop or two of a different essential oil on my hands and run my hands through my hair. Some people even put the oil on their hair brush and brush their hair afterwards.

I was a bit frightened to try it when I started. It didn't seem like it would clean enough. I was warned that I'd have a "transition" period, where my hair was trying to learn not to create as much oils. (Remember, our heads are used to producing oil in mass quantities to make up for the shampoo stripping it out day after day after day.) After a week or so, it'll realize that it doesn't have to make as much oil, and it'll slow down to just the perfect amount. But, during this "transition" period, my hair did look terribly greasy. (That's what baseball hats are for!)

I haven't been doing it long enough to know if this is true or not, but everyone who has been doing the no-poo method for a few months tells me that once your hair truly adapts, you can even go up to a week between washings. (That's just gross to me... lol)

Since I've started no-pooing, my hair feels super soft. And I've noticed its gotten more curly as well.

I will admit that I do miss the lovely suds that shampoo offers, but the truth is...the suds don't help clean or anything! They are only there to enhance our love affairs with shampoo products. Other than the suds, I'm really enjoying no-pooing.

I dare ya'll to give it a try... :-)

So, that's my no-poo post. Did I lose any of my readers?