no-(sham)poo

double hair knot picture http://www.fashionising.com

 I've only been shampooing about once every five days for a while now so I thought I'd take advantage of the warmer weather and give the no-poo method a try.

What? You haven't heard of no-poo?  Here's a quote of the Wikipedia description of the practice:

The first synthetic shampoos were introduced in the 1930s,^[3] with daily shampooing becoming the norm in the US by the 1970s and 1980s.^[1] Proponents of "no poo"-practices believe that shampoo removes the natural oils (sebum) produced by the scalp—causing the scalp to produce more oil to compensate.^[1][2] They also believe that regular shampooing causes a "vicious cycle" to develop as it becomes necessary to shampoo regularly to compensate for the excess oils produced by the scalp (which are produced in response to being stripped from the scalp by the previous shampooing).^[1]According to some dermatologists, a gradual reduction in shampoo use will cause the sebaceous glands to produce at a slower rate, resulting in less oil on the scalp and hair.^[2] In the 2010 book Packing for Mars, Soviet research is quoted as "the skin halts its production of sebum—after five to seven days of not bathing...."^[4] The time taken to break the cycle after adopting "no poo"-practices varies, however a "two- to six-week period" is typical.^[1]

... So basically, not using chemical shampoos and instead adopting natural products as cleanser and conditioner for your hair is better for you and will make it less oily in the long run. Sounds like its worth giving it a try!

I researched my own cleaning recipes on line and decided to go with what I found most frequently; baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) as a cleansing rinse and then an apple cider vinegar rinse to condition.  Both rinses are one teaspoon to one cup ratios.  You mix up the ingredients in two separate ups and hop in the shower... Wet your hair, and throw on the baking soda mixture, keeping close to the roots. Rub it in well and then rinse well. When I did tie I got a strange sensation that my hair was squeaky clean... Like when you wash a Tupperware container and the soap rinses all the oils away really well and you can hear it squeak.  Then do the same with the vinegar rinse but concentrating on the lengths of your hair. Don't worry about the smell cause it doesn't remain on the hair at all and I didn't even smell it in the shower, it being diluted before.

I did my first 'wash' today and dried my hair with the dryer on low heat right afterwards and the first things I noticed were how shiny my hair was and how thick it seems. It wasn't even more tangled than it normally is when I use a heavy duty conditioning treatment, and I expected to be fighting with knots.  I will keep you posted as to how it goes!

Looking forward to healthier, shinier, longer hair!