Make it Yourself Monday: Shampoo & Conditioner

I have recently joined the ranks of people who have gone “no-poo.” I haven’t used shampoo in 8 weeks!

In college, I knew a girl who stopped washing her hair and let her natural oils take over She had smartly dyed her hair black first so that the grease wasn’t as obvious – but I still had no desire to imitate. When I heard about bloggers ditching shampoo, I assumed it was the same thing and kind of averted my eyes.

Then I read this post at Live Renewed and thought “duh! Of course all of these awesome bloggers would be doing something more creative!” I waited until my post-pardum brain fog was gone and then decided to give it a shot.

No-Poo doesn’t mean no washing. It just means using something other than shampoo – most often baking soda to clean and apple cider vinegar to condition.

The Method:

To wash with baking soda, either…

• Fill a squirt bottle or old shampoo bottle about 1/8 full of baking soda and fill the rest of the way with water. Shake well each time you use as the baking soda will settle. Squirt some the mixture (amount will vary with the type and length of your hair) on your wet hair at the roots and work it through well. Let it sit for a few minutes and then rinse.
• Or, make a paste of about 1 Tsp baking soda and a small amount of water and rub that into your hair from the roots, let sit, and rinse.

To condition, fill another bottle 1/4 with ACV and the rest with water. Shake well and apply to hair after washing, let sit, and rinse. You may want to try just conditioning the ends of your hair to prevent greasy roots.

The Verdict:

I was *not* impressed for the first month or so. I’d read there was a “detox” period when hair might be greasy and unmanageable. I told myself I’d stick it out for 6 weeks at least, and as that date was drawing closer, I was getting miserable. I decided to switch from the first shampoo method (above) to the second, and used a LOT of baking soda for good measure. I almost cried when I felt the grease melting away. Turns out, I wasn’t using enough baking soda for my hair, and I wasn’t shaking the bottle enough before using it. I’ve gone back to the first method to save money by using less baking soda, and my hair is doing great! Here’s picture proof:

That last picture was taken mid-day at the WBW event I blogged about, and the first were taken when it was freshly washed and dried last night. I can generally wash my hair every 3 days with this method, though I put it up the third day.

So WHY ditch the suds? What’s wrong with shampoo and conditioner? Suave is only $.99 or less – so frugality can’t be my only motivation! Shampoos, like most beauty products, are pumped full of things that are great for conveniently enhancing our appearance, but unfortunately not our health. Some common suspects are parabens, sulfates, dyes, and frangrances. Many of the ingredients in shampoos are toxic, even carcinogenic, and beauty products that are free of them will cost you a pretty penny (pun intended). Visit the Skin Deep Database created by the Environmental Working Group to look up the products you are currently using and learn more about their ingredients.

I appreciated what Stephanie from Keeper of the Home said in her video blog post – she said that it hasn’t “revolutionized” her hair like some have reported, but she’s happy enough with the results (paraphrased). I’d agree – it’s no better or worse than my hair was with shampoo. But I do feel much better about what I’m exposing my skin (and therefore the rest of my body including my blood and potentially my breastmilk) to.

You may need to play around the with ratios to get the combo that’s best for your hair – don’t be like me and suffer for a month. Check out these posts for more “no-poo” experiences, and then link up to Make it Yourself Monday with your posts about things you make yourself instead of buying pre-made at the store!

Health, Home, and Happiness does no-poo
Keeper of the Home does no-poo and a video
Live Renewed does no-poo
Hospitality Haven talks about traveling with natural hair care supplies