'Pooless! Day One

No 'poo Results Day 1: Bit frizzy, not shiny, feels a little crunchy

If we all lived in the world of Ordinary this minute, would our shower stalls be bristling with bottles filled with fruity gels and creamy shampoos? How do Rose and her friends clean their hair? One tiny step toward building Ordinary may be to go 'pooless.

How would you feel if you could forgo shampoo and conditioner bottles from your shopping list altogether? What if there is a way to reduce personal consumption, save a lot of money, and reduce our contributions to landfills and recycling centers. (If you're new to the three Rs, Reduce is the first--and best practice, followed by Reuse and Recycle.)

Turns out, there are several ways to go 'pooless. I've researched a bunch and decided to start with Live Journalist Babyslime's baking soda wash, vinegar rinse method. By returning to basic cleaning elements, I hope to encourage my scalp to achieve its natural pH and my hair to shine with its own oils, produced by my body. Added bonus: The only animal testing done here is on me.

Using such simple substances likely will reduce the amount of oxygen-choking toxins that bubble down the drain and into our streams and oceans every time I shower. In addition to saving fossil fuels used in manufacturing and shipping hair care products, I'll be helping to clean up our rivers and oceans. I'll pollute less.

Note: I'm looking for studies that show whether using bulk-packaged BS and vinegar is less costly, environmentally, than the commercial hair-care products with their long lists of dimethy-this and ethyl-hexal-that. If you know of such research, please point me to it in the comments section below.

To track this experiment, I'll post updates periodically, with images of my hair. I'll let you know how it's working for me. The pic above shows my mane today, after the first wash and air dry. It's about the same as always, a little on the frizzy side, and I understand that's to be expected in the first few weeks while my scalp and hair follicles adjust to the new regimen. The promise is that eventually my hair, free of all those expensive chemicals, will be naturally healthy, shiny and gorgeous.

Have you tried the 'pooless method? If so, how did it work for you? If not, what do you think of the concept?

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We make peace in a million small ways every day.

All text and images, unless otherwise noted, copyright L. Kathryn Grace. All rights reserved.