No 'poo, Day 56

Day 56, Sunday, January 3--Still a little crunchy, and a whole lot shorter
Image: © L. Kathryn Grace

Two months ago, when I used the last of my shampoo and conditioner, I chose not to replace them and experimented instead with the baking soda/apple cider vinegar (BSACV) hair care method. I've been happily surprised with the ease of care as well as with the results. You can see earlier pix of my progress on Day 28, Day 15, and Day 1.

My hair has always been on the crunchy side, as I resist any products that make it feel gloppy, goopy or heavy, and I'm happy to report that the quality of texture and shine have not changed significantly. I'm also very much a wash-and-go girl. No elaborate dos or lengthy curling, straightening or taming processes, and I'm absolutely loving that I need wash my hair only every third day--something I haven't dreamed of doing in decades, yet it remains healthy, vibrant and bouncy.

What I'm also loving about BSACV is the way my scalp feels during and after washing and the fact I'm contributing far fewer pollutants and wildlife-threatening chemicals to the streams and oceans.

Here's my process in a nutshell.

Every third day, wash my hair with one tablespoon baking soda (BS) dissolved in one cup warm water, careful to keep the solution close to my scalp and away from the ends, but not so much that I stop enjoying the super-clean, tingly feeling. Rinse the BS thoroughly from my hair and apply one tablespoon apple cider vinegar (ACV), diluted in one cup warm water, to the ends of my hair, avoiding the scalp. Rinse again. The ACV does not linger, and my sweetheart, who is sensitive about such things, still loves to sniff and touch my hair.

The next two days, because there isn't a shower cap in the world that ensnares my mane, I let it get wet when I shower, but I apply no solution or product of any kind.

Each morning and evening, I brush my hair vigorously with a natural bristle brush, which helps my hair shine and distributes the natural oils my body produces. Don't you think it rather bizarre that we've been trained in the last three or four decades to strip our scalp and hair of the perfectly balanced oils our bodies make, then slather on expensive conditioners filled with dubious-sounding ingredients, some of which may be downright harmful?

All those plastic bottles end up in land fills, and the "...cones," "...fates" and "diethyl"-whatevers end up in our streams and oceans where they wreak havoc on the wildlife. We'll talk more about that in a later post, but I have to say, no-'poo hair care is proving to be absolutely liberating.

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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.