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.

No 'poo, Day 28

Day 28
Image: © L. Kathryn Grace

The first day I ditched my empty shampoo and conditioner bottles without replacing them, my hair was a little crunchy after the baking soda wash/vinegar rinse (BS/V).

It's not unusual for my hair to look like unraveled shredded wheat, so that first day was not the disaster I had grown to expect after reading other people's experiences. My scalp felt wonderfully tingly, and my hair was soft, despite its appearance.

I'm happy to report that as I finish week four without shampoo, I don't miss it a bit. My hair looks healthier today, don't you think?

Better still, my scalp feels alive again, and I'm not sneezing in the shower or worse, nauseous due to the load of chemicals and perfumes in hair care products, which have always given me problems.

The best part about this whole no 'poo thing is that I'm not washing my hair every day. Hard to believe, but true. I was convinced when I began this experiment that I would continue to do a full wash every day. Not wash my hair? Yuk. But just as Babyslime and others predicted, once I removed the gunk and goo, I didn't need a daily wash to have vibrant hair.

Now I do the BS/V wash two or three times a week depending on need. Not only do I wash my hair less frequently, but it stays shiny, soft and lovely even if I don't wet it every day.

I give gratitude to the individuals who revived this beauty secret our grandmothers knew so well. I can take a fast shower for the first time in years. I'm saving buckets of water! Plus, I no longer pour gallons of sudsy ooze down the drain and almost directly into the Pacific Ocean.

What I thought would be a difficult experiment is quickly turning into feel-good simplicity I wish I'd discovered years ago.

I'm curious about you. Have you tried the no-shampoo method? If so, how did it work for you? Did you keep at it? Or did you miss your creamy products? If you haven't tried it, what do you think of the idea?

What other ways can you suggest that we as individuals can take personal responsibility for the material we contribute to the waste stream and most particularly to the quality of our air and water in our daily habits?

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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.