I’ve received quite a few questions about my no ‘poo experience in the past few weeks. Many of you want to know what the transition period is like, and how things feel after you’ve been doing the whole no ‘poo thing for an extended period of time.
But the question I was getting most? How do you wash your hair without shampoo?
It’s been…well, a bit of a roller coaster. We were doing great, and then we took Smalls to a water park. I swore I’d keep my hair dry…but then he smiled his little “mama, puh-leeeeeease” smile and I was SUNK.
So we splashed, we played, we went down the waterside, and we got totally, completely soaked. With highly chlorinated water. I’m sure that you know that chlorine isn’t good for your hair. And it’s REALLY not good if you’ve started no ‘poo. So much for my transition period!!
Sometimes Nothing Works
So I had to start over. And for some reason, NOTHING seemed to work. I tried Dirty ‘Poo, baking soda, and going a FULL WEEK without washing. My hair was super upset with me.
It was frizzy, dry, brittle, and nothing was working. So I took a deep breath and started doing some research (shocker!).
What I found didn’t surprise me, as chlorine strips your hair of its natural oils (much like most commercial shampoos). So I resigned myself to starting over.
Starting Over
This time, I decided to take a gentler approach, and wash my hair using Dirty ‘Poo with about 1 Tablespoon of baking soda and 20 drops of Rosemary Essential Oil. And you know what?
I wasn’t loving it. My hair was still really dry. I added in an ACV rinse, and that helped, but still didn’t get me there. So I started looking into oils. Not essential oils, but carrier oils.
I found that some people use coconut oil, some use grapeseed, and some use argan. I happen to know that my hair seriously LOVES argan oil
Even with the revelation, I I found that the max I could go without a ponytail was 1 or *maybe* 2 days. That was hard…but it got better. I resolved to wash my hair every 3 days until I could go 3 days without being an oil slick. After about 2 weeks, I’ve been able to stretch it out to 4 days. My goal is washing once a week, and I realize that it will take some time to get there.
I’ve found that I NEED baking soda for my hair to really feel clean.
Maybe it’s from all those years of traditional shampoo, or maybe it’s just psychological.
Either way, I don’t like Dirty ‘Poo much without it at this point. Of course, as I am able to go longer between washings, I think that I will try to wean my hair off the baking soda to avoid stripping my natural oils too much.
Updated July 2014
Giving Up
After a long battle, I have found that my hair really doesn’t jive with the no poo method. The baking soda dries my hair out way too much, and I spend so much time trying to correct this that I’ve decided that it’s time to wave the white flag.
I wanted no poo to work. I really did. I mean, it sounds wonderful and it’s healthy and it works for a lot of people. Just not me. So, rather than going back to traditional shampoos, I’ve found something that’s a little bit in between: Morrocco Method.
It’s a raw vegan hair care line that uses 5 different cleansers to help balance your hair. It’s vegan, gluten free, dairy free, raw, and it smells awesome. I grabbed their starter pack when it was on sale and I’ haven’t looked back.
I finally have happy hair that I can wash every few days without it looking like straw or taking forever to adjust. I mean, 9 months into no poo and my hair was still a mess. That’s miserable.
But, if you can make it work for you, I would love to hear about! Leave me a comment below and let me know what you’re doing to care for your hair.
Read the rest of my no ‘poo journey here: