no poo?

I am sure you have all had an experience similar to the one I am about to mention in your lives.  What happens is that you go about life doing your normal stuff and then one day, you learn about something new.  You might think to yourself, hmm, that's interesting.  And then all of the sudden you start noticing said thing EVERYWHERE and you can't believe that you hadn't learned about it sooner. 

This happened to me over the summer while learning about the no poo method of hair care.  Have you heard of it?  Aimee wrote a post that had a couple of good links to informative articles.  But basically what you do is stop using shampoo and conditioner on your hair. The belief is that your hair doesn't really need those things.  After a brief detoxing period (2 weeks- 2 months), your hair is supposed to become shiny, healthy, soft, and neutral smelling.  There are some things you can do to help stabilize your hair's natural oils and cut the grease while doing so.  Some of these things include massaging the scalp, rinsing with baking soda and/or apple cider vinegar, rinsing with lemon juice, even washing with honey or yogurt.

The idea intrigued me and I decided to give it a go.  I have been at it for about 9 weeks now.  I have to say that my hair does not really look FANTASTIC, but it doesn't really look bad either.  However, until this week, my hair had been feeling REALLY GROSS. I had to go get my hair cut during this time of detox and it was quite embarrassing and I think the hair stylist was pretty freaked out by me.  I promised to go back when my hair had its miraculous turn around that I am believing in.  I was not prepared for it to take this long though and I was wondering what was up.  I asked for some advice on the Raw Fu forum where no pooing is popular among some of its members.  I think what we discovered was that I was not wetting my hair enough - i.e. every day.  I normally don't and I think after my hair works itself out, I won't have to.  (Also after you get through the initial period of shampoo detox, you should be able to just wash with water most of the time.)  But to get your hair to start feeling good, it sounds like it's the best idea to at least rinse it every day.  This is somewhat of a pain for me because I have thick hair and it takes a while to dry.  But I have been wetting it every day this week and it is starting to feel better. 

I was also using the baking soda/ ACV rinse, but realized the baking soda was much too harsh for my scalp. It was starting to get itchy on top of it all!  One women recommended doing it only once a month and I was doing it a couple times a week, so I have stopped that and it has made a huge difference.  What I like the best, as odd as it sounds, is washing my hair with honey.  You just have to wash it out well.  Honey is very cleansing and was an ingredient in the shampoo that I was using before I gave it up.  I have used it to mask my face even, so I guess it is not that odd.  This week, though, I have been using mostly water. 

Last week, I was at my wit's end, but with the motivation of the Raw Fuers, I forged on.  This week, I feel a glimmer of hope that my hair will know what it means to be soft once again.  I do have to say though, that as soon as I did find out about the no poo movement, I immediately stopped using shampoo on Rowan.  His hair would definitely have the least amount of shampoo addiction out of all of us because a). I washed his hair infrequently anyway and b). it was always with a gentle, natural shampoo (SLS free, but not paraben free).  Anyhow, he has fine hair and it started to look great RIGHT AWAY- with a little body to it even.  Steve and I noticed a remarkable difference in appearance only Steve hadn't realized that we had stopped the shampoo.  Also, after Rowan slept at night, the back of his head would always turn fuzzy and I would have to wet it down.  Ever since we started the no poo on him, it hasn't been a problem.  Silas is in on it too and his hair has been looking nice too and feels soft.  So, through my boys, I do have hope. 

It will be very freeing though to not have to put shampoo or (any hair care products) into the budget and it feels nice to not have shampoo clutter on the shelves in the shower. 

So, I am keeping my fingers crossed to see what the next few weeks will bring. 

Comments

[odelsa]

So the question I have is, what if you have curly hair? Would this treatment work as well. I have noticed that it does not matter what Shampoo I use or conditioner it always dries out my hair. I have long curly hair. I am very interested in this. I have never heard of it before.I always untangle my hair in the shower with conditioner.Is there an alternative. Oh, by the way. I just found your blog and love it. Thank you!

[sara]

Hi Odelsa,
I haven't read it, but there is a book called curly girl. It sounds to me that you already instinctually do what the book prescribes which is to stop using shampoo and just use conditioner. This is just a little glimpse of what I assume the book is about from what I have seen online. I seen lots of women with curly hair recommend it though. I also have come across a couple of women who say they LOVE their curls ever since no poo. I am still struggling through it and praying that I reach the point where I love my hair! So, check out the book. I know my library carries it, so maybe your library will too!

[odelsa]

Thank you darling! I will look it up.

[sheri]

I'm a fellow no poo'er! I haven't washed my hair in 15 months.
Initially I weaned off my sls-free, paraben-free shampoo and did the baking soda wash with apple cider vinegar rinse. And then I decided that I didn't need either of those, so I began using just water. Very pleased with the results! I had a lovely transition period after switching to no poo (wearing a hat was very necessary!), but now it's all good. My whole family no poo's, even the baby.

How is it going for you? Hope you're liking your results!