Hello February, Goodbye Shampoo!

Does anyone else feel like last month flew by? Here we are, February 1, and it's time for me to transition to the next phase of my beauty detox. Apparently the no-shampoo method is highly debated on the internet, or so say many other beauty bloggers that have tried this method. If you go looking for other information on this topic, you'll find that it's commonly referred to as "no 'poo," which I think is just stupid. It's somebody's failed attempt at being cute and clever, at least in my opinion. So you will never see me use that term, but I digress.

For those of you who are completely unfamiliar with the whole thing, the idea is that you ditch the shampoo and conditioner and replace them with baking soda and a vinegar rinse. Why would someone do such a thing?! Well, shampoos and conditioners fall into that same unregulated category of cosmetics that contains a plethora of potentially hazardous ingredients. In addition to letting those nasty chemicals seep into your blood via the scalp, what you rise away goes down the drain and is released into the environment.

Shampoos in general are very basic, typically ranging from 9–11, which is rough on your skin. Conditioners are typically acidic from ingredients like citric acid. I could not find the typical range for conditioners, but I would bet that it's not enough to balance out your skin. Shampoo's general role is to get rid of dirt and oils from the scalp and hair. Conditioner then sweeps in and replaces the good stuff you took out. Unfortunately, the artificial stuff is toxic, and it also does not do as good of a job as your scalp can do for itself when left alone.

But what about my pretty-smelling hair?! I can't walk around with my hair actually smelling like hair. Turns out artificial fragrances are one of the most common toxic ingredients in all cosmetics, and you should be wary of ingredients like "fragrance", or "parfum". How vague is that? It's like when food contains the ingredient, "flavor". You should definitely be suspicious. Don't get me wrong, nice-smelling hair is one of my favorite things, but I prefer being healthy. So I decided to go with natural oils to give my hair a nice scent.

Most shampoos and conditioners contain silicone, usually listed as dimethicone. This is to provide shine and make hair smooth and less frizzy. Apart from being an organ and environmental toxin, this stuff will coat your hair and then make it unable to absorb moisture, drying it out in the long run. Here's a link to a page with other common toxic ingredients you might find in your shampoo.

Through my readings on this subject, I came across a few different methods. Most people suggest using 1–2 tablespoons of baking soda, depending on how thick your hair is. Some suggest making a paste in your hand; others dissolve it in water, then pour it on the scalp for evener distribution. I decided to just make a paste so I could be lazy and just keep a jar of baking soda in the shower. If the baking soda is too drying for your scalp, there is the option of adding a natural oil to the mix. Common suggestions included olive oil, coconut oil, jojoba oil, and tea tree oil. The benefit of using baking soda is that it removes dirt from the hair and scalp, but leaves the good stuff like natural oils.

You may recall from my earlier post that baking soda has a pH of 9 – a bit too basic for the skin. This is one of the reasons you do a vinegar rinse after.

Vinegar works in a couple different ways, one of which is that it closes the cuticle surrounding the hair. This helps keep the hair smooth, protects it from damage, and lets the hair reflect light, making it "shiny". It also helps remove buildup and residue of dirt, oil, and hair care products. It can also stimulate blood flow in the capillaries, improving the scalp's overall health. Most people seem to favor apple cider vinegar (ACV), but white should work just as well. One blogger even preferred white because the ACV was too "heavy" for her hair.

Most people say there is an adjustment period of anywhere from 2–8 weeks where your scalp rebalances everything. During this time you can expect your hair to be fairly unpredictable, e.g. very oily one day, very dry the next, etc. I'm hoping that since I wash my hair 2–3 times a week, mine will adjust quickly.

I was afraid the vinegar was going to leave me smelling like a salad, but others who have tried this assured me over and over that the vinegar smell dissipates as it dries. Even so, I did not like the prospect of having my hair smell like nothing, so I opted to add lavender essential oil to my rinse.

One thing that was mentioned by most bloggers is the use of "hard water", meaning high concentrations of minerals in your water. Apparently, most shampoos contain ingredients to combat this problem and prevent mineral build up. One natural option is to use distilled or rain water. Installing a water softener is another. I'm not doing either of those because I'm poor and lazy, so we'll just have to see how this goes.

Here's what you'll need:

Baking Soda
1 small glass or stainless steel container
1 tablespoon measure
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 cup water
4 drops lavender essential oil (optional)

I just poured my baking soda in an airtight container to keep in the shower. You could also dilute it (1 tbsp : 1 cup water) and leave it in a bottle in the shower if you prefer. I have a cute tablespoon measure that was given as part of a favor at a wedding I went to over the summer that has just been sitting in a drawer doing nothing for months, so I decided to just leave that in the shower with my jar of baking soda.

I diluted 2 tbsp of vinegar in 1 cup of water and poured it into an old stainless steel water bottle I had lying around. I added 4 drops of essential oil and shook it all together.

The first thing you want to do is wet your hair. Then proceed to either make a paste with the baking soda in your hand, or pour the pre-dissolved solution all over your scalp, focusing on the roots. Since I didn't make a solution, I stuck my head under the shower for a second to help dilute and distribute the baking soda. Massage the mixture into your scalp for about 1 minute, slightly longer if you have very oily hair. One thing many people have noted about this method is that you get zero lather from the baking soda. It's true; it has more of a tingly, slippery feel to it. Be gentle on your hair as you work this stuff in, as your hair might be brittle from previously used, drying products. The last, very important step is to rinse thoroughly. This is important because you don't want any baking soda residue on the scalp. Not only is it drying and basic, which may cause irritation, but if you remember science class, there could be bad reaction if there is still baking soda in your hair when you do your vinegar rinse.

Many people suggest not putting the vinegar rinse directly on the scalp and concentrating on the length of the hair. I do not recommend this because of what we know about skin pH. Also, the scalp should always be your area of concern because healthy scalp = healthy hair. Besides, there is plenty of rinse to go around, so you don't have to choose! Pour the solution evenly over your hair and scalp and massage for a few seconds. I let mine sit for about 3 minutes while I wash my body. My scalp started to tingle a little, and I decided it was time to rinse.

I was actually surprised at how smooth and sleek my hair felt while I was rinsing it: similar to the way it feels when you rinse out conditioner.

Here's my "before" picture. It has been about 4 days since I last washed my hair, and my hair had been up in a bun the night before, so it has a bit more body and waves than it would normally. It was also pretty oily at the roots and dry toward the ends.

One thing I was concerned about are tangles. I have tons of fine, wavy hair, so I get tangled very easily. Fortunately, when you don't strip your hair of its natural oils, your hair is less likely to tangle. I would like to add a side note that vigorously rubbing your hair with a towel can not only tangle hair, but it can also cause damage and breakage. So now I'm in the habit of gently squeezing it dry and putting it up in a hair towel for a little while.

 After the wash my hair was about as tangled as it would be if I had used shampoo and conditioner. Typically, I would reach for my olive oil heat protecting spray, which doubles as a fantastic detangler, but since I'm going au naturel I opted for a little bit of coconut oil instead. The result was smooth, easy-to-brush hair.

When I blow dried my hair, the roots were behaving as though they were oily, even though they looked and felt quite (surprisingly) clean. I could not get any lift, and the top of my hair is quite flat. This also happened when I used commercial shampoos (though not as bad) and could be partially attributed to the heaviness of having lots of fine hair, and possibly from being left in the towel too long.

Overall I'm quite surprised and satisfied with the results. My hair is quite smooth and shiny and does not smell like vinegar! It has a very light scent of lavender on the ends. I will have to have my boyfriend smell the roots when I see him to find out if the vinegar smell has lingered there. It will be interesting to see how my hair changes over the next month.

For other people's takes on this process, you can read here:

• http://marymakesdinner.typepad.com/marymakespretty/2013/08/life-after-shampoo.html
• http://ruralspin.com/2012/04/22/tips-and-tricks-to-go-shampoo-free/