I Haven't Used Shampoo Since July 2015

And I could not be happier.

Some of you have probably heard about the no-poo trend which has been making a splash, though not quite a wave, in the online beauty community. Despite the ease with which I found online instructions on how to wane your hair off of shampoo and conditioner, I've only known one other person to actually try it. I understand the "if it aint broke don't fix it" attitude many of us have about our hair, but I can tell you that I am seven months deep into no-poo and it is the single best hair decision I have made.

What I do

After doing some thorough internet scoping, I came to the conclusion that the baking soda & apple cider vinegar no-poo method would work the best for me. I found two squirt bottles in my house (previously used for sauces so I gave them a deep clean to avoid a spicy scalp). Whenever I refill them, I abide by a ratio of one tablespoon of substance (baking soda or apple cider) to a cup of water. Easy peasy!

The baking soda mixture replaces shampoo, and the apple cider vinegar replaces conditioner. I use the baking soda mixture about every other day and just put it directly on my roots where my hair is feeling funky. I massage it in, then rinse it out. It should feel a bit slimy, but not quite sudsy like shampoo. Rinse it out, then squirt the apple cider vinegar solution on your hair from the base of your head down. I like to put my hair in a bun with the ACV in it, then rinse it out after the rest of my shower is finished.

I experienced about a week long transition phase where my scalp was still overproducing oil and the baking soda wasn't quite getting it all. Sure, that was a little gross, but my scalp got used to the baking soda and I haven't looked back. My hair has grown INCREDIBLY since July, and it feels stronger and healthier than ever. My hair used to begin feeling greasy about 8-10 hours after I washed my hair. Now, it takes a full 40 hours or so until I feel even a little bit of ickyness creeping up from my scalp.

Below are a few pictures of my no-poo hair that I took about 10 minutes ago. I did the baking soda and ACV this morning about 12 hours ago, and my roots still feel and look clean and clear as ever. The ACV has nourished my locks pretty well too!

What I wish I knew

There were two noteworthy speedbumps along this journey, as there usually is with any major lifestyle change. One was that I noticed very occasionally that the baking soda solution wouldn't work and would leave my hair still greasy with just a pile of baking soda grains in my scalp. I consulted a chemical engineer friend of mine about this problem and was asked "how long do you wait to use your solution after you make it?" Turns out, I wasn't letting the solution dissolve enough before using it, and essentially dumping dry baking soda on to my head. The solution: use warm or hot water when making your solution if you plan to use it immediately afterward. This will cause the baking soda to dissolve quick enough.

The second speedbump was after a trip to the beach. Something about baking soda and salt just does not bode well for hair. Here is where I admit the falseness of my shocking title. I used shampoo once - after discovering that baking soda is no match for salty hair. This time there was no transition back to baking soda, it worked as well as usual the day after I had to use shampoo.

Environmental win

The most obvious environmental "win" to cutting it off with shampoo and conditioner is the packaging in which it comes. Less plastic consumed equates to less plastic that ends up in a landfill (unless you wash out and recycle your shampoo and conditioner bottles). Consuming less plastic also decreases your individual carbon footprint since fossil fuels are used in the production and transportation of the plastic packaging and its contents. There are also two kinds of chemicals, phtalates and triclosan, present in shampoo that cannot be filtered in water treatment facilities. Both of these chemicals have been linked to toxicity in aquatic life. In short, if you want to be cognizant of what you send down your drain, this is a good place to start.

Greencleaning.com totes baking soda as the most environmentally friendly cleaner that has no known health or environmental impacts and can be safely ingested as an antacid. Mother Earth News has also defended ACV as being entirely harmless as long as it's diluted (as I do in my solution). Looks like a win to me.

Health win

Many mainstream shampoos contain parabens, sulfates, and phtalates which, among the three of them, have links to hormone distruption, skin irritation, and could be possible carcinogens. In addition to scary chemical problems associated with using shampoo, it strips the oil out of your hair causing your scalp to oversecrete those oils. As I mentioned above, the health of my hair dramatically increased after switching to baking soda and ACV.

Money win

I used to buy a bottle of shampoo and a bottle of conditioner about once every 2 months for about $13 for the shampoo (the nice organic kind) and around $9 for conditioner (organic, again). In a year, that's about $132 per year. I've been using the same box of baking soda and the same bottle of ACV since I started no-poo seven months ago. A 16 oz box of Arm & Hammer baking soda is around $1 and a Bragg's 32 oz bottle of ACV is around $5.50. So far, it looks like I'm a bit over half way for the baking soda, and not even half way for the ACV which puts me at around $3 for the year. If you purchase the empty bottles new, it may be more, but I repurposed old bottles that I found in my house to reduce my costs and consumption even more. The point remains, would you rather spend $132 per year on your hair or $3?

Going no-poo, for me, was one of the easiest ways to cut down on my impact, save money, and invigorate my hair with natural health. I encourage everyone I know to take the plunge. It may not work for everyone, but you'll never know if you don't try!

Let me know if you're thinking of making the no-poo switch and tell me how it goes!

Some outside sources:

http://www.news-medical.net/news/2007/12/10/33274.aspx

http://www.americanrivers.org/blog/shampoo-soap-and-toothpaste-the-new-water-pollution/

http://www.besthealthmag.ca/best-looks/hair/5-reasons-to-stop-washing-your-hair/

#hair #beauty #sustainableliving #cleanliving