No Poo... Yeah, I Went There

Today, I am going to talk to you about poo.

O.k.  Probably not what you think.  Shampoo.

I have been no-poo for over a month and a half, now.  Meaning, I do not wash my hair with shampoo anymore.  (Collective gasp of disgust)  No really, guys!  It's ok!  My hair is clean, I just don't wash it with commercial soaps that are harsh and strip the scalp of its natural oils!
Allow me to 'esplain:
Shampoo as we know it didn't break onto the scene until the 20s or 30s.  Even then, it wasn't recommended that anyone wash their hair more than once a month or once a week.  In the 1970s, Fara Faucet spawned a follicle revolution when she said that she washed her hair with shampoo every day.  From then on, it was mandatory that we wash our hair every. single. day.  And when we don't, our hair gets nasty and greasy, right?  So then we have to wash it more!  What's actually happening is the harsh chemicals in commercial shampoo (especially the sulfates) is stripping the hair of any and all oils.  The problem with this is the shampoo chemicals can't distinguish between your natural sebum (healthy oil that your scalp naturally produced to keep your skin hydrated) and grease from dirt, so it just strips everything out.  As a result, your scalp says "aaaaah!  It's so dry in here!  Quick, make extra oil to compensate!"  Thus, your head gets greasy again, causing you to need to wash it again.  Your hair may feel squeaky clean, but you're severely messing with the scalp's natural checks and balances, and harming your scalp and hair in the long run!
What did our foremothers do before shampoo?  Was their hair a nasty greasy mess?  uh... no.  In fact, up until the 1900s, women were advised to wash their hair only once a year.  Once a YEAR.  But in the photographs of your great-great-grandmother, is her up-do disgusting?  Does your flapper grandmother have greasy waves?  No, actually.  Their hair looks pretty lustrous and awesome.  Why?  Because they didn't mess with it!

So what is no-poo?  It's washing your hair with natural alternatives.  The most common method (and the one I have been employing) is baking soda (BS) and apple cider vinegar (ACV).  There are many different ways to get the BS and ACV onto your hair.  The method that I found works best for me is keeping a jar of BS by my shower.  Before I step in, I scoop a tablespoon into my hand.  In the shower, I mix a teensy bit of water and work it into a paste which I then work through my hair.  I let it sit a while as I wash my face, then rinse it out.  Then I use a spray bottle with 1 TBS ACV and 1c water and spray just the ends of my hair.  The ACV is a natural conditioner.  I let this concoction sit on my follicles while I wash my body.  Then rinse it all out (your hair won't smell like vinegar when it's all rinsed out of your hair, don't worry!) and you're done!  Boom.  Simple as that.  I do this every other day.

The first week was great!  No nasty greasiness.  The second week I started heading into the dread transition period.  See, when you go off these harsh chemicals, your head goes "wait a minute, what happened to that stuff?  Shouldn't it be here by now?  I'm supposed to be double-timing sebum production right now!  Does not compute!  Does not compute!  Aaaah!" so it overproduces sebum while it's adjusting to the lack of regular chemical baths.  This is ok.  It's natural and - like all things - this, too, shall pass.  My transition period took about a month.  Some people never go through it, some people go through it for several months... it just depends on the person.
So there you have it!  Now my hair is frizz-free, easy to style, and it just feels... happy!  I comb and brush it often, so any excess sebum is well distributed and (I think) unnoticeable.  But really, the only time I notice anything other than squeaky clean is on my second or third day of not washing.  Even then, though, it's not visible, it's just a feeling.
But we hippie chicks are all about our feelings, aren't we?
Happy washing!

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