A no-poo experiment

I read about washing my hair with a baking soda solution and rinsing with vinegar solution, and doing away with shampoo entirely.  I decided to give it a try.  I have been experimenting with this now for about 8 weeks.  Here is a summary of my before-and-after experiences.

In the months before starting the experiment, my hair would start feeling greasy about 20 hours after being shampooed and conditioned.  It's not just my hair that started feeling greasy around then, but also the areas of my face near my hairline, namely my forehead, cheeks, and chin.  My hair would be tangled after shampooing/conditioning, and would be difficult to comb.  I lost a lot of hair while combing.  The purpose of the hair conditioner is to put artificial oils into my hair, that's why it's easier to comb conditioned hair; however, either my hair conditioner didn't work well, or I was using too little.

After reading a few blogs and articles regarding shampoo, I have come to the conclusion that shampoo strips the natural oils from my scalp, and my scalp is trying to replenish those oils.  Perhaps the shampoo also touched my face, and so my face, too, is trying to replenish those stripped oils.

The articles I read suggest using a baking soda solution for washing hair instead of shampoo, and an apple cider vinegar solution as a rinse.  I did not have any apple cider vinegar so I used rice vinegar instead.  Apple cider vinegar has 3-5% acidity.  The rice vinegar I used had 4.1% acidity.

Ingredients
1 tablespoon of baking soda
1 tablespoon of rice vinegar
2 cups of warm water

Instructions
1) Mix baking soda with 1 cup of warm water.
2) Mix vinegar with 1 cup of warm water.
3) Wet hair thoroughly.
4) Slowly pour baking soda solution onto hair, rubbing it into the scalp.  Keep eyes  closed.  This took about 1 minute.
5) Let stand for 3 minutes, during which time I cleaned the rest of myself.
6) Slowly pour vinegar solution onto hair, rubbing it into the scalp.  Keep eyes closed.  This took about 1 minute.
7) Rinse.


My hair was easy to comb after washing with baking soda, even though I did not use any hair conditioner.  This was to be expected since I did not use any shampoo to strip the natural oils out of my hair.  Hence, I lost less hair.  Washing with baking soda solution and rinsing with vinegar solution is more inconvenient than using shampoo and conditioner, primarily since I mix the baking soda and vinegar before each treatment, whereas the shampoo and conditioner are already in bottles ready for my use.  It would not be convenient for me to  premix the baking soda solution and store it in a bottle for later use unless I were willing to use the baking soda solution cold.

The first 3 weeks of the no-poo experiment were the hardest.  My hair felt greasy and even waxy.  My scalp itched.  The baking soda did not remove the oils that my scalp was producing.  Once a week, the waxiness became too much to bear and I would use shampoo.

By the 4th week of the no-poo experiment, my scalp seemed to be adjusting much better to the absence of shampoo.  The waxiness waned and I felt less discomfort.  I continued to shampoo my hair once a week, using less shampoo each time.  Slowly, my scalp is adjusting.  A few hours after my weekly shampoo is when my hair feels its best--it feels like baby's hair, soft and fluffy.  As the week wears on, my hair feels greasier.

Ultimately, by weaning myself of shampoo and conditioner, I hope to have baby soft hair more permanently.

References
http://www.natural-forces.com/essays/poofree.htm
http://heidiandseek.blogspot.com/2009/05/shampoo-not-best-way-to-clean-hair-how.html
http://www.naturemoms.com/no-shampoo-alternative.html