Adventures in No-Poo

I mentioned in my first post that part of the inspiration for this website came from bothering my roommates with stories of my hair. Well, here's a fuller account.

I have become a participant in what has become known as the no-poo movement. No-poo meaning no shampoo. The idea is that most commercial shampoos contain lots of harsh ingredients that strip your hair of its natural oils, causing it to overcompensate and get super oily and greasy super quickly (thus necessitating the need for more frequent shampoos). In addition, those same ingredients may be causing all sorts of other problems. Check out the Cosmetics Database to see what I'm talking about. There are a lot of negative things that can be traced back to various chemicals that are put into all sorts of hygiene and beauty products and which are not regulated in the slightest.

Some people go no-poo to avoid these chemicals. Others go no-poo to limit plastic consumption. Still others circumvent shampoo to save some money. Others do it because they've discovered their hair looks better without it.

I decided to go no-poo in January for three of those reasons, while hoping for the last one to come true. I would love for my hair to look magical and gorgeous without spending any money, contributing to overflowing landfills or contaminating myself with chemicals. We have yet to see if that's possible.

My journey thus far:

• Since about November 2010 (maybe even earlier--I wasn't keeping track), I switched to Sodium Laurel Sulfate-free shampoos (that's one of those harsh chemicals some people like to avoid), and eventually cut that out and went to conditioner-only washing. It was fine. I didn't really notice any difference in my hair.
• In January I decided to cut even the conditioner out and I started washing my hair with the baking soda/apple cider vinegar method (one of the most popular methods for no-poo-ers). The first wash my hair was amazing. It dried very quickly, and it looked soft and had bounce and there were limited frizzies. It was actually quite magical. I didn't wash my hair for four days and it still looked incredible. After I got rained on one day it looked even nicer. I loved it.
• I loved my 'poo-less hair so much I wanted to take it one step further. I took a stab at going water-only, meaning I washed my hair with just water and nothing else. I made it a couple of weeks before my hair was so greasy and so plastered against my head that I just couldn't take it anymore, so I did another baking soda/apple cider vinegar wash.
• This happened a few times, and it was only the second or third time that the baking soda started to get really drying. I would put it in my hair and scrub and immediately my hair would turn to slippery straw and my hands would get caught in it and in an attempt to free myself I would break off tons of hair. Upon drying it would be full of frizzies and although my hair is naturally very wavy--bordering on curly--after using baking soda and vinegar my hair would be straight and lifeless. Sure it looked clean, but it was also broken and parched.

(sidenote: I know a lot of people talk about how important it is to figure out the ratio that works best for you when it comes to baking soda and vinegar. I wasn't too psyched about embarking on that journey considering I might break off half my hair in the process.)

• Next I tried an egg wash. Supposedly an egg (or just a yolk), scrubbed into your hair will bring about lots of body and shine. I decided to try it. I mixed a little bit of vinegar in with an egg yolk (a suggestion I had read online and later in a 19th century housekeeping manual) and washed my hair with it. My hair was still pretty sticky and gross, and nothing much changed. Except for the smell. I don't know if I just didn't rinse well enough but my hair stank of fried egg. It was gross. It was so obnoxious that a couple of hours later I washed my hair with baking soda and vinegar to get the smell out. It only kind of worked. In the end the smell of egg mingled with that of vinegar and I tried my best to avoid catching a whiff of my own head.
• Back to the interwebs for more research! A website suggested aloe vera gel. I bought some (the stuff I bought was meant to be drunk. I don't know if that has an affect on anything). The grease build-up in my hair remained, but my curls were less chunky (in a very good way) and there was a definite shine. In fact, there was enough good about it I would not rule out a good aloe vera rinse every once in a while. My hair seemed to enjoy it.
• I still needed something to clear away the grease. Not only does it make my hair look wet at all times, it also covers my hands with a gunky film whenever I run them through my hair. Unpleasant. So I bought a J.R. Liggett's Old-Fashioned Shampoo Bar. Remember that Cosmetics Database I mentioned? Well the bar gets a 2 on that. I think because of the sodium hydroxide they throw in, but there's enough natural oils and such I thought I'd give it a try. The verdict: it's not the best, but it's made me want to try other shampoo bars. When washing with it I felt like there was actually something substantial in my hair for the first time since I used a more commercial shampoo. I could feel that something was in my hair, and it was pleasant. My hair got a little slimy sticky (similar to how it gets when I use baking soda), but I was able to run my fingers through it without them getting caught and ripping chunks out in the process of freeing them. When I got out of the shower I was able to comb through it without problem, and the smell is pleasant. It also dries rather quickly.

So that's where I am in my no-poo journey. I've tried a bunch of different things, admittedly very few for any serious amount of time. I'm still committed to not returning to store-bought chemical-laden shampoos, but I'm not ready to cut out everything altogether yet. At this point my goal is to find a good shampoo bar I really like and then very, very slowly wean myself off of that and work towards washing with water-only. Then again, if I find a 'poo bar that works great and is reasonably priced I wouldn't be opposed to lathering up once or twice a week indefinitely.

Expect more updates on my hair and no-poo journey as I try new shampoo bars and occasional other rinses (I hear beer is fantastic). The journey is hardly over.