No 'poo!

"...I like granola." Says my husband as I step out of the shower. *Sniff Sniff* I guess he's skeptically checking me over to see if I reek of apple cider vinegar. After he assures me that I don't, I wrap my hair up in a towel and patiently wait for it to dry.

My hair has always been a sore spot for me. My younger days were filled with hot pink mohawks, and raven colored tresses despite my natural chestnut color. I've had my hair more colors than the rainbow, and its really done some damage. I've never been able to get a comb through my hair without some serious conditioner saturation.

So what was going through my head when I decided to forgo that special bond between my hair and its chemical laden treat? Hope. Hope that one day I would be able to forgo the use of all product and have my hair look like the sparkling white mane of a unicorn. Okay maybe not white, but you get the idea.

What is no 'poo?  Well in its simplest form, its not using shampoo to wash your hair. Instead, I'll be using baking soda, and apple cider vinegar (with the occasional coconut oil treatment.) You're thinking, gross...right? Well what do you think people did hundreds of years ago before shampoo was invented? I'm pretty sure the social elite of ancient Egypt didn't run around one stinking pile of grease. So here begins my experiment. By the end of this year, I fully plan on being a "Rinse Only Method" girl. That's an extreme form of the no'poo movement where you only wash your hair with WATER! By January 1st, 2015 I will never again use a single product on my hair. (Other than a hair tie/headband.)

How am I going to manage this? Here's how: Your scalp is just like the rest of your skin. It produces oil from your sebaceous glands. Shampoo is designed to strip away all of that oil (and dirt) from your hair. While removing dirt is a good thing, taking away all of the oil is not. It leaves your hair frail and dry. Your natural oils are there to protect your hair! Conditioner is a synthetic substance designed to mimic the natural oils in your hair. Why remove something natural if you're just going to replace it with something synthetic? The more you wash your hair, the more it strips away oil. Your scalp then goes into panic mode and makes MORE OIL! Then the vicious cycle continues, and you yet again wash your hair.

The trick is to get your body/scalp to make the correct amount of oil to protect your hair...naturally. Once you stop shampooing your hair, your scalp will realize you have too much oil, and will calm down and produce less. Voila! Just like the ancients used to do.

Today was my first full day of no 'poo. I'm also combining this with my regimen of "The Oil Cleansing Method" and "Oil Pulling." More on those topics in another post.

Here's what I did:

- I turned on the shower to get it nice and hot.
- Put my closed jar of coconut oil on the shower floor to heat it up.
- Filled my large plastic cup with hot water, and stirred in two tablespoons of baking soda.
- I then placed my bottle of apple cider vinegar next to the shower.
- I took out my Avacodo, Jojoba and Castor oil mix.
- Slathered that stuff all over my face.
- Took some HOT washcloths and wiped it all off!
- I got undressed and hopped into the shower, saturating my hair with water.
- I then slowly poured the baking soda water over my head.
- Time to "scritch" my scalp and lightly dig up any excess oil or product residue.
- Then you Rinse, Rinse, Rinse!
- I opened my jar of coconut oil and put about a tablespoon in my mouth. Swish, swish swish!
- I kept swishing...
- Next, I poured about two inches deep of ACV into my large cup. Finished it up with water.
- Slowly poured the mix onto my hair.
- Again...Rinse, Rinse, Rinse!
- I then turned the water off, and stepped out to dry off. Still swishing,
- I spat the coconut oil into the trash, and then rinsed my mouth out with some warm water.
- Next, I brushed my teeth...with water.

And that's when my husband came in to perform the sniff test. All in all, my no 'poo shower/oil cleansing/oil pulling combo took me about twenty minutes. Which is what a regular shower would take me. Sometimes it would even take me longer because I would be struggling to rinse out the gross conditioner from my hair, only to find that my hair was gross and slick...after I had already dried off. I'm hoping that I never have to feel that "ugh...do I really have to hop back in and try to rinse this gunk off" feeling again. It isn't pleasant.

So what does my hair feel like, after a day of no 'poo? Oh baby, does my hair feel soft! It didn't take me very long to comb out my hair. Usually it feels dry as straw and has a bunch of tangles. Not a tangle in sight. Of course, this could be that magical day before everything hits the fan (and it will, I already know transitioning can be a cruel, cruel mistress.) It feels sublime today, all fresh and clean.

Remember, your hair WILL transition. Its so used  to being chemical laden that once you take  those chemicals away its going to go into "withdrawal." You are going to be greasy and scuzzy feeling for probably a good month or so, but there is light at the end of the rainbow. And I cant wait to see what that looks like!