Tags
ACV, beauty, bicarb soda, conditioner, crunchy, frugal, hair, no 'poo, saving, shampoo
It would be three years ago or more, now, since Frog and I went no ‘poo.
That is, since we stopped using shampoo and conditioner to wash our hair in. Instead, you “shampoo” with a solution of bicarb soda dissolved in water, and “condition” with a solution of diluted apple cider vinegar (ACV) (see the blog post I found it on here). I can’t recommend it highly enough, as without the considerable expense of shampoo and conditioner we have saved probably hundreds of dollars between us. Additionally, now when I go to the hairdresser (which is woefully infrequently) I don’t let them wash my hair for fear that I’ll have to go through that first month all over again.
You see, this is a change you can make – yes, you, even you with the freakishly curly/frizzy/oily/superthick/superthin hair. In fact, you’re probably going to benefit from it more than I did. However, it’s not a change that you can make without some determination. After a few days of not using your usual shampoo and conditioner, your hair gets a bit flat and oily. That continues for a couple of weeks, and scarves and hats are your friends here. Your scalp might begin to itch, but another wash with the bicarb/ACV routine takes care of that. Just as you begin to think, around the four week mark, that it’s never getting better…suddenly, you wake up one day and it’s just fine. Everything’s fine. And you never look back.
It’s been a great journey for me. Firstly, as I noted – the dollar savings are fantastic. Secondly, I’m not contributing pollution to the waterways by using cheap, petroleum-byproduct-based hair products. Thirdly, it’s such an empowering thing to do, declaring your independence from the beauty “industry”. And lastly, as if all that wasn’t enough…my hair looks better than ever.
Hammer and Tongs at the Wheel 
Don’t think I am brave enough to try this
3 years is remarkable! I went for 3 months without rinsing with any product on the roots and my hair went self cleaning 🙂 check out my blog entry about it 🙂
All that time and you went back? I love having no dependence on hair products. My hair’s so robust and easy to manage now.
yeh my mum wasn’t best pleased that I wasn’t washing it, otherwise I’d have probably have kept it going as it was self cleaning! we need to spread the word of self-cleaning hair – too many people over wash their hair and wonder why it’s in such poor condition!
Fascinating…
Is that sarcasm I hear? 😉
No, not at all. It is just something I hadn’t heard of or considered doing.
I see 🙂 Well, that is the aim – get these ideas out there! Who wamts to be dependent on huge corporations for things that are so easily avoided?
I totally agree. Besides that, what about all the gunk we are sending down the drain?
Absolutely! That was the driving force behind my decision years ago to stop dyeing my hair. Now it’s completely natural and the no ‘poo adds another dimension to that.
Thank you!
No worries!