Going No 'Poo

No I'm not boycotting pooping, I'm saying good-bye to shampoo and conditioner.  I read about the no 'poo movement years ago and was intrigued.  I have super oily hair so if I go for more than three days without washing it I look like a big oil spill.  However I know that washing your hair is bad for it, not to mention all the scary chemicals and preservatives in shampoo, so I've tried everything to wash it as little as possible. I've tried dry shampoos, baby powder, wearing it up, wearing hats, etc. Nothing has really worked so I'm putting my foot down.  Now your sitting there saying, "but Teagen if you don't wash it your just going to get greasier and greasier!"  Your right, to a point.  When you wash your skin to often it produces more sebum (the oily stuff your skin makes to keep it soft and healthy).  So to keep your face and scalp from to producing more sebum you need to leave the sebum you have alone.  I tell people with acne to wash their faces with really gentle cleansers so as not to strip off to much natural oil.  When you shampoo your hair you strip your scalp and hair of sebum so your scalp just produces more, its a vicious cycle.  The no 'poo method eliminates shampoo.  There are hardcore no'poo-ers that only rinse their hair with water and there are those who use baking soda as a 'wash' and apple cider vinegar as a 'conditioner'.  They both work because after 2 weeks to a few months (depends on the person) your oil has a chance to reach the ends of your hair and you scalp resets, producing less sebum naturally.  No 'poo-ers claim that their hair is shinier, has amazing texture, and styles really well.  I'm taking the plunge and going no 'poo. I will be using baking soda and apple cider vinegar as needed.  I will also be brushing my hair a lot with a boar hair bristle brush to help move the oil down my hair shafts.  If you want to try for yourself here's how your supposed to do it.

Mix anywhere from a tablespoon to a teaspoon of baking soda with water then rub this mixture really well all over your scalp using circular scrubbing motions.  Don't put this on the ends of your hair.  If your hair gets to dry use less baking soda.

Next rinse the ends of your hair with a mixture of two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar and water.  This is your conditioner so don't rinse your scalp.

There are lots of variations of this that include adding honey, lemon, or chamomile but I'm sticking to the basics for now.

Here's a great website full of info
No-poo