I wrote here about how I went shampoo free and just wanted to add a quick update as to how that's going.
I did the method listed in my previous post for a little over a month. I loved the results (once I got all the kinks worked out) and definitely would never want to go back to commercial hair products. However, it is a bit time consuming having to mix up special batches and sit with it on my hair for half an hour. I decided to start looking around my favorite sites, forums, & blogs for some other homemade or all-natural alternatives to what I was doing. I found a review for Prairieland Herbs on Woman Uncensored's blog and decided to check out their website. They had some pretty cool stuff, and it was still chemical free, so I decided to give it a try.
Here's what we ordered:
Peppermint & Tea Tree oil Shampoo Bar - This one's just for me & I LOVE it!! It smells AMAZING!
Wild Man Shampoo Bar - 1 for my "Wild Man" and 1 for my 2 teen boys. My DH has always had issues with dandruff, even when using dandruff shampoos, but with this his scalp is never itchy or dry. He's hooked. My boys just think I'm weird for getting into all this natural stuff, lol, but I think they like how soft it makes their hair.
Baby Bubbles Soap - I use this for my 6 yo son & 3 yo daughter. It's not a "shampoo bar", but I still use it for their hair. It makes their hair and skin super soft! My daughter has SUPER wild, curly hair and it makes the curls really bounce. I also love that it cuts down on the washing part of bath time so they have more play time in the bath.
Rosemary & Lavender Vinegar Rinse - Ok, so nobody else will use this because of the smell. My DH used it once & that was enough for him. The smell IS pretty intense, after all, it's vinegar. I still use it every time and feel like it gives me that conditioner feeling of super sleek & easy to comb through. Oh well, more for me.
Bay Rum Shaving Bar - I'm the only one who has tried this so far. DH is finishing up his regular shaving cream before he starts using it. Don't think my boys have even noticed it (though they are at the shaving stage.) I really like it. It is much smoother while shaving so I'm less likely to nick myself, I'm clumsy. And it leaves my legs & underarms feeling smooth & soft so I don't have to worry about lotion (not that I ever bothered with it before, lol.) Thinking I'll get one just for the boys so they won't be touching mine :-).
I was also sent a sample size bar of the Sage Cedar & Sweetgrass Shampoo Bar. We haven't tried this one yet but it smells AMAZING!! In fact, other than the Vinegar Rinse, it all smells pretty good. The tea tree & peppermint smell is my favorite, but I like those scents. The great thing about these is that all the shampoo bars can double as a bath bar as well, which I love. And I've noticed it cuts down every one's shower/bath times. Who knew we were spending so much time opening bottles & squeezing junk out of them? I'm washing my hair every 2-3 days, so a little more than when I was completely no-poo, but if I miss a couple days I don't feel or look overly greasy. In fact my hair looks better than it ever has and is pretty easy to manage (which is a miracle in and of itself.)
One more positive I've found in these, now don't judge, is that they seem to help with color. I know I'm not THAT old, but I have...gray hair. Ok, so the secrets out. But depending on your hair color, they have products that can help with the grays...without having to mess with dyes. As you can see above, I use the Peppermint & Tea Tree Shampoo Bar and the Rosemary & Lavender Vinegar Rinse. I noticed that the grays are coming in less & less. I didn't realize that Rosemary & Lavender were natural colorants for brown hair. They have some actual color rinses that can be purchased & I will probably try one sometime soon. When I started no-poo I decided I would be looking for natural alternatives to chemical hair dye so I'm excited to try this and happy for how my hair's looking already.
I understand that GBD is a type of gateway to a more, er, crunchy lifestyle and am finding that to be true. I've been changed nearly all my personal hygiene products to natural rather than chemical and am loving the changes. But I'll go more into detail on that at another time.
Showing posts with label shampoo free. Show all posts
Showing posts with label shampoo free. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Friday, January 28, 2011
My 'no poo' adventure
A couple months ago a friend posted on facebook that she had been shampoo free for a month. My thought? "Ewww! That's so disgusting. What a freak!" Then, I saw another post about it that explained a little more about what it was and actually started thinking, "This might not be so bad." So after a couple weeks and further research on the topic, I decided to give it a try. Here's my journey.
Thursday: Last day of commercial shampoo.
Saturday: I gather everything I need to mix up what seems to be the go to "shampoo" to use. I mixed 2 tbsp. baking soda w/ 2 cups hot water, let it dissolve, and hopped in the shower. I wasn't really sure where to start, so I dumped a little on and started working it in. It was kind of odd, mainly because it basically just feels like warm water being dumped on your head. I scrubbed, let it soak, and left it on until I was done with my shower, and rinsed it all out. I toweled dried a little and then tried to get a brush, a comb, anything through it. It felt WEIRD. It was kinda like a greasy horse's tail. Very coarse while at the same time very oily.
Monday: Let's try this again. This time I rinsed it out right away and used 1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar with 1 cup hot water and used it like a conditioner, just putting it on the ends, and left it on until the end of the shower. This time I was able to brush through the ends, but the top was still pretty greasy.
Wednesday: Same thing, but this time I doubled the ACV solution and dumped it all over. By this point, I was ready to give up. My hair was AWFUL! It had only been a week and everything I read said there was a 2-week to 2-month transition period. At some point I would actually have to be seen in public and I wasn't sure how many I would scare away with my greasy, straw hair.
Saturday: I decide to wait 3 days, because the goal is to go longer in between washes, and perhaps me not waiting long enough isn't giving me the goal results. After searching the internet for ANY alternative to the baking soda, I combine a couple "recipes" and Voila! Out comes the Magic Bullet, a perfect contraption for making homemade shampoos. I mix together 2 egg whites, a tiny bit of olive oil, & about 1/2 a cap full of vanilla extract for my new shampoo. For the conditioner, I mix 2 egg yolks & a peeled lemon. My kids thought I was pretty crazy! So I hop in the shower, rub the "shampoo" into my scalp, & rub the "conditioner through the rest of my hair. I could immediately feel a difference! For the first time in a week I could actually run my fingers through my hair. I leave it on for the duration of my shower and then rinse it out. Now, this part is very important! You must be careful to rinse everything out. Otherwise, when the leftover lemon parts dry, it will look like you have the worst possible dandruff. I towel dried a bit, then went ahead and used my hair dryer (it was my birthday, so I was pretty sure my darling Husband was taking me to dinner, which he did.) The ends of my hair were PERFECT! Very soft, very lush. The top was still a bit oily, so once it was dry I combed in some corn starch to the extra oily areas. It looked pretty good. Good enough to be seen in public. :)
Tuesday: 3 days again, and not too bad. Instead of mixing the shampoo & conditioner separately I made one big batch. I mixed 2 eggs, 2 peeled lemons, 1/2 a large cucumber, & vanilla extract. This recipe makes a lot! I filled 2-3oz. travel shampoo bottles and still had some left in the bottom of my Magic Bullet, so about 3 washes worth. I lean over the tub and start pouring and rubbing in my new "shampoo". Then, I pile all my hair on top of my head, and put on a shower cap. 30 minutes on the timer. I rinse well, dry, and my hair looks AMAZING! All of it, even the top. No grease. I'm so excited! The next day it's still perfect. Just a quick comb through (brushing will make it frizz), and I'm ready to go.
Thursday: My husband lets me do his hair! It comes out perfect from the first wash. (Wish I had discovered this from the beginning.) He's sold.
Now it's Friday (ok, early Saturday morning. I really should go to bed) and it still looks really good. I'll do another wash tomorrow (4 days!!) I'm so very excited to be getting the chemicals out of my hair. My next step will be to try it on the 2 little ones & to get my big boys to give it a try. I've only told a couple people, who of course think I'm weird, but that's ok. I know how weird this sounds. After all, I thought the same thing the first time I heard about it. I think all this GD stuff might be turning me a little crunchy :)
*In between "shampoos" I rinse with warm water and the ACV solution during my shower.
**If you make a big batch and won't be using it all at once, you'll have to store it in the fridge. But beware, it will be COLD when you dump it on your head. Voice of experience speaking.
Thursday: Last day of commercial shampoo.
Saturday: I gather everything I need to mix up what seems to be the go to "shampoo" to use. I mixed 2 tbsp. baking soda w/ 2 cups hot water, let it dissolve, and hopped in the shower. I wasn't really sure where to start, so I dumped a little on and started working it in. It was kind of odd, mainly because it basically just feels like warm water being dumped on your head. I scrubbed, let it soak, and left it on until I was done with my shower, and rinsed it all out. I toweled dried a little and then tried to get a brush, a comb, anything through it. It felt WEIRD. It was kinda like a greasy horse's tail. Very coarse while at the same time very oily.
Monday: Let's try this again. This time I rinsed it out right away and used 1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar with 1 cup hot water and used it like a conditioner, just putting it on the ends, and left it on until the end of the shower. This time I was able to brush through the ends, but the top was still pretty greasy.
Wednesday: Same thing, but this time I doubled the ACV solution and dumped it all over. By this point, I was ready to give up. My hair was AWFUL! It had only been a week and everything I read said there was a 2-week to 2-month transition period. At some point I would actually have to be seen in public and I wasn't sure how many I would scare away with my greasy, straw hair.
Saturday: I decide to wait 3 days, because the goal is to go longer in between washes, and perhaps me not waiting long enough isn't giving me the goal results. After searching the internet for ANY alternative to the baking soda, I combine a couple "recipes" and Voila! Out comes the Magic Bullet, a perfect contraption for making homemade shampoos. I mix together 2 egg whites, a tiny bit of olive oil, & about 1/2 a cap full of vanilla extract for my new shampoo. For the conditioner, I mix 2 egg yolks & a peeled lemon. My kids thought I was pretty crazy! So I hop in the shower, rub the "shampoo" into my scalp, & rub the "conditioner through the rest of my hair. I could immediately feel a difference! For the first time in a week I could actually run my fingers through my hair. I leave it on for the duration of my shower and then rinse it out. Now, this part is very important! You must be careful to rinse everything out. Otherwise, when the leftover lemon parts dry, it will look like you have the worst possible dandruff. I towel dried a bit, then went ahead and used my hair dryer (it was my birthday, so I was pretty sure my darling Husband was taking me to dinner, which he did.) The ends of my hair were PERFECT! Very soft, very lush. The top was still a bit oily, so once it was dry I combed in some corn starch to the extra oily areas. It looked pretty good. Good enough to be seen in public. :)
Tuesday: 3 days again, and not too bad. Instead of mixing the shampoo & conditioner separately I made one big batch. I mixed 2 eggs, 2 peeled lemons, 1/2 a large cucumber, & vanilla extract. This recipe makes a lot! I filled 2-3oz. travel shampoo bottles and still had some left in the bottom of my Magic Bullet, so about 3 washes worth. I lean over the tub and start pouring and rubbing in my new "shampoo". Then, I pile all my hair on top of my head, and put on a shower cap. 30 minutes on the timer. I rinse well, dry, and my hair looks AMAZING! All of it, even the top. No grease. I'm so excited! The next day it's still perfect. Just a quick comb through (brushing will make it frizz), and I'm ready to go.
Thursday: My husband lets me do his hair! It comes out perfect from the first wash. (Wish I had discovered this from the beginning.) He's sold.
Now it's Friday (ok, early Saturday morning. I really should go to bed) and it still looks really good. I'll do another wash tomorrow (4 days!!) I'm so very excited to be getting the chemicals out of my hair. My next step will be to try it on the 2 little ones & to get my big boys to give it a try. I've only told a couple people, who of course think I'm weird, but that's ok. I know how weird this sounds. After all, I thought the same thing the first time I heard about it. I think all this GD stuff might be turning me a little crunchy :)
*In between "shampoos" I rinse with warm water and the ACV solution during my shower.
**If you make a big batch and won't be using it all at once, you'll have to store it in the fridge. But beware, it will be COLD when you dump it on your head. Voice of experience speaking.
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