No ‘Poo: It Gets Better

(If you’re new to the No ‘Poo, you can read the original post here.)

The outpouring of support from veteran no ‘pooers is overwhelming.

Last night, a comment came in from the writer of The Simple Poppy that suggested perhaps we should do a No ‘Poo: It Gets Better post as a way of encouragement.

I agree.

See, the first time I washed with baking soda and rinsed with apple cider vinegar, my. hair. was. awesome. Gorgeous. Shiny and silky and wonderful.

And then it wasn’t.

The second time, my roots were oily and my ends felt like the end of a broom. I’d walk past my cats, and they’d cower under the table in fear that I’d sweep them up and dump them in the trash can.

I haven’t washed since (just a water rinse), but my hair feels like it’s coated in wax. The ends, however, are no longer broomy. They’re just limp and lazy. Like my ex-husband.

Yesterday, I seriously questioned what I was doing. My ponytail – often bouncy and a little overly excited – just stuck in one full clump that twisted and turned all dead-tree branch-like.

I need encouragement. Chances are, if I do, so do you (or, you’re a great candidate to GIVE the encouragement).

I put together excerpts of the comments from the veteran no ‘pooers here, but please – if you’ve been doing this for some time and have encouraging words – add them!

Lastly, if you’re trying this WITH me, please comment with your name (and put your real email address in the comment) and anywhere you might be blogging this. I want to get together a handy list, so we can all encourage each other! Also, the lovely Kristin at Peace, Love, and Muesli decided on a Twitter hastag: #teamnopoo – you can use it whenever you talk about the no ‘poo experiment and we can all keep up with one another on Twitter, too!

And if you’re still too scared to try it, comment and tell me why you’re such a big wussy.

Here we go:

No ‘Poo: It Gets Better – The Encouragement

I’ve been “no poo” for almost 3 months now. Perhaps we should do (a far more trivial) “It Gets Better” campaign for “no poo.” Because my hair is pretty great right now – finally. Though I wanted to mention that I tried doing the BS and ACV thing a few years ago and HATED it. My hair is on the fine side, silky, and dead straight. I feel like BS ripped it the heck up with how abrasive it was. Now I’m using a bunch of different things and much happier. – The Simple Poppy

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Ive been no-poo for about 2 years now and I have to tell ever single one of you just how freaking amazing it is! Before my hair was thin, greasy and down right unattractive…it seemed not even the most expensive shampoos could fix what I had. One day I stumbled upon an article similar to this one and have never turned back. CB is right, its hard for the first month or so because of the the initial shock to your tresses but it gets lots better. Turns out my limp oily hair was really delicate little curls in distress! Now I have healthy strong and shiny hair just by using baking soda and apple cider vinegar. For extra shine and moisture I use an olive oil compress every 2 weeks or so. – Marlowe

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EXPONENTIALLY less frizz! I have naturally curly hair (not coarse, more thin and dry) that was always frizzy. I used shampoo, conditioner, leave-in conditioner, anti-frizz spray, curling gel-all at once! Now that I use only baking soda and apple cider vinegar, the frizz is almost nonexistent. I don’t even use that every day-like this morning, I slept in, and all I did in the shower was run a pick through my wet hair. I pinned it back with a couple bobbys and I look fab. For all the curly-hair gals out there scared to do this, just do it! You won’t regret!

AND

The first week I did use BS almost daily. I had alternating days of greasiness and dryness and then once it seemed to calm down and be less greasy I went to washing every other day. On the dry days I used a little hair butter from made on lotion (you should bing her site and check out her products) but now I find I don’t need it.

The ACV conditions by correcting the ph. I find that I use it all over, but don’t actually scrub it into my scalp as I do with the BS. My hair/skin are dry, so I find that on the second day of not washing it helps to use acv on the ends to keep any frizziness away, but I don’t use it near my scalp unless I have just washed with BS.

And thank you very much for the compliment! That is indeed my hair, before I trimmed it (I had it super long for the wedding). I’ve always loved having curly hair, but hated the frizz and all the product I used, so now that I have found a better solution, I love my hair even more! – Rebecca

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My hair took to it pretty naturally after 2 weeks of going on and off, and I noticed how flat my hair got using ‘poo instead of baking soda. I’ve got looong hair that is stick straight, but this no ‘poo thing is giving me all kinds of volume. Yes now and then I notice I shed a little more than usual, I think my Lush brand henna treatment might fix that (and my little grey hairs because at 23, that’s just whack)because of all the shea butter in it, or I could just use a conditioner. Good luck! – Barbara

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Awesome! Best of luck to ya! I’ve been poo-free for over a year and a half now, and I’m never going back. I wrote about my reasons for going no-poo last year: http://broadbrains.blogspot.com/2009/07/i-havent-shampooed-my-hair-in-months.html – Jacquelyn

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Yahoo! I’ve been ‘poo free for three months and I will never go back. When I was using ‘poo I had to wash it every 18 hours or so or it was a greasy, dandruff-y disaster. Now I just dump a heaping tablespoon of baking soda in a cup, swirl in some warm water while I’m in the shower and pour it in little splashes on my scalp and massage it in.
I don’t use conditioner but my boyfriend, who has been converted to the no ‘poo way as well (and he has long curly beautiful hair) uses a little splash of lemon juice diluted with water for a conditioner and his hair looks great! – Barbara

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I have been no ‘poo for about 4 months. I wash with the same baking soda solution you mention here and rinse with the same vinegar solution you mention. I love it, love it, love it!

I can share a few things I’ve learned over the months. The most important thing that I’ve found, and this may depend on water hardness and other factors, is that my baking soda solution must be exactly right. It took me a while to arrive at the correct amount of baking soda for my hair with my water. And it works better if it has sat for a couple of days and the baking soda has fully dissolved in the water. It has to feel really slippery, not at all “squeaky” feeling and not gritty. I’ve also found that if I am going to blow dry and flat iron I have to do it exactly right or it will look greasy. I must blow dry while it is still pretty wet. And I must wait for it to be completely dry (I don’t know if it’s just me, but my hair is never totally dry after blow drying) before flat-ironing. If I just let it air dry with no styling, it’s fine. – Ani

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I’ve definitely noticed some differences in the texture of my hair, but I’m not disappointed by any means with the changes! I like the way it’s lighter, but it’s definitely more curly in some places and less so in other places. But basically I just like knowing that I’m not dependent on $40 a bottle shampoo anymore =) – Carter @ The Kitchenette

A Few More Notes

In the comments of the original post, we had a couple of no ‘poomergencies. In light of those, alternate washing/rinsing ideas sprung forth. If you have any alternatives to the baking soda/ACV method that you’ve found are more appropriate for your hair type – PLEASE share them here, too!

My favorite was this reply to poor Katie who was experiencing some hair loss after using the baking soda once:

I have used a mix of sugar (can be brown or white, or both, your choice) and conditioner (amount will depend on the length of your hair, but think 1 tsp sugar to a quarter-size dollop of conditioner) to scrub & clean my scalp, which is a gentler alternative to the baking soda. When I don’t do my sugar scrub, I’ll just condition a little (quarter-size amount, maybe a little more depending on the tangles) and rinse – my hair is pretty long, about 4 inches below my shoulders, if that helps. I only do a conditioning rinse/wash about 2 times a week. If you are curly you should definitely go at least every other day, but stretch it longer if you can — better for your hair and scalp.  – Clara

Where You At, Crunchies?

Words of encouragement?

Any updates on your personal experiment? Wins? Fails? In-betweens?

You feel like giving up?

Talk to me, #teamnopoo.

Related Posts:

• 3 Weeks With No Shampoo And …???
• 5 Foods You Have In Your Kitchen That Should Be In Your Hair
• Removing Your Makeup the Honey Face-Wash Way
• Oh, Her Heart Burns! What Can Heal It?
• No ‘Poo To You, Too!!!