Going No Poo
Yes I still poop….that was your first question right? No Poo is the latest (or really oldest) way to take care of your hair. Literally translated it simply means “No shampoo”. Now you may be asking yourself, well what is so bad about shampoo? It smells great and keeps my hair clean….and yes it does do all of those things, but it also strips your hair of it’s natural oil.
I’ve been strictly No Poo for awhile now and my hair has regulated and I have gotten my hair washing system down. I love the texture and volume my hair has now that I’ve completely cut out shampoo. My hair holds a style for a whole lot longer then it did before, and my hair color doesn’t fade nearly as fast as it used to. My hair is clean, and not greasy. If you saw me walking down the street you would never know I don’t use shampoo unless I told you. There is an adjustment period I wont lie. It can take up to 3 months for your hair to regulate the oil (IE not look like shit 
) and return to it’s natural state. I dont have curly hair, but I can tell the difference it makes in The Girls hair. I can always tell when she’s been at grandmas and had a bath (where she uses shampoo)….her curls are completely out of control, frizzy and she’s just a hot mess. No shampoo and just a dollop of conditioner and her curls are defined, soft and not a friz in sight.
It took me many different tries at getting the hair washing method right so my hair looked and felt great. The most popular way of doing No Poo is to use a tablespoon or so of baking soda in 1 cup of water as your “shampoo” while giving your scalp and good work over with your nails….and then following that up with 1-2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar in 1 cup of water as “conditioner”. This method, while effective left my hair dry, smelling like vinegar (yuck) and leached the dyed color right out of my hair like a vacuum. So that was out the window.
Next I went to just water. As hot of water as I could stand and gave my scalp a good work over with my nails, rinsed with cool water and that was it. This method left my hair looking fine, but I had this weird patch at the crown of my head that was driving me CRAZY! I’m one of those “gotta run my fingers through my hair a million times a day like I grew up in the Valley…like like like like” and every time I would do it I would feel this…this animal hair feeling at my crown and it creeped me the hell out so I had to find something else. The next day at Costco I made the magical discovery that their brand Kirkland has a paraben and sulfate free conditioner and LIGHT BULB….I’ll try a bit of conditioner with my just water regime. Ding ding ding, we have a winner! Just a couple of squirts in my hand and give it a work through my hair after my initial hot water and a scrubbing and finish with a cool rinse and we have the perfect combo. Not only does my hair look great and feel great….but the only time I need to color my hair is when my roots are showing. The color fades way slower then even when I used color protective shampoos which is just an added bonus of going No Poo for me.
So if your looking for something to do for the next 3 months? Try going No Poo and see where it leads too! (yes that was cheesy)
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I am going to try this. How often do u use cond?
Anytime I wash my hair, which is about every 3 or so days
I have read your info on this before, and every single time I put shampoo in my hair or my daughters hair, I think about starting this no-poo process. I am kind of chicken though..
Lets say your daughter gets something sticky or gross in her hair? Do you still no-poo her? My 20 month old always gets food & boogers in her hair and it is so hard to get out. And when Grandma shampoos Seven on occasion, does her regulating process start from square one?
Yes, at my house all the kids are No Poo 100%. I just hot water and work whatever it is out of the hair. Combs help with this. No, thankfully because she’s always been No Poo and has only had shampoo on her hair a handful of times so having shampoo on her head occasionally doesnt effect anything other then how awful her hair looks.
I started not shampooing a little over a week ago. Just randomly. I love it. I had been over showering to relieve congestion and decided I couldn’t shampoo that often. My hair has such a nice texture now!,
Now I did no-poo with baking soda and vinegar but I ended up with this oily slick mass about 8inches from my roots. Nothing would budge it, just nasty. I’ve been using Wen and thinking about trying no-poo again but does Wen count as no-poo? I have severe psoriasis on my scalp and have been hoping the no-poo might help it, Wen does a bit but not entirely. Just wondering if the Wen would be good using like your Kirkland conditioner. Also any idea about the oil slick issue? I know a few people who have tried no-poo and had the same issue.
Thanks!
I dont know much about Wen. To much vinegar (for your hair) can cause it to be oily. Everyone’s hair reacts differently which is why you have to find a method that works for your hair.
Any help?
I’ve been “poo free” since June 2012. Mostly, I really like it. I only use the baking soda and water combo every other day or so and whenever else it’s needed. It’s cheap, easy and great for your hair!
i’ve recently started skipping washes to attempt to get my hair back to some sort of normal. i don’t know yet if i’m ready to commit to skipping shampoo altogether but your post has provided me a lot of good info! i’ve written about my journey here .. http://omgitsmejd.blogspot.com/2013/01/so-ive-stopped-showering.html