No ‘Poo: natural alternative to shampoo – The Sequel

Home / News / No 'Poo: natural alternative to shampoo - The Sequel

No ‘Poo: natural alternative to shampoo – The Sequel

I haven’t washed my hair in over 6 weeks now. So far, so good. If you haven’t read my last post about ditching shampoo for a natural alternative, read all about it here. In short, I’m now using a mix of baking soda and water to wash my hair and vinegar to condition. That’s it. Oh, and a smidgen of coconut oil to tame my unruly mane.

Here’s my lion’s mane 3 weeks after my last commercial (albeit natural) shampoo and conditioner hair wash. These photos were taken whilst on holiday in France where the water is way softer than it is here in Denmark. This definitely makes for softer, shinier hair. But still, admit it, you were expecting a grease ball, right? Or at least a fuzz ball, no? Well, either way, it is what it is (and it’s neither of those two).

BPA free small plastic drinking bottle. Pre-mix the baking soda and water. Shake. Squeeze onto your scalp.

However, bad hair days did abound after 5 weeks or so: not really greasy, rather ‘thick and clumpy’ at the top. I tried to use more baking soda. I tried just using water. I tried rinsing the roots in vinegar, then rinsing with water, vinegar again, water, then the baking soda with a final vinegar rinse on the lengths. None of it helped although this final vinegar wash almost got my mane back on track. Having just been to Germany for a few days where the water is also softer, my hair is now totally fine so I’m sure it has something to do with the fact that we have such hard water here in Cph. A bit of hard water won’t put me off this adventure. (a few days after writing this post I washed my hair in Cph again and the thick, clumpy business is going on again. Will push on through and try a lemon rinse. Will report back. At some stage).Here are my impressions so far:

my hair doesn’t need washing as often as it did before. Every 4 days is fine and even then it doesn’t feel greasy, just ‘thick’ and somewhat mottled which means that I usually have to tie it up on that day. It hasn’t actually felt truly greasyonce since I went hair-naturelle. Quite an achievement seeing as I used to have to wash it every 3 days before and the third day wasn’t always pretty
play around with the amount of baking soda you need. I didn’t use enough one day and my hair was a little greasy. Now that I’ve been using it for some time I don’t need to use so much anymore
definitely only use vinegar on the lengths of the hair, not the scalp or your hair will get greasy. I tried. Just a little bit. But even that was enough to up the grease factor
If your hair is thick and curly you will probably need to use a tiny amount of coconut oil on the ends and/or length (rub some on the end of your fingers/palm of your hand and gently ‘squeeze’ into your hair starting at the ends). I found that my hair was too dry without it. This works a treat for curly hair and I find that my curls are more defined now
Too much baking soda left on for too long = frizz
For a few weeks I was sure that I had less wisdom hair (I’ll let you figure that one out, Dom doesn’t let me call it anything other than what it is…). On closer inspection I can see that I have not lost any wisdom but I have gained deeper colour – my natural one but with more oomph!
I’ve found a much more practical way of getting the baking soda mix onto my scalp without having to enter into complicated trial and errors of tilting my head a certain way so that the mix gets onto my scalp without pouring into my eyes. Here’s how I did it: at first, I closed my eyes. That worked. Then I used a new and improved method – see photo . I’ve just started experimenting with a baking soda paste. This is a winner. In the palm of your hand, blend the baking soda with a tiny bit of water to form a paste. Evenly distribute ‘pinch-by-pinch’ over your scalp and gently massage
I like making my own shampoo. I feel like it’s a exclusive on-the-spot-custom-made treat every time I wash my hair
I took my clean hair to get a trim and asked the hairdresser just to wet cut my hair rather than wash it (with commercial gunk). She agreed, and had a lot of questions.

A few of you said you’d try out no ‘poo. Did ya? Did ya? Please share. Surely I can’t be the only girl with no ‘poo in her hair…If you haven’t tried it yet, are you tempted?

Remember: you’re worth it too

And here’s an update for you: what I happened when the grease hit the fan…

Debra

13 years ago

Excellent, will try and let you know.

Caroline

13 years ago

Yes, please do! Let me know if you need any tips along the way or inspiration for experimenting with amounts etc. Have fun!

Matt Jabs

13 years ago

Glad you’re liking it Caroline, I haven’t used commercial shampoo in over 3 years and I’m loving it.

Caroline

13 years ago

@ matt, do you use anything at all or just water?

Barbara

13 years ago

No shampoo since last week. I’ve only used the baking soda/water mix and ACV/water rinse. Had to use my big barrel curling iron tho’ 🙁
My hair is neither straight nor curly, neither long nor short (sits just about on my shoulders). It just sort of looks unpolished/unstyled if I do nothing. I plan to stick with this no poo routine and hopefully, in time, my hair will improve in condition. My ultimate dream hair would be healthy, shiny and just look good without all the styling, curling, teasing and lifting at the roots etc, etc….ugh I feel like such a hair slave. If this doesn’t work, I am getting a pixie cut! Ha ha!

Caroline

13 years ago

Pixie cut it good…alternatively, yes, it will take time. Especially if you have been using styling products, heating curling irons and pulling at your hair here and there. Imagine what our roots and all the little muscles at the end of each hair have to deal with! You might well have to resort to tying your hair up more often than not – stick with it and try to do that instead of your usual styling. I know, it might be a massive change, be creative with poney tails and plaits/hair twists etc. Keep us posted!
ps) I personally love unstyled – bed head

hilary

13 years ago

I tried this…for 2 months. I really want it to work, but my hair/scalp ended up building up this sticky, gunky mess. My hair brush was disgusted, each plastic bristle covered in a grayish sticky residue. I tried the baking soda paste first, then moved to water mixed with b.soda…tried using less baking soda per water, tried washing ends with vinegar…nothing. My hair, though now not as greasy with shampoo and thicker, was not touchable, brushable…just running my hands through the strands left my hands feeling residue-y. Help?

Caroline

13 years ago

That sticky gunky mess is exactly what happened to me in week 5 – this kind of thick clump, not necessarily ‘traditionally greasy’ but just a clump. I don’t use a hair brush. I comb my hair through with a wide comb after washing it, then I don’t brush it until my next wash – I have big waves/slightly curly hair so if you have straight hair you probably do need to brush it so that it doens’t look totally messy, maybe try that? Have you tried using a baking soda paste? Maybe you could try the emergency routine that I tried: total vinegar rinse (even the roots), rinse well with water, vinegar again, water, then the baking soda, water, ends with vinegar – or not, maybe leave that last one out or use lemon juice instead (diluted in water). My hair was still a bit dodgy after that but is now totally fine (miracle!) after my next normal wash with baking soda paste and vinegar on the ends. However, I really do think that the softer water whilst I was away had something to do with it. If you live in a hard water area, try rinsing with fresh water one day just to see if that makes a difference (not sustainable in the long term due to plastic bottle usage, but maybe give it a go once to see). How often are you no ‘pooing? Maybe it’s too often? Let us know how you get on with these various experiments – you’ll definitely get there in the end, just need to find the right combination for your hair. Was your hair like that the whole time or only towards the end?