Well, it happened again. I was innocently standing at my kitchen sink attacking a pile of dishes when all of a sudden, words started coming to me and a blog post was forming. Somewhere between washing a wine glass and scrubbing a sippy cup, the thought occurred to me that some of you may get a kick out of my latest "crunchy" adventure. Yes, I figured it might scare some of you to know that I have ceased to wash my hair. No, I'm not working on dreads, or walking around with a greasy head, but I have stopped using shampoo. I've probably written about it before, but last year before Olivia was born, I gave the "no-poo" thing a try. I replaced my chemical-laden shampoo with a baking soda paste and *gasp* an apple cider vinegar conditioning rinse. Not wanting to upset his large pregnant wife, Andrew was extremely gracious with me and my experimenting.
My no-poo escapade successfully lasted for a few months...until Olivia arrived. After giving birth, I desperately needed to feel pretty, and just couldn't bear the scent of salad dressing as I scrubbed my noggin. It was back to the pretty neon shades of processed whatever-is-in-this-stuff shampoo, with occasional rounds of revisiting my baking-soda-and-vinegar-head days.
Recently, I have jumped back on the wagon. Or I have fallen off of it. I'm just not quite sure which. Whichever it is, I have once again gone no-poo, but with a different approach. I've used Dr. Bronners for a while now, and have loved it's multifarious functions (yes, I did just use that word), but haven't really loved it for my hair. Peppermint makes my head too tingly-fresh, and the other scents reminded me of my cleaning products. So, I made a brave decision...I have switched Doctors! **GASP** Yes, I did it...I ordered me some Dr. Woods! While these Dr's seem to prescribe a VERY SIMILAR medicine, I liked Dr. Wood's Black Soap with Shea scent a lot. We're talking refreshing with a side of sultry-scent good. I blame the sultry on the black soap ingredient...probably because I have no hoot of an idea what black soap is, but it's definitely sultry.
I will add that because I love the neutralizing effect of A.C.V as conditioner, on occasion I will still whip out the ole spray bottle. It's better this time though because I've added a dash of lavender oil to knock down some of the potency. Spraying and rinsing with A.C.V. works like magic, and to be honest, I've grown used to the smell. Now just to be clear, I don't love it so much that I'm going around sticking my head in people's salads, but it is pretty great stuff. ;)
Since once again going no-poo, I can testify to my normally fine hair having a lot more body, bounce, and life. Since I can't bottle this kinda feeling up for you, I'll simply encourage you to give a go with no-poo, too! Life is too short to go through it with dull hair. Oh, and for any single ladies reading this post, I'm on the fence on whether or not to encourage you to try this. Especially before you go on any dates. However, I can testify that Andrew's love for me is standing the test of time...and vinegar. He's a champ, what can I say?!
Oh, and one more thing...
Lest I've painted the picture that I have vinegar scent wafting from my head, I can assure you that once my hair is dry, I cannot smell anything but lovely, sultry black soap. Unless I'm in complete denial, in which case I humbly ask my friends for an intervention.
Hmmm! I've been using baking soda for some time, though I used a naturalish conditioner with it (recommended by Rachel), rather than ACV, but now I'm curious to give ACV a try.
ReplyDeleteHowever, strangely enough, while my hair does very well with a baking soda rinse every other day schedule in Georgia, it does NOT cut it when I visit my family in Texas.
Love your writing, as usual! Especially the bit about sticking your head in salads. Nice. I know you said you wouldn't, but that doesn't mean I won't keep an eye out for it. ;)