No Poo!

Contrary to what the title of this post may suggest, i promise this is not about my bowel movements. Or about potty-training a child, or any other absurd bathroom talk you may imagine. I've been receiving a lot of questions about how i wash my hair.

In about mid-January I started on this wonderful adventure of NOT using shampoo or conditioner. Time after time i had read about how shampoo breaks down your hair & makes it so that your scalp cannot produce it's natural oils. I have been having such a struggle with dirty hair, and especially with growing out my hair. 

In late 2012 I went from this:

To this:

Notice anything different?
YEP. I got BANGS.
Worst mistake of my life. Cute as they were, maintenance was HARD. And the other problem i hated about my "new do" was when i went to have them done my hairdresser INSISTED on trimming my hair. She did the naughty and even gave me some layers. I hate layers.

So here i was, a few months later, and my hair wasn't growing, and i hated it, and i just felt ugly.
So I read up again about "no poo."

No Poo is a method of cleansing your hair without using store bought shampoos and conditioners.
Click here to read where i read about it.

This girl is amazing! Like she has it down to a system, and i never ever in a million years thought that it would work. But  here i am today, a living witness of the miracle of no poo.

 Both of these pictures were taken about 4-5 days after i had washed my hair. You could never tell the difference, right!?!?!

Okay so in addition to blogger lady's tips, i want to add my own.

1. Less is more. I had read somewhere that the more baking soda you put into your solution (BTW i use method 1) that the cleaner your hair will get. So when i first started i was using almost close to 2 tablespoons of the stuff. Finally my husband figured it out, and urged me to just try using 1 tablespoon & I promise you that everything has gone a LOT smoother. Literally.

2. Brush your hair! Back in the good ol' days of conditioner i never worried about brushing out my hair before showering because it would come out all slick & awesome. However, when i started this method, it SUCKED. My hair would come out practically in a knot, and it took my like an hour to get my hair brushed and dried thoroughly. BUT BRUSH YOUR HAIR BEFORE GETTING IN THE SHOWER, and all your wildest dreams will come true. It will seriously come out feeling like waaay smooth. (At least once you've been using the method for a month or so.)

3. Rub a dub dub! I promise you that the more you rub in the baking soda solution, the cleaner your hair will feel when you get out of the shower. I don't know why, it just works! Make sure you aren't scraping or scratching your scalp, just rubbing firmly with your fingertips.

4. COCONUT OIL IS YOUR BEST FRIEND NOW. You can head on over to your local Walmart, Smiths, Target, etc, and pick up a bottle of coconut oil.

After your hair is completely dry, get enough oil on your hands to make them barely shine. Again, less is more. You don't want too much otherwise your hair is going to be greasy until the next time you wash it. Just remember, you can always add more! So get it on your hands and gently apply it to your tips mostly, you can put a little bit on the top of your head, but it mostly works it's magic at the tips.

5. You will get to the point where you really only have to wash your hair once a week. Once you get to that point, sometimes your hair will get a bit "second-day-hair" on you (on like the 4-5 day!!!) Don't be afraid to use a dry shampoo. What i use is called baby powder.
Have you heard of it? It's been around for like a bajillion years & it rocks! I just dust one of my hands with it and then clap both my hands together. (You don't want too much at once.) Then i flip over my head and start running it through the roots. Repeat as many times as it takes to take out the dirt.
Also: doing this right before you go to bed really helps because then if you apply too much, it will rub off in your sleep leaving you with a nice clean surprise in the morning! It's like hair magic!!

6. STICK WITH THE PROGRAM. (unless you are switching up methods.) Don't give up on your second week when your hair is looking gnarly & greasy on the 3rd day. I promise it WILL get better! You are going to be tempted to wash your hair the second it gets oily, but try to hold out. Feel free to wash it with just the vinegar solution, but go as long as you can without using the baking soda solution. The longer you wait, the sooner it will go back to normal.

Thank you, and GOOD LUCK! I want to hear your stories! And if you have any questions feel free to ask!

Love,
Chels
XO