2014: the year I quit shampoo

As the previous post mentioned, 2014 was a pretty cool year for numerous reasons.  One of my notable accomplishments (or something I'm proud of that I tell everyone about, but no one really cares and they're just stuck listening...one of those things for sure) was that I quit shampoo.

I have always been meticulous about making sure my hair looked and felt clean and presentable.  With baby-fine blonde hair, prone to getting oily quickly, that meant shampooing often.  I was the poster child for lather, rinse, repeat.  And then repeat again until you're convinced your hair will look clean.  Not only did greasy hair FEEL gross, it also made my bright blonde hair look much darker..not a fun look.  So how did a Suave-clarifying-shampoo-obsessed woman quit shampoo?

After deciding to visit Costa Rica, I made a snap decision to honor the country's commitment to sustainable tourism by quitting shampoo in favor of more natural products with fewer synthetic chemicals.  (By the way, visiting Costa Rica was also done on a whim.  I like to live like Andy Dwyer on Parks and Recreation.)

Following a month of epic hair failure while using Dr. Bronner's liquid soap as a shampoo--note to everyone, if you have hard water, do not use Dr. Bronner's as shampoo, it will not. end. well.--I finally stumbled on something that worked.  Enter the baking soda & vinegar phase of my life.  I guess my life is like a middle school science experiment?

Before describing what I do and how I figured it out, I will share a little proof with you of how well it works.  Here is a look at my hair today, Thursday.  I washed my hair on Sunday.  I haven't washed it since then.  Then I went to the gym today (STOP JUDGING I WILL GO MORE NEXT WEEK).  Here is a post-gym, no-wash-since-Sunday photo of my hair:

I wish I could go back in time and show myself this as a WAY better option than lather, rinse, repeat and repeat with sulfate and paraben-laden Suave shampoos.  No-poo is more environmentally friendly, more wallet-friendly, and more time-saving-friendly method of hair care.  So, here's what works for me:

• Wash my hair with about 1-2 tablespoons of baking soda dissolved in warm water.  Shake it up, put on hair, massage in, let sit for a minute.  Then I use my fingers to massage my scalp and rinse out.
• Spray my scalp with a 50/50 mixture of Bragg's Apple Cider Vinegar and water.  I add a couple of drops of rosemary essential oil because it is good for the scalp.  Let sit for a minute, then rinse.
• Condition from my shoulders to the ends of my hair with diluted Dr. Bronner's conditioning rinse.  I dilute mine extra because my hair is so fine.

And voila!  No lathering, rinsing or repeating.  I now have the opposite problem- I like to see how long I can go without washing my hair with it still looking clean.  Mega turbo props to the Almost Exactly blog, which got me through my most horrifying, "why isn't my hair clean/dry/detangled/pretty" moments, and is an ongoing inspiration in DIY/natural hair and skin care!

Here's an inside look at the MVPs of my no-poo process:

Clockwise from top left: 

1. Mini bottles for EVERYTHING.  Essential when you make your own haircare products and also nice for travel!

2. Dr. Bronner's Organic Shikakai Conditioning Rinse: I went 5 months without conditioning my hair until I found this product!  My hair needs less conditioner now that I'm not stripping it of oils with traditional shampoo, but my ends are looking much healthier thanks to this.

3. A wide tooth comb and my boar bristle hairbrush: the comb detangles my hair when wet and pulls out much less hair than my old paddle brush.  The boar bristle brush adds shine and helps pull your hair's naturally occurring oils from your scalp all through the length.

4. Klorane's dry shampoo.  Ok, technically this isn't no-poo, nor is it as natural as everything else, but it is the BEST.  It absorbs any excess oil without the gross "there's dry shampoo in my hair" feeling.

So... what do you think of no poo?  And more importantly, did you know a person could write this much about their own hair?  I didn't until now!