(reposted with permission from Valhalla Hills Icelandic Sheep )
In an effort to save money and the planet, I’ve been looking for ways to eliminate toxic chemicals from my home. Making your own soaps and cleaners doesn’t have to be difficult, and giving up shampoo is a great place to start.
Shampoo is expensive! The chemicals in shampoo are irritating, drying, and may be hazardous to your health. And shampoo strips the hair of the natural oils, which in turn causes your body to produce more oil, which makes it get dirtier faster… so stop the cycle, and save some money too!
There are two methods of washing your hair without shampoo. The most popular method is the baking soda and vinegar method, and the one I’ve used for over a year now. The second method uses nothing but water and a good scrub.
Baking soda is a natural substance found in mineral deposits around the world. It cleans, scours, and deodorizes. Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) is made from fermented apples. It’s literally been around for centuries! Hippocrates is said to have used it as a health tonic, more than two thousand years ago. The vinegar adds highlights, restores the acid mantel, removes soap scum and sebum oil. It can also have a drying effect. so some folks only use the vinegar every other wash, or add honey to their vinegar.
To use the baking soda and vinegar method:
Pour one to two tablespoons of baking soda in a large plastic container (recycle an old shampoo bottle, or an empty dish soap bottle). Fill with warm water and shake until dissolved. Then spritz the soda/water solution onto your scalp and gently massage. Baking soda can be used to scrub stains off counters, so be gentle! You don’t want to damage your hair. Massaging is good for the scalp. Use your fingertips and massage all over. Then rinse, rinse, rinse. Make sure you rinse thoroughly. You don’t want your head going off like a fifth grader’s science experiment.
Next, pour one to two tablespoons of vinegar into an empty plastic container and fill with warm water. Spritz this all over your scalp and massage again. Then rinse thoroughly. And you are done!
Natural baking soda and vinegar does not foam, but there is no scientific research that links foaming action with cleanliness. All soap is supposed to do is break the surface tention of the water so that it can clean. Water gets things clean – not the soap! And I feel so much better about flushing baking soda and vinegar down the drain, than all those hard-to-pronounce shampoo chemicals!
Oh, and by the way, my hair has grown faster this year, been healthier, softer, and even lovely. My friends can’t believe it when they ask me what hair product I use.
If your hair is too dry, you can add honey, lavendar oil, or rosemary to the vinegar. I like to fill a small spray bottle with water, and float a couple of tablespoons of olive oil on top. Then I shake the bottle well, and spray my towel-dried hair with this. Brush well, and the hair is shiny and manageable, with no frizzies.
The other method of non-shampooing is to just wash your hair with water. Period. Stand under the shower spray and “brush” your hair thoroughly with a washcloth to remove all the sebum and dirt. I have heard from people who use this method that they like the results, and it is so much easier to travel with than a small box of a white powder substance.
Two final notes on the no-shampoo method. It may take a while to adjust to this. If you have been using shampoo religiously, then your body is probably over-producing sebum. You shampoo daily, or every other day, because your hair is oily, but the frequent shampoo is causing your body to produce more oil. Once you stop shampooing, your body will eventually slow down its oil production. And finally, just because you’re taking a shower, doesn’t mean you have to wash your hair. You can get it wet, and just let it dry again. Only wash your hair when it is dirty.
Happy no-pooing! And welcome to the new generation of consumers who only consume what they need.
Related Articles:
Laundry Soap for Pennies a Gallon
Home-Made Hot Oil Treatment
Home-Made Baby Wipes
Photo Credits:
Top:
Bottom: Mine
Tags: baking soda, environment, go green, laundry soap, no poo, no shampoo, Saving money, vinegar
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3 users responded in this post
This really works! I love my hair now. And think how much money I’ve saved! We used to go through a bottle of shampoo a month around my house, and twice as much conditioner (lots of girls!). Now, a fifty cent box of baking soda and a $1.00 bottle of vinegar lasts just as long.
I just want to mention that if someone really did not like the smell of vinegar, or had an allergy to it, or finds that the vinegar is too strong, remember you can substitute lemon juice for the vinegar and get the same results.
Also, not everyone needs to use the vinegar rinse every time. Some may wash their hair with baking soda two or three times between each vinegar rinse. A lot depends on the water quality.
Thanks for posting! Keep up the good work!
[...] Try a different brand of shampoo, or no shampoo at all! (read a previous post Never Shampoo Again). Maybe all it would take for him to willingly let you shampoo his hair, is to let him buy some [...]
[...] First off, don’t use shampoo when you wash your child’s hair. Shampoos may contain harsh chemicals. They may sting the eyes, or make baby-fine hair more unmanageable than ever. I never use shampoo. I haven’t for over a year, and I wash my granddaughter’s hair the same way. I wash my hair with baking soda, and about every third or fourth wash, I rinse with an apple-cider-and-water rinse, which restores the natural pH balance of the hair. (Lemon juice will do, too) My hair is cleaner, healthier, longer, shinier than ever, and baking soda costs pennies to the dollars of fancy shampoo. It doesn’t sting the eyes, or contain harmful chemicals. If you want more info on baking soda shampoo, it’s all over the web. It’s often referred to as “no poo” or “no shampoo”. I have a previous post here, Never Shampoo Again. [...]
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