Who Here Has Switched To the 'No-Poo' Method??

[therizyflapper]

Will do.
I have to say I am impressed with the result of ACV as a conditioner. My hair is gleaming with shine and I swear it's not as frizzy as before. I did follow up with my usual styling products, but I used those before and still had more frizz and not as much shine.

im soooo glad to hear you are happy with the ACV! if you want a really good change from the ACV try coconut vinegar, you should be able to find it at your local health food store! it works like ACV but even better!

 

[therizyflapper]

I've used vodka to remove black hair dye from skin in the past. It is very effective, and very harsh. There's no way I'd use it on my hair in any capacity, especially if my hair is dyed.

And, honestly, if I'm paying some extortionate price for organic vodka the least I can do is drink it!!

hahahahaha !! it may surprise you but the vodka is softer on you hair believe it or not haha APV can devolve eggshells into nothing, but diluted its safe for you to use on your hair and skin, just like vodka you see you used straight vodka to remove the hair dye from your skin, but when you use it as a rinse, you dilute in 1 TBSP to 1 cup water. and the reason i suggest organic vodka is because vodka is made from either corn or potato, which is now common GMO crop, and you don't want that in or on your body haha and the reason i don't care about the price of the organic vodka is because a whole bottle lasts me at-least 6 months

 

[Helysoune]

Hmmmm...vodka, you say? "A little bit for the conditioner bottle, a little bit for mama, a little bit more for the conditioner bottle, a little bit more for mama..."

 

[Antje]

just wondering deary how long did you stick to it when you tried it? and did you do back and forth between it and normal shampoo, that may have been the reasons for your dissatisfaction

I think I tried almost threequarter of a year so that is a long time for me. I first used a sulfate shampoo too get rid of all things in my hair, then started usting sulfatefree's and then started switching to co-washing. it always felt my hair didn't become completely clean

 

[therizyflapper]

Hmmmm...vodka, you say? "A little bit for the conditioner bottle, a little bit for mama, a little bit more for the conditioner bottle, a little bit more for mama..."

hahahahahahaha and thats what i call multipurpose product hahahaha

 

[therizyflapper]

I think I tried almost threequarter of a year so that is a long time for me. I first used a sulfate shampoo too get rid of all things in my hair, then started usting sulfatefree's and then started switching to co-washing. it always felt my hair didn't become completely clean

hmmm because it can feel that way for about 2 weeks to a month for some people but usally its 2 weeks hmm hahaha im sorry it didnt work for you, im glad you have something that does work for you though!

 

[ThesFlishThngs]

I quit using shampoo a couple weeks ago, and so far have no complaints. My short hair seems to retain a bit more of its natural wave (although that could well be partly due to increased humidity as summer bears down), and doesn't feel dirty or greasy in the least. I get the idea that many 'no pooers' don't wet their hair at all for up to a week at a time, and I could never follow that regime. Especially when the weather's hot and sticky (pretty much all summer and part of spring and autumn here in OK), I simply must have a cool shower daily, and if I didn't at least rinse my hair I'm sure I'd feel as if I hadn't got properly cleaned and refreshed. So, though I use the baking soda wash every three days or so, my hair gets a good drenching every day, and I always follow up with a little conditioner. Cider vinegar is great for lots of things, and I've used it as a hair rinse in the past, but with my red dye job I'd be reluctant to use it regularly now.

 

[Grnidwitch]

Clear instructions.....please

I've read through the entire thread and I'm intrigues.
I have very long, natural med. blonde hair (no color nor products). I don't feel a cup of water with baking soda or ACV will do the trick. Should I wet my hair and then use enough of the solution(s) to clean/condition my hair? If you ladies could expand on the method, I would greatly appreciate it. I have found that my hair is drying out as I age.

I've tried the cleanser only method (Wen...etc) and ended up with very greasy hair that wouldn't do anything but hang there.

 

[sheeplady]

I've read through the entire thread and I'm intrigues.
I have very long, natural med. blonde hair (no color nor products). I don't feel a cup of water with baking soda or ACV will do the trick. Should I wet my hair and then use enough of the solution(s) to clean/condition my hair? If you ladies could expand on the method, I would greatly appreciate it. I have found that my hair is drying out as I age.

I've tried the cleanser only method (Wen...etc) and ended up with very greasy hair that wouldn't do anything but hang there.

I'll try and help. I have waist length hair and it has worked really well for me. If you have questions, please ask.

No pooing is all about the ratios. How much you use is up to you, and you may need to tweak the ratios a bit more, but they are standard. The standard ratios I've heard are 1 tablespoon of baking soda to one cup of water and 1-2 teaspoons of vinegar per cup of water. If you need "more" because you have long hair, make a second cup. Don't add 3 tablespoons of baking soda to a single cup of water, this is too much. Do not increase the ratios, but you might find with dry hair you need to decrease the baking soda.

This is what I do:
1. Rinse my hair really well with warm water. We're talking sopping wet. My hair gets greasiest in the back and so I part it there.

2. Take one cup of warm water with one tablespoon of baking soda. I pour this around my hair, basically the scalp. I put my fingers under my hair by my temples and the back of my head when I pour it to ensure that I am getting it next to the scalp.

3. Rub around the scalp and down the length of the hair as far as it is greasy, I go about 4 inches down on my hair. The idea behind no poo is that you are cleaning away the scalp and grease, and leaving the natural oils. Therefore, you don't need to clean the ends of your hair if they are not greasy. When I say scrub, I mean give it a good rub with your fingertips- don't pull your hair out but you do need to give a stimulating rub. Regular shampoo foams, no poo will not. Since shampoo foams, it does some of the scrubbing for you. I probably scrub for 2-3 minutes. Remember, anyplace you don't scrub won't get clean, so make sure to push your fingertips up under your hair to get to your scalp.

4. Rinse completely. Rinse out your cup too.

5. Add about 1-2 teaspoons of vinegar to your cup. More vinegar will make your hair sleak and soft, but too much can make it greasy. Fill with warm water. Pour this over your hair. Do a little on the scalp, concentrate on the length. This returns you skin to your natural slightly acid state. It's also a light conditioner.

6. Rinse. Some people rinse their hair with cold water to add shine. You're done washing.

7. If your hair is very dry, you can add a very tiny bit of oil to the ends (I mean 2 drops). Most people use coconut oil, but I've also used almond oil. You can do this either at the end (most people do) or before washing (between steps 1 and 2). It works best for me between steps 1 and 2 but I have fine hair.

8. If you oiled, rinse.

You're done!

Just as a fair warning, there is a transition period. They say it takes a month, but in reality, for me, it was more like 6 months. But I also extended my washings out to once a week (with one rinse mid-week) from 3 times a week with normal shampoo.

If you have questions, please ask.

 

[zombi]

Conditioner-only is common with gals on the long hair forums I belong to. I personally CWC -- condition/wash/condition. I am a wavy girl and my hair did not put up with conditioner-only washing. I think everyone's hair is different and there is no one size fits all approach!

My fine, thin, 2a/b hair didn't like baking soda for washing, nor did it really show much benefit from ACV. Sulfate-free shampoos are okay, but I don't notice much of a difference. I dilute my shampoo and use it on the scalp only, anyway.

 

[wahine]

I just found a new alternative of a no-poo method. I haven't read anything about it on the lounge yet, so maybe it's new to some of you:
Ghassoul (or Rhassoul), aka Healing Earth or Lava Earth (having nothing to do with volcanic lava, but coming from "lavare" = to wash) is a 100% organic sandy stuff that's being used in some Arabic countries to wash skin and hair. It looks like fine sand or even dust, so the idea doesn't seem to be so appealing at first. But since it's organic and absolutely free of perfume, silicone, fossil oil, paraben, preservatives, and all that unhealthy stuff, I thought I'd give it a try.
Well - the shower looked like a mess afterwards but my hair is clean. Really clean! I didn't expect it to work so well. This was a first time, so it'll take a while before I can say if it has any negative side effects. But so far I'm very optimistic about it.

 

[Grant Fan]

I have read a lot about No Poo and am not sold. I have VERY thick curly hair that also happens to be fine (I know odd combo). I condition my hair every day I go to the gym to help get the gym yuck out of it, and I shampoo I don't know maybe 1 or 2 times a month, my rule is if I can't remember the last time I put shampoo in my hair I should probably do it. When I don't go to the gym I wet and condition my hair once every 3 or 4 days, not because it is oily, my hair has no idea what oily means, but because I want to a fresh start. My concern with No Poo is that my hair would smell like vinegar, and while I like how vinegar tastes I am not so sure I want my hair to smell that way. Also I am concerned about how my color treated hair will react to it. Also once every 2 weeks I mix Mayo, an egg and olive oil together, cover my hair in it, pile my hair on my head, and wrap my hair in plastic wrap for 30 minutes to 1 hour as a deep conditioner and protein treatment.

 

[fortworthgal]

I'd love to do no 'poo, but my hair is extremely thick and I use a lot of styling products. I have used some cleansing conditioners, but even those don't seem to remove everything. I need lather!

 

[therizyflapper]

I just found a new alternative of a no-poo method. I haven't read anything about it on the lounge yet, so maybe it's new to some of you:
Ghassoul (or Rhassoul), aka Healing Earth or Lava Earth (having nothing to do with volcanic lava, but coming from "lavare" = to wash) is a 100% organic sandy stuff that's being used in some Arabic countries to wash skin and hair. It looks like fine sand or even dust, so the idea doesn't seem to be so appealing at first. But since it's organic and absolutely free of perfume, silicone, fossil oil, paraben, preservatives, and all that unhealthy stuff, I thought I'd give it a try.
Well - the shower looked like a mess afterwards but my hair is clean. Really clean! I didn't expect it to work so well. This was a first time, so it'll take a while before I can say if it has any negative side effects. But so far I'm very optimistic about it.

iv washed my hair with bentonite clay and it works well! i love rhassoul clay for my face so i bet ill love it with my hair

 

[therizyflapper]

I have read a lot about No Poo and am not sold. I have VERY thick curly hair that also happens to be fine (I know odd combo). I condition my hair every day I go to the gym to help get the gym yuck out of it, and I shampoo I don't know maybe 1 or 2 times a month, my rule is if I can't remember the last time I put shampoo in my hair I should probably do it. When I don't go to the gym I wet and condition my hair once every 3 or 4 days, not because it is oily, my hair has no idea what oily means, but because I want to a fresh start. My concern with No Poo is that my hair would smell like vinegar, and while I like how vinegar tastes I am not so sure I want my hair to smell that way. Also I am concerned about how my color treated hair will react to it. Also once every 2 weeks I mix Mayo, an egg and olive oil together, cover my hair in it, pile my hair on my head, and wrap my hair in plastic wrap for 30 minutes to 1 hour as a deep conditioner and protein treatment.

well i have very think hair and i used to have hair almost to my butt and it worked fine for me its just the matter of letting you hair adjust

 

[therizyflapper]

I'd love to do no 'poo, but my hair is extremely thick and I use a lot of styling products. I have used some cleansing conditioners, but even those don't seem to remove everything. I need lather!

i have very think hair and it works fine with me and if the baking soda doesn't seem to work you can always use a clay mask to wash your hair which will forsure get thick hair clean, and then to do the ACV rinse for shine and softness

 

[sheeplady]

I'd love to do no 'poo, but my hair is extremely thick and I use a lot of styling products. I have used some cleansing conditioners, but even those don't seem to remove everything. I need lather!

I've been told that you can't use products with silicones with no-poo. When I went no-poo I got rid of all my silicone containing hair styling products and I've stayed away from them, so I don't know if this is true.

You can get a lather with no-poo (rinse with water, add apple cider vinegar to your hair, rinse, and then do the baking soda) but I only found that out when I had a bad experience with some really soft water when traveling. I still don't think that would remove traditional products.

 

[Retro_GI_Jane]

^^ I never heard this. I use all my regular products I used before I switched to baking soda and I never seem to have a problem getting my hair clean. I never paid much attention to if any had silicones in it but I'm sure a lot of them do as they are pretty standard brands. But my hair isn't thick so maybe that is the underlying issue, Fortworthgal? It bothered me that I had no lather at first too but I learned I had to really take the time to work through my hair since I had no bubbles to do it for me.

I'm curious if anyone does a lemon juice rinse in place of vinegar? My hair needs some oil as it's somewhat long and the ends get dry even with brushing. I have been using honey but I need something with some oomph for my ends. I don't really want to go back to store bought conditioners!

 

[sheeplady]

^^ I never heard this. I use all my regular products I used before I switched to baking soda and I never seem to have a problem getting my hair clean. I never paid much attention to if any had silicones in it but I'm sure a lot of them do as they are pretty standard brands. But my hair isn't thick so maybe that is the underlying issue, Fortworthgal? It bothered me that I had no lather at first too but I learned I had to really take the time to work through my hair since I had no bubbles to do it for me.

I'm curious if anyone does a lemon juice rinse in place of vinegar? My hair needs some oil as it's somewhat long and the ends get dry even with brushing. I have been using honey but I need something with some oomph for my ends. I don't really want to go back to store bought conditioners!

I use jojoba oil, coconut oil, and almond oil on my ends. Right now I am using jojoba because that is in the shower. I just add a drop or two to the ends and work it through (I only need it at the ends). I use it pretty sparingly with good results.

The only thing I've heard about lemon juice is that it can slightly lighten your hair, I don't know if it gives your hair any conditioning. They say that white vinegar can lighten your hair as well- all I noticed with white vinegar was that my blonde strands got really blonde, I didn't get an all-over lightening effect. And this was only after a couple of months. If I can ever convince my husband to try no poo (I think I'm close!) it will have to be using lemon juice as he hates vinegar. So he may end up blonde.

It's good to know about the styling products. I went no poo as part of a clean up of my beauty routine, and ditched those, but it's good to know if I ever have to go back or end up in a situation where I have to use them.

 

[Retro_GI_Jane]

Thanks, sheeplady. I've read about this trick and I've been leery of it because I'm afraid the oil will wick up my hair. I haven't been able to get my hands on jojoba yet and have no experience in how heavy or light of an oil it is. Do you think grapeseed might work in the meantime?