Does anybody here "no poo" (no shampoo)?

[pinstikfartherin]

I came across the no shampoo idea months ago and tried it. Instead of using shampoo and conditioner, you use baking soda and apple cider vinegar or lemon juice mixed with water to clean your hair. There are many variations. A conditioner only rinse. Water only. Etc.

I had minor success with this, but my problem was the hard water in our area. The baking soda wouldn't dissolve and my hair got more oily after three weeks and I couldn't find a solution to that problem. Until now. I never thought of boiling the water and then adding the baking soda, but many say it solves this problem. So, I am going to make another attempt.

Has anyone else or does anyone else use this method or a variation of it? It appealed to me because of the chemicals in shampoos and conditioners, and I knew it could save money if it worked. I would love to hear from anyone who has experience with this.

[Melissa G]

1. A good friend of mine does

She loves it. Her hair looks great!
She tried it because of shampoos giving her allergic reactions.

We have hard water here, but i have yet to hear her complain about it in relation to the 'no poo' solution.

[pinstikfartherin]

5. Maybe I just haven't found the right mix of the two.

That gives me hope, thanks!

[beac]

2. I have tried the cider vinegar only method with so-so results.

I use apple cider vinegar and baking soda to keep my sink drains clean and it really bubbles up a lot.

Do you pre-mix the baking soda and water and then add then vinegar just before shampooing?

[pinstikfartherin]

4. Vinegar is separate.

You "shampoo" with The baking soda and water mixture. You follow with "conditioning" which is vinegar and water. If your scalp greases easy, don't do vinegar on your whole head. I use it only on the ends and rinse it well. I do it only to condition my hair even though I could do something else to condition the ends I suppose. Honestly, my hair is normally very tangled and when I wash with baking soda, the comb actually glides through.

[beac]

6. OK, well that explains why the vinegar alone was leaving my hair

silky but my scalp oily. (I am cursed with thin, fine and oily locks )

Can you pre-mix a batch of the baking soda/hot water (we have hard water too) or do you make it just before showering?

[pinstikfartherin]

8. Either way.

It is really a matter of what works for you. I have started boiling my water then adding my baking soda. After it is cool enough I put it in a bottle; I use one that looks like those you mix hair dye in. I use it until it's gone. Some people get in the water, pour baking soda on their roots, add water, and scrub. That doesn't work for me because I can never get it all out.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

3. I still use it once every 3 weeks or so.

since I smoke and use a conditioner. I do a weak-strength wash, and avoid the scalp.
I haven't tried vinegar yet, hadn't even thought of it. thanks

[emilyg]

7. My Mom used

olive oil soap followed by a lemon or vinegar rinse.

[astral]

9. I just found this group(?) I use borax and keep forgetting the vinegar

Started when I developed a new skin condition (which i think I have talked about elsewhere on DU(?) anyways currently I shampoo with plain borax and water and now add just a drop or 3 of shampoo to the mix, then I use a little cream rinse on the bottom half of my hair, which currently is Aussie Moist. For a few years it was only borax and sometimes vinegar and I finally decided to kick in the shampoo b/c without it you are spending much more time and energy just scrubbing your hair under the water b/c you are cleaning your hair with water and the borax just 'helps.' And my skin is better now but never will be 100% healthy so I still watch out. (I also just use plain borax to wash in the shower with instead of soap, except sometimes a drop or 3 or Miracle II soap but the soap doesn't work as well on the hair.)

I would like to go back to not using the shampoo and conditioner at all, althought it is really a tiny amount I am using, b/c it is almost impossible to find any that are free of harmful chemicals. Now that I no longer frost my hair the hair will be healthier since it has almost finished growing out, at that point I don't think I will need the conditioner anymore.

I used to mix some borax and vinegar with the water bottle together, but the borax would cluster up into little rocks. I guess borax and vinegar do not play well together but I never heard of the pre-boiling the water trick, I will have to try that.

I used to add baking soda and I just forgot about that so I may try that again, I could not recall if it made any difference. my hair tends to be kinda course and stiff and sometimes I come up with the right combination to get it soft and silky but then I forget how I did it.

[Lars39]

11. If you can, get to a dermatatologist when you have a bad outbreak from a shampoo.

That way he/she can see how bad it is, and will probably order testing. I found out I am severely allergic to two chemicals that are in a lot of soaps, lotions and shampoos, but the dermatologists helps me find some that don't contain those chemicals.

[Nay]

10. My scalp has always been sensitive to shampoos, so I tried this. It works

great, actually. I use it 3 times a week, and shampoo the other 4 days. I will probably switch over to baking soda when I run out of shampoo.

[No Vested Interest]

12. Senior lady here, and when I was a little girl - early 1940's- shampoos were not

in common use, at least not in my home, my mother being a product of the roaring 20's and the Great Depression. (Thye really knew how to be frugal.)

Anyway, she washed my longish hair in the sink with a mild soap - no detergent soaps then.
She rinsed it with vinegar - apple cider type I guess, which was to be used for brunettes.
The purpose of the vinegar rinse was to remove the soap residue and leave the hair shiny, which it did.
However, I remember having tangles and hating the combing. Hair conditioners were not in our parlance then.

My sister, who was blond, was to rinse with lemon juice.

Everything old is new again.