I'm telling you, I think in rhymes and children's songs. The level of sophistication in my house is so low, it's probably like a black hole sucking all of the grown-up-ness up for miles around. Which explains a little about some of the neighbors, now that I think about it. Oh, wait, did you think the blog title was referring to my regular fantasy of a day without soiled diapers? The one that isn't likely to happen any time in the next two and a half years minimum?
Well, I currently "no-poo" (though my children certainly don't, heh), which actually refers to not using shampoo, and thought I'd share an update for other all-natural weirdos out there. The only shampoo that's touched my hair in the past year was one time when we were on vacation with friends and I got lazy. I just used what was in the shower. (It was a decent, at least middle of the road shampoo that you might have in your shower as well.) I could tell a HUGE difference, as my hair went totally limp and fine afterward and would hardly stay in a ponytail. That's been typical of my hair throughout my life, not wanting to stay up in any kind of style or hold a curl. With the "no-poo", though, the natural oils aren't washed out and it gives my hair awesome texture and shine. For me, it is win-win. I don't spend money on shampoo or hair product, and my hair is infinitely more manageable and very soft.
Oh and I was shampooed twice during my semi-annual haircuts. Same story as above, but with lots of hair product to scour out with my baking soda "no-poo"over the next few days.
If you are thinking of trying the "no-poo" system (you are totally dying to give up shampoo, right??), I have a few tips to help you give it a really fair trial:
1. Commit to doing no-poo only for 30 days. Your scalp will take a little while to adjust the amount of oil it makes, and yes, you might feel really oily for awhile. My first time around, I bailed after a couple of weeks because I was dying for some lather and felt like a grease pit (my second time around, I used more baking soda and had way more success; see #2 below). If you alternate between no-poo and shampoo, your scalp won't make the adjustment and you might always feel a little dissatisfied with your no-poo hair. It also helps you break your addiction to shampoo lather ;-). After that first month, it's smooth sailing! Like I said, I don't use any product, and my hair has great softness, shine and body. I am very amazed by this, even a year later. Please tell me if I'm delusional and my hair looks yucky, but I'm pretty sure nobody can tell.
2. Be flexible with your recipe. If you're a few weeks in and still feeling oily, add more than a tablespoon of baking soda to your cup of water. At this point, I eyeball how much baking soda I put in the bottom of my bottle, and fill it up with close to two cups of water. Shake before each use to dissolve the soda again. If your scalp seems a little too dry, you could try less baking soda. This is totally customizable! Same with your vinegar rinse. I would play with the baking soda ratio first, and stick with about 1 tablespoon vinegar to 1 cup of water, and mess with the vinegar rinse later.
Here's the basic idea to get you started:
Add 1 Tablespoon baking soda to 1 cup water. Shake well, apply to hair and scrub your scalp like you were trying to lather it. Work into hair as well. Rinse well with water. It'll feel sticky when rinsed. Over time, instead of feeling weird, this will just make you look forward to the next step, which makes your hair so soft.
Add 2 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar to 1 cup water. Squirt over hair to saturate, rub in a little like a conditioner, and rinse well with water. Sometimes I let it sit on my scalp for a few minutes while I do other things. The vinegar rebalances the pH of your hair and scalp, which is vital to this process because baking soda is very basic. Plus, the sticky thing.
For dispensing, I have found that cheap condiment bottles from Walmart work well. The kind with long pointy spouts that you squeeze to dispense, and little caps to go on the tip of the spout, you know? I paid a buck each for them, and they squirt out at a rate that lets me get what I need all over my head. For faster dispensing, you can snip off the tip of the spout to make a bigger opening. I've used bottles with larger openings, and ended up dumping a ton of baking soda water in one spot on my head, and running out before I'd no-poo'ed my whole head. The condiment bottles hold close to 2 cups, I think, and last me two hair-washings.
I often mix up a big 64-cup batch of the baking soda and vinegar mixtures in larger containers with big flip top lids, and just refill from there before every other shower. When it gets to be routine, it's not a hassle at all. And no, I don't smell like a salad. The vinegar rinses away clean, and leaves my hair soft and shiny as I mentioned above. It won't be "squeaky clean" like it might be after shampoo, because the oils are still intact. But it also won't be limp and dirty looking right away like mine always is after I use conditioner (I have tried all kinds).
Why am I sharing the details of my non-shampoo regimen? Because I failed the first time I tried it. And because with any new process or product, I've found greatest success when I had the most knowledge about how to go about it and what to expect. So in case you've been curious about trying it, or just a little voyeuristic about the kind of weirdos who "no-poo", now you know!
Confession: One of my favorite things about using homemade face wash, no-poo in clearish bottles, and nice bar soap for washing is the look of total purity and simplicity in my shower. Is it weird that I enjoy not looking at labels or illustrations of flowers and fruit? This teeters on the brink of a pride issue for me, I think, evidenced by my relegating Joel's store-bought body wash and shampoo to the other shower shelf, the one behind my back. You can lead 'em to water, but you can't make 'em drink.
I'm looking for a recipe for some kind of natural baby wash. If one doesn't come along soon, I think I might splurge on something for this new baby and use it on the toddlers as well. I've read things about store-bought baby washes that make me uncomfortable; even if they aren't causing babies to mutate before our eyes, I like the idea of knowing all the ingredients and that I'm putting safe, healthy substances all over my children's bodies. Do you know of a recipe, or a good natural brand I could try?
Thanks for stopping by!
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