Day 6

Actually, it was a week ago today that I last washed with shampoo and conditioner. I was using Aveda, and only washing every 2 to 3 days, so I feel I'm a bit ahead of the game anyway. This morning I was greasy greasy greasy! Yuck. I usually wear little pigtails to the gym (and it's not a fashion show anyway, who cares). Man, I have to say, it slicks back into a ponytail reeeeaaaal easy these days.

So today after I ran at the gym and got all sweaty, I thought it was time for a BS wash. Last one was Wednesday last week. I think that's pretty good! So as usual I brushed my hair well (never a tangle, these days, not that I have that problem). I get everything all ready to go, like baking soda in a cup, vinegar in a cup and chamomile tea in a cup, that I dilute with water while in the shower so it's not frigid. Today I tried a white vinegar/water rinse, I wanted to see if there's a difference from ACV. This time it was not 50/50 but 25/75. I don't like smelling like vinegar when I run. Anyway I did a vinegar rinse, then chamomile tea rinse and followed up with cool water. Invigorating! The photo here is this morning, after the wash, while my hair wasn't fully dry. It feels good though, not stringy or oily. Yay for BS!

Now my hair feels a bit stripped- sort of like when you shampoo and don't follow with conditioner. Of course, today was a BS day so that makes a difference. I was reading other people's blogs that ACV can make their hair feel a bit greasy and heavy sometimes. I wonder if white vinegar is really that different? The smell certainly is. The more dilute rinse seems better I think, less odor. I also got some lovely French Lavender essential oil (EO) and patted that lightly into the ends after the shower, along with some coconut oil on my face and ends. I only used the coconut oil because I felt like my hair was really stripped somehow, and I couldn't get my fingers through it- the coconut fixed it right up.

This photo is from the evening... it shows that it dried nice, but it got a little stringy during the day. Not really oily, I guess; maybe we (I) just don't know what hair would feel like if it were natural? Certainly if every hair were coated with sebum, the hair texture would change, be thicker, behave differently. Either way by mid-day, it was a little stringy and looked somewhat oily behind my ears. I had the top back in barrettes all day and that looked alright, and was glad I didn't have it down.

Why I'm going shampoo-free

A couple of years ago, I saw an article on line about a woman who hasn't shampooed her hair for 10 years. Her name was Penny. I searched, then, for information or articles on how to go without washing your hair... I mean, her hair was not greasy or gross, and the article stated she didn't stink or look funky. How did she do it? At that time, there seemed to be no information on the Web about it. I didn't just want to stop washing... but I had no idea how to get my hair back to a natural state.

Not long after reading that article, I went surfing on Cape Cod with a boyfriend. We camped for a week and I made the decision beforehand not to shower, at all. After all... I would be in the ocean every day, and salt water always makes my hair feel amazing. I did it, and felt fabulous! My hair was funky and wild, gently bleached by the sun, and was fun to play with. I have read so many things online about what it will look and feel like to be more natural and I'm psyched!

Recently I came across a thread on Tribe about the "no-poo" movement and started reading. There were tons of links about transitioning hair back to a natural state, and why... stuff about the chemicals in shampoo (a solvent, after all) and the health benefits of not damaging your hair. Not to mention the beauty!

Shampoo wasn't introduced until the early 1900's. Until then people didn't touch their hair with anything but soap, and only once per month or so. Plenty of poems and stories were written about the beauty of women's hair and so on... how is that so? What did they do before Miss Clairol?

Think about it... dogs don't wash their hair everyday. Unless they have food allergies or mange, they are not unpleasant. Or cats. Or horses. Or anything else that just lives naturally and is covered in fur/ hair.

So here in this blog I am going to track my own progress, what I'm using and how it's going. I have short hair that I've been growing out for the past few months, so this is the perfect time... my hair's still short enough to get the natural oils (sebum) down to the ends in a quick amount of time without too much torture.

I'm excited about this! I've been trying to get back to living a more pure and natural life anyway, and this seems to be the way to go. I'll save lots of money on avoiding hair products, and save the environment by not dumping tons of solvents down the drain.

I am going to blog daily about this, and include pictures and a log of what I use. This is purely selfish, so that I can keep track of what does and doesn't work.

Here are some links to what I've been reading:
http://web.mac.com/jfmori/iWeb/nz/No%20Shampoo%20Experiment/No%20Shampoo%20Experiment.html
http://babyslime.livejournal.com/174054.html
http://www.naturalfamilyonline.com/go/index.php/389/why-you-should-go-no-poo/
http://community.livejournal.com/no_poo