Friends...let's talk. Anyone heard of the "No-Poo" method? Yes? No? When I first heard of it I was put off simply by the name. I mean, poo? Get real. There is enough "poo" talk in this mama's life. For months the "No-Poo" method was coming up in my Pinterest feed and I just kept right on scrolling. But one night of boredom and I clicked. So what did I learn? It's not AS scary as you might think. If you haven't heard of it, let me explain...
It's basically a method of washing and conditioning your hair without traditional shampoo and conditioner. Ew right? Well kind of. Most experts agree that washing your hair too often can dull and damage your hair. Now there is no official "recipe" for how often you should wash, but most experts believe you can and should wait as long as your hair type will allow. But what if what you are putting on your hair is contributing to the way your hair behaves? Shampoos specifically contain harsh detergents that strip the hair of it's natural oils. Oil is gone, and now your scalp thinks you need more, so it over produces leaving your hair oily in just a day or two. The theory is that by eliminating the harsh detergents and chemicals in your hair routine, you can achieve healthy, strong her hair and not "HAVE" to wash it every day or every other day, some even say they can wash it once week. Seems gross right? But if this hair transformation is suppose to give you shiny, manageable, stronger, more luscious locks and allow you to go more then a day or two without washing your hair, maybe it's worth it? Besides who needs all those nasty synthetic chemicals seeping into your scalp, and affecting our environment right? Still turned off? Well I was curious. And I tried it. Twice. Here's what I learned.
1. You DO wash your hair.
The mainstream method suggests a baking soda and water wash and an apple cider vinegar rinse as a "conditioner". There are variations of this, and you have to kind of play with the "recipe" of baking powder and water so it works for your hair type. It take some time to get the right mix, but it's not hard, just part of the process.
2.There is a "Detox" period.
Google it, it's true. It can take upwards of a month for your hair to adjust so I wouldn't recommend doing it if you have a lot of important activities planned where you don't want to look like you are on day three (or more) without a shower.
3. It removed a lot of scalp build up.
When you first apply the baking soda, you notice a "slimy" feel as you scrub your head. As I gently massaged my head I noticed build up coming off of my scalp under my fingernails. Even after my hair was dry, it looked like I had dandruff but it was just my hair acclimating and removing all the build-up. (Remember: I said, don't have any major plans :))
4. Your hair takes longer to dry.
Rather you decide to let your hair dry naturally or take a blow dryer to it, it took FOREVER to dry. The silicone in our traditional hair care products help your hair to dry faster. Not too annoying for a person who rarely does anything with her hair other then a mom bun, but probably annoying for someone who needs to do their hair after a wash because they have someplace to be.
5. My hair became dry and felt extra "thick" and never felt silky smooth and soft.
This is hard to describe, but my hair felt "thicker". It also was drier and the amount of frizz day one after washing was annoying.
6. Day 2 & 3 after a wash were my favorite.
My hair seemed to calm down and was soft, smoother, had a decent natural wave and wasn't as frizzy. I felt like these days were my favorite. By day 4 thought I felt like it needed to be washed. It didn't usually "look" like it needed to be in the same way after a day or two after a proper shampoo, but I felt like it was time. If that "feeling" hadn't bothered me so much I could probably have easily gone 1-2 days more without issue.
7. I missed the nice smell shampoo provided.
I am programmed to like fragrances. And my hair never smelt "bad" it just didn't smell like, well....shampooed hair. Now, I could have added essential oils to routine, but I never did. It just seemed like one more step I didn't want to mess with.
My overall assessment: I landed on "Eh". It was "fine", but not amazing. It took a lot of effort to get the recipe just right and there were a lot of "hat days" to get through the transition. Also, I just missed the clean hair smell and soft feel you get from a more shampoo like product. So I'm saying no to the "No-Poo" method. It's just not for me.
So where did I land regarding product? I've ditched the standard shampoo for now, and opted for a more natural shampoo product from Lush that I am very much enjoying. More on that in a future blog post.
~K
It's basically a method of washing and conditioning your hair without traditional shampoo and conditioner. Ew right? Well kind of. Most experts agree that washing your hair too often can dull and damage your hair. Now there is no official "recipe" for how often you should wash, but most experts believe you can and should wait as long as your hair type will allow. But what if what you are putting on your hair is contributing to the way your hair behaves? Shampoos specifically contain harsh detergents that strip the hair of it's natural oils. Oil is gone, and now your scalp thinks you need more, so it over produces leaving your hair oily in just a day or two. The theory is that by eliminating the harsh detergents and chemicals in your hair routine, you can achieve healthy, strong her hair and not "HAVE" to wash it every day or every other day, some even say they can wash it once week. Seems gross right? But if this hair transformation is suppose to give you shiny, manageable, stronger, more luscious locks and allow you to go more then a day or two without washing your hair, maybe it's worth it? Besides who needs all those nasty synthetic chemicals seeping into your scalp, and affecting our environment right? Still turned off? Well I was curious. And I tried it. Twice. Here's what I learned.
1. You DO wash your hair.
The mainstream method suggests a baking soda and water wash and an apple cider vinegar rinse as a "conditioner". There are variations of this, and you have to kind of play with the "recipe" of baking powder and water so it works for your hair type. It take some time to get the right mix, but it's not hard, just part of the process.
2.There is a "Detox" period.
Google it, it's true. It can take upwards of a month for your hair to adjust so I wouldn't recommend doing it if you have a lot of important activities planned where you don't want to look like you are on day three (or more) without a shower.
3. It removed a lot of scalp build up.
When you first apply the baking soda, you notice a "slimy" feel as you scrub your head. As I gently massaged my head I noticed build up coming off of my scalp under my fingernails. Even after my hair was dry, it looked like I had dandruff but it was just my hair acclimating and removing all the build-up. (Remember: I said, don't have any major plans :))
4. Your hair takes longer to dry.
Rather you decide to let your hair dry naturally or take a blow dryer to it, it took FOREVER to dry. The silicone in our traditional hair care products help your hair to dry faster. Not too annoying for a person who rarely does anything with her hair other then a mom bun, but probably annoying for someone who needs to do their hair after a wash because they have someplace to be.
5. My hair became dry and felt extra "thick" and never felt silky smooth and soft.
This is hard to describe, but my hair felt "thicker". It also was drier and the amount of frizz day one after washing was annoying.
6. Day 2 & 3 after a wash were my favorite.
My hair seemed to calm down and was soft, smoother, had a decent natural wave and wasn't as frizzy. I felt like these days were my favorite. By day 4 thought I felt like it needed to be washed. It didn't usually "look" like it needed to be in the same way after a day or two after a proper shampoo, but I felt like it was time. If that "feeling" hadn't bothered me so much I could probably have easily gone 1-2 days more without issue.
7. I missed the nice smell shampoo provided.
I am programmed to like fragrances. And my hair never smelt "bad" it just didn't smell like, well....shampooed hair. Now, I could have added essential oils to routine, but I never did. It just seemed like one more step I didn't want to mess with.
My overall assessment: I landed on "Eh". It was "fine", but not amazing. It took a lot of effort to get the recipe just right and there were a lot of "hat days" to get through the transition. Also, I just missed the clean hair smell and soft feel you get from a more shampoo like product. So I'm saying no to the "No-Poo" method. It's just not for me.
So where did I land regarding product? I've ditched the standard shampoo for now, and opted for a more natural shampoo product from Lush that I am very much enjoying. More on that in a future blog post.
~K
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