stop using shampoo

of this and I still haven’t stopped and gone back to shampoo. I’m pleased I decided to stop using shampoo.

Wow. Just… WOW!

I was extremely skeptical about this. I’ve always had gorgeous hair with hardly ever a ‘bad hair day’ to mention. Never any scalp problems, static or limp hair, you know? So I wasn’t really sure that this was for me.

But it has been just over a month since I last used shampoo and I’m very pleased with how my hair looks now – the same as before I started! And it HAS improved – now that I don’t wash my hair with shampoo every day, I don’t have to wash my hair every day like I used to. I have naturally oily hair and if I didn’t wash for one day… Whoa!!

The last time I washed my hair was… Sunday or Monday, and this is now Thursday night. It looks beautiful!

The ACV rinse is really starting to work, too, as before it always just made my hair stringy. Not any longer! It’s shiny and soft now!

So this is done!

which is, I’ll admit, the main reason I have not done this sooner. “No ‘poo”? It sounds, well… do I have to explain that?

The other reason was that everyone I’d encountered using this method seemed to be doing it because they already had problem hair, whether that was dandruff, staticy hair, allergies, etc and so on.

I have fabulous hair, which has never given me a problem because of shampoo.

However the thought of all the chemicals does bother me, and it crossed my mind that maybe this is why I have such bad skin. If my face would clear up, it would be worth it!

I have naturally very greasy hair, and although you definitely DO have to deal with greasiness for a “transitional” period, it’s not quite as bad as I was expecting it to be.

And for the uninitiated, let me enlighten you as to the constant terms you see when no longer using chemical baths on your hair:

BS: baking soda
ACV: apple cider vinegar
WV: actually, I’m not sure. It’s either wine vinegar or white vinegar, but I’m pretty certain it’s wine.
WO: water only
CO: conditioner only
BBB: boar bristle brush

That’s about it. There are several ways to do “no ‘poo”, but this is what I do.

A tb of baking soda in a squirt bottle, with a cup of water. Shake that up, wet my hair and squirt on, all down my part, the crown and the back of my head. No need to wash the ends and working up a lather just doesn’t happen anymore. It’s kind of weird feeling, because after 22 years with the nice lather of suds, baking soda made me wonder “how can I tell if I’m doing it right?” for the first few times.

Scrub that in gently, leave for a few moments, rince out.

Then usually ACV is used to rinse the ENDS of my hair ONLY. It’s basically the conditioner. I use a cup for that, about 1 tb of ACV, too. I dilute it with another cup water and pour on.

Rinse out and ta-da! Done.

I’m still in the transitional phase, and occasionally (cough twice cough) in the past three weeks I’ve washed with shampoo. I’m hoping to wean myself off, rather than quit cold turkey.

I’m expecting about two months total of this transition phase, but everyone’s testimonials all assure that my hair will naturally balance itself out by that time.