stop using shampoo

So, after my last entry, I was getting this nasty greasy sebum-y spot on the back of my head. It smelled bad and felt gross. So I got this “natural” cone-free conditioner (http://www.natures-gate.com/shop/showitem.asp?ProductId=42102320&menuId=138&withLinks=1) which I think smells a little funny… but it did the job of getting the nasties from my hair. It made me good enough to not feel bad about going to a wedding ‘poo free. It didn’t make my curls just pop and my hair look wonderful, though… I think that’s an impossibility without a great many chemicals and lots of time and effort, so my hair stayed back for the wedding. Since then, I’ve used it once or twice when my hair starts feeling sebum-y… every few weeks. But then I think it smells funky (like the conditioner) for a few days after. I think, when the conditioner is all used up (which might take longer than I want), I may try one of the ‘shampoo’ bars.. I was looking at the JR Ligget bar (http://secure.jrliggett.com/) they had at my frou frou grocery here in Asheville, and the ingredients didn’t look all that different than a natural conditioner – no harsh detergents, that’s for sure. And a bar would be way better for travel/backpacking/peace corps than a conditioner bottle. So that’s definitely my next step, once I get done with this stinky conditioner.

ACV in my ACV rinse today – bad idea! My hair takes forever to dry in this humidity, but so far it still smells a bit like apple cider vinegar. On the upside, though, it definitely cleared up most of the sebum which had been accumulating on the top of my head. The question becomes – does clearing it up artificially like this invite the creation of more sebum, like the use of shampoo does? Or is it gentle enough that my glands won’t take note? I feel like between the little bit of bar soap that went on my hair last week and last week’s acv rinse that my hair was producing nasties at record levels… but maybe that’s just part of the switchover process?

It’s been 6 weeks since I used shampoo or conditioner on my hair! Wow! Up until week 5 I just brushed my hair, massaged my scalp, and rinsed with water. Sebum started to build up, though. I tried this once before while using baking soda and apple cider vinegar(acv), and I think I used too much because the results were disastrous. I’m still nervous about the baking soda, but I bought some acv for my hair. Last Sunday I put a few tablespoons in a big plastic cup, and then while I was in the shower I wet my hair, filled up the rest of the cup with water, and poured it on my scalp. It cut through a lot of the sebum, but not all of it. A few days later, I put some bar soap on my hands before massaging my scalp in the shower a few times, and that seemed to work well. I still feel like my hair could use a little improvement, but overall I’m quite happy being shampoo free. They say it takes up to three months for your hair to fully adjust, so I figure I’m halfway there.

I’ll probably use a little ACV in my hair tonight, see if a once weekly rinse doesn’t help things a bit. I’ve also read about tea rinses and essential oil rinses, as well as rubbing a little olive oil or coconut oil into hair to make it softer, so I’m playing with the idea of trying one or more of those.

This is fun! And no one has noticed. At least, no one has seemed repelled and/or told me I smell/look funny, so I’ll take that as a good sign :)

I’d read up on no ‘poo before, tried a bs/acv routine in ‘06, and failed miserably. My hair was half the length it is now and it became completely tangled and unmanageable.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago, where I was at a week long self development course, and one of the participants came up to me with a present. She explained to me that it was an organic cotton cloth from a japanese company, and it was for rubbing your face and scalp so you didn’t need to use soap on either. She’s been using nothing but that type of cloth for years, replacing it occasionally. The cool thing about the cloth is that after you’re done using it on your hair, it’s a great rag – then you can bury it in your garden or anywhere, really, and let it decompose.

So, back to the hair. I was intrigued, and her hair and face looked great, so I decided to go for it. The only thing I’ve put in my hair since then (8/2/09) is water. For the first week my face broke out and my hair was ridiculously embarrassingly frizzy. Not so good, but I was expecting things to be ugly for a bit so I dealt with it. This week my face has mostly settled down – my chin is still a little oily – and my hair is greasy at the scalp but otherwise fine. It’s greasy enough so that I can feel it and think it’s a bit yucky, but no one else can tell. I’m glad my relationship is long distance right now, I wouldn’t want anyone else touching my scalp!

I’m excited to continue with this and see where it goes. I’ve also decided to try not using any soap unless I’ve done something to necessitate it – bike grease, sunscreen, etc. So far that’s going really well too, although I have the advantage on most westerners there by having a sort of scrubby hand mitt from Korea – it’s a harsh scrubby thing which, if applied with enough force, can basically take off your whole dead skin layer and leave you with shiny soft new skin. I don’t apply it with that much force, but I can certainly get the top layer of nasties off. I even got some chain grease off my leg with it the other day. So that helps a lot.

I think it’s also worth mentioning that I’ve been working out. I’ve done multiple sessions of Bikram yoga, a hot yoga where I sweat buckets each class, and I’ve been biking and hiking and running (a teeny bit). I think the sweat actually helps my hair – when I rinse off after my head has been nasty sweaty, I think it helps control the grease. This might be all in my head, but I think the salt helps out.

Updates as they come.