My sister told me about this link on Pinterest to the Code Red Hat Blog. In it she gives really detailed instructions on throwing away your shampoos and conditioners and just using baking soda and vinegar to wash your hair. I’m not going to go into a lot of details because her blog post is so great, but I am going to say how excited I am about this concept. I love that it’s so affordable! I feel like I always have to buy the most expensive shampoos and condtioners to give my hair the best products, but in reality it doesn’t matter how much you spend, none of it is actually very good for our hair.
check out this link for great instructions http://coderedhat.com/no-poo-method/
Here’s an updated article I read on this topic and they recommend conditioning with coconut oil after the baking soda and vinegar treatment. I LOVE coconut oil for everything and have used it in my hair and am amazed at how soft it makes my hair!
No-Poo Article From “This Above All…”
If anyone knows of a store bought product that is equally as good for our skin and hair let me know! Although I’m sure it costs a heck of a lot more than a box of baking soda and a gallon of vinegar! 🙂
Everything you need to “no-poo” your hair!
Tootles–Anna
I gave up on no-poo! I tried it for four days and my hair was so crunchy and it felt like it was going to turn into dread locks…so I’m back to regular poo 🙂 My little sister was bound and determined to give it two weeks like the Code Red Hat Blog said, but she gave up after a week because her hair was getting so icky! Anyway, I just wanted to let the world know I was not impressed with no-poo hair care, but I did find that I love baking soda as a face scrub! At least one good thing came of it 🙂
Anna
Interesting. I missed this one earlier.
I know for a fact that as we are all growing more conscious of what we put into our bodies internally, we often forget that our skin is meant to absorb things internally as well. What we put on the skin, as in lotions, eventually works its way into the inside of us and is absorbed in the whole digestive process. That’s why it’s really important to use natural products for the skin that don’t contain so many of the toxins used in most lotions. For instance, the dye (yellow) #5 is so toxic it has been banned from most European countries and others as well. Why in the world does the good ol’ USA, who has always been considered a leader in the modern world not ban it.
Using the wonderful essential oils we are all aware of is a great substitute for lotion. You can mix them into Olive Oil, Jobo Oil (very good) or Grapeseed Oil…all these are used a lot in massage therapy.
Make your own concoctions and with the scents you enjoy.
As for a hair cleanser and conditioner…I am out in the dark on that one. Although, if you get these at a health food store and READ THE INGREDIENTS (just because something comes from a health food store doesn’t mean it is healthy) you should find something you like.
My sister, who is an Extreme Health Nut, uses Bohne’s liquid soap. It has another, more familiar name, that escapes me at the moment. I’ll post it ASAP. She is also very allergic to most products and can use this. She also washes her clothes in it. I tried it and it made my fair feel “weird”, it all balled up in a gob. A conditioner would aleve that reaction though.
When I was little, I remember my mother washing my hair in a beaten egg. I think she read it was good for the hair. She always rinsed it in vinegar, which is wonderful for the hair, it removes all leftover soap scum. In the “old days” there was a popular thought going around to put mayonnaise on your hair to condition it. You wrapped it in a plastic bag and let it set for awhile. I tried it, worked great on my hair but I couldn’t stand to eat mayonnaise for a long time after that.
Good post, Anna. A lot of “food” for thought. 🙂
Good post yourself mom! :)))))
Good concept, but it definitely wasn’t for me!! I like the smell-good nice soft hair I get from shampoo and conditioner! And you can still skip washing daily, by using a dry shampoo. That’s my approach, and I’m sticking to it! 🙂
I seriously cherish each time I wash my hair now after those four days of no-poo! :-))))
My hair is kinda soft the day after washing no poo, but my hair is naturally coarse will this take away the caorsness
Emma,
I am so sorry I honestly don’t know the answer to your question but I bet if you follow the link I provided in this post the author of that article might possibly know?? I truly don’t think it will reduce the coarseness of your hair–I have very coarse hair as well and did it for about a week and it seemed to make it worse. The best thing I have found for my coarse hair is to use a highly moisturizing shampoo and conditioner (I currently LOVE Biomega!) and then use a good oil after words with a good moisture serum…I am using an argan oil I got at Costco of all places with Tigi S Factor Silky Smooth Moisture Serum. I let my hair air dry as often as possible which really seems to help smooth it out a lot. If you’d like me to get any of these products for you at the beauty supply store I can or I think you can buy most of them on amazon as well! I love the principle of “No-Poo” but I couldn’t hack it….I felt like my hair was turning into dread locks after three days! :-)))))
Yes your hair is crunchy the first few times you use it. But what I started doing was spraying the vinegar specifically on the parts that I knew were the most stiff. And that helped a lot. I think I’ve been on this kick for about 2-3 months now and it totally works for me. No more stiff hair. Just all natural and my hair has grown a lot since using it. And I love how I only have to wash my hair every 4 days. So if you stick it out and try your own techniques it can really work wonders.
Awesome info Taylor! I’ve heard you just have to stick it out for a few weeks to feel the difference…maybe one of these days I’ll give it another shot. I have the thickest, coarsest hair as it is so it is really hard for me to make it even more crunchy and coarse intentionally. But I love the philosophy behind it! Thanks for your input!