The No Shampoo Diaries

I decided to go "no-poo" for a few reasons.


1) The Zombie Apocalypse. (or backpacking) I thought that maybe if I went no-poo I'd have an easier time when I went backpacking with that dirty feeling in the morning.

2) Damage - I am naturally a medium ash blonde with golden highlights. I dyed my hair red a few months back & red does not come out of blond hair regardless of the supposed "28 day, semi-permanent" label. I had to strip the color and dye over it which has left me in a ruthless cycle of re-dying a darker blonde to match my roots ever few months because my roots come in to match a color that later fades. So, less washing, less dying, less damage.

3) I saw a commercial for "Wen" cleansing conditioner one morning and I looked it up. It seemed that going "no poo" was cheaper and healthier than WEN.

4) Ok - the real reason - I am low maintenance. If it takes less time then I'm all for it.







So here is my experience so far. Week 1:
My first week I washed twice with baking soda and vinegar, with 4 days in between the 2 washes and a few more "washes" with just water so that it still looks good after a blow dry.

Week 2:
Same thing again, only no water rinse this week, I opted for a pony tail most of the week.

Week 3:
I have had Psoriasis for years and I have noticed a great increase in how comfortable my scalp psoriasis feels. I went off my greasy heavy medication about a year ago due to the cost and its been an uncomfortable year but I have noticed a mild improvement in severity but a great improvement in my comfort. Its not 'tight' on my scalp like it usually is (especially after a shampoo & blow dry), my scalp can breathe.

Week 4: On average I am washing once a week with baking soda and vinegar and once or twice with plain water. So its getting better but I'm getting discouraged because I don't seem to be adjusting as much as I would like. I want this semi greasy feeling to stop. It's to the point that I don't think anyone else can tell so I don't have to wear a pony tail - but I can tell and its annoying.

Week 6: Things are starting to get a lot better. I have found a little trick. On the days I feel a little greasy I put some plain old baking soda on my fingertips and run it over the roots of my hair. That has allowed me to go longer between washer and therefore helped my adjustment period.

Beginning of Month 2: I have done one baking soda and vinegar wash all month purely because of dirt. My hair seems to be totally adjusted. The only thing I miss is the nice smell of shampoo but the cons list ends there.

End of month 2: I dyed my hair last week to match my roots coming in (which I had never done before and worked out well - I'm naturally a blond but went red and then dyed it back blond again and it usually fades on the tips before my roots come in so I just dyed everything else to match my roots) and I got a taste of how my hair felt after a shampoo again - and I hate it. Before when I dyed my hair it almost felt thicker than normal (not sure why) but this time my hair felt weak and brittle after a dye. Thankfully this didn't mess up my adjustment period but I had forgotten how my hair felt after washing (or in this case - dying) with something that lathered.