How to Keep Your Hair from Smelling Like Vinegar- OR, Going No 'Poo

Ok, so I made the leap and am now shampoo and conditionerless and I survived.  It's only been a few days and already I've had to change some of my original plans.

Here's how I started.  I found a few recipes online for going " No 'Poo" (Simple Mom and One Green Generation have good recipes).  Here is what you will need before you start:

1.  Two Containers for your cleansing solutions. I found some squirt bottles like the one pictured at a kitchen and home good store for $1.

2.  Baking Soda

3.  Vinegar (organic)- most say to use Apple Cider Vinegar but you can also use white vinegar if you want. 

4.  Any sort of essential oil or extract you'd like


You may also want to have on hand the following:  2 cup glass measuring cup, funnel, tape, and sharpie marker for labeling.

Here are the Recipes I use:



Cleansing:

• Add 3 tablespoons of baking soda into the squirt bottle.
• Add 1.5 cups of water (more or less depending on your liking)
• Shake mixture vigorously before use to keep the settled baking soda mixed up!

To Use:  Just shake the mixture up and apply a few squirts directly onto the scalp.  Work gently into your scalp and rinse as usual.

It will feel sort of gritty and doesn't lather like one is used to, but your hair will get clean and you don't really have to use a ton of this mixture to do it.

Some people like to use more of a baking soda/water paste so you can always add more baking soda if you like.




Sealing and Conditioning:

• 1/4 cup of vinegar, pour into second squirt bottle.
• 2 cups water, add 1st cup and shake up to mix in vinegar. reserve 2nd cup for a moment.
• A few drops of essential oil (I use tangerine, lemon and a little lavender)
• Add rest of water and shake.

To Use:  After cleansing and rinsing, squirt a little of the mixture on your hair, starting at the ends.  You don't really need to douse your scalp so I try to avoid putting a lot of this mixture at the top of my hair near the scalp.  Leave on for a minute or so and then rinse as usual.

This seals your hair shaft so that your hair is shiny and doesn't get all tangled up.  Some people like to use other herbs and spices instead of essential oils for this (I've seen cinnamon, vanilla extract, sweet basil, etc) it all just depends on what scents you like.  I like citrus scents because I feel like they smell clean.  BF commented on Saturday that my hair smelled like lemons.  It's a lot better than having your hair smell like vinegar, but some people say they don't really notice a vinegar smell. 



Extra Conditioning

In case your hair gets a little dry (like mine does) there are a few things you can do:

1. Jojoba oil- you can pretty much find this at any store that carries soaps, shampoo, lotion.  You can apply sparingly to your hair after you've cleansed it, starting at the ends and working your way up, just avoiding the scalp.  Put a damp hot towel or shower cap on your head covering your hair and put a heating pad on medium on your head to keep your hair warm. You can also do this in a sauna and it works about the same with the heat.  Leave on for 15 minutes, up to 30 minutes, then comb hair and towel the oil out.  There are companies that make "hot oil" repair serums that are very similar.

2.  Find a quality conditioner- Giovanni makes a good conditioning repair balm that you can use weekly.  I find their hair masks and balms at New Seasons, but I've seen them other places as well.  They use all natural ingredients.  There are other companies out there that make pretty good conditioners or leave in treatments without all of the unnatural, "bad" stuff, but some of them include animal products (like eggs or fats) so read the labels.  

3.  Wash your hair less frequently or use less baking soda in the cleansing mixture.



As a back up, I've ordered Dr. Bronners Citrus Conditioning Hair Rinse, but haven't used it yet.  Here are the ingredients:  Organic Lemon Juice, Organic Shikakai Powder, Organic Coconut Oil*, Potassium Hydroxide**, Organic Olive Oil*, Organic Hemp Oil, Organic Jojoba Oil, Organic Lemon Oil, Organic Orange Oil.

So far I really like this method and will continue to use it.  I feel really good about not putting harsh chemicals in my hair and I'm very surprised at how healthly my hair feels using these methods instead of the standard shampoo and conditioner.

Heather Needs A Nap

I don't know what it is about this week but it seems like I just can't get enough sleep!  I'm not going to bed super late or getting up any earlier or doing more than usual so I have no idea what's up. 

Yesterday I was super tempted to go out and take a nap in my car during my lunch break, but I know that once I'm asleep a hurricane couldn't wake me up so I decided against it. 

I think that it could be partially because I had such a full weekend and didn't get to laze around as much as I normally do on the weekends so my body never got that recovery time. 


Also, last night, the whole issue of BF's mom not liking me came to a head.  That was fun...  BF had a conversation with the parents about it and then a conversation with me about it and I feel like I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place because I don't deal with other people's issues very well when I feel like I've been doing the best I can to help.

We'll work through it, and basically all I have to do is continue to do what I've already been doing, which is to be social with the family and try to get to know them more.  Hopefully it'll be easier now.  It's just frustrating. 

I feel bad because BF is stuck in the middle of the issue. He's trying so hard to make things easier on both sides, but really he knows there's not much he can do. 



On a completely separate train of thought- I bought my Shampooless ingredients last night (for a whopping $8 dollars total).  I'm going to try it this evening after I go to the gym.  I also have a back-up method in case this is a disaster, but I feel like it probably won't be since I've read about a million success stories with it. 

Is it Friday yet? 

Adventures In Alternative Toiletries

As you may have heard, I've recently been venturing into the land of natural soaps, cleansers and toiletries. I thought I would share a few of my findings in case you were interested... in learning more about natural cleansers or in trying them for yourself!

  

Toothpaste:

They already make some great natural toothpastes and mouthwashes, but I'm pretty independent so I thought I would try to make some of my own. I found a few recipes online and most of them called for baking soda, some sort of glycerin product (straight glycerin to coconut oil), salt and any sort of essential oil- most people use peppermint or wintergreen.

Ok, I tried this using a mixture of baking soda, salt, coconut oil and a few drops of peppermint oil recipe I found on SimpleMom.net. I left out the Stevia at first, but added some later after I tasted it.

The Verdict: It cleans well and your mouth feels good, but the taste is not wonderful even with the Stevia addition.

I prefer using Tom's of Maine toothpastes as they come in better flavors and are very accessible- I can find them at all of my local grocery stores. BF doesn't like it so much, but I've found that I really like the Cinnamon-Clove flavor the best.

  

Deoderant:

  

Natural deoderant has come a long way from that weird looking rock crystal deoderant I remember seeing at the local health food stores when I was young- which I tried years ago and didn't like. They still have that rock crystal deoderant, but it now comes in many forms (crystal, spray and cream).

Companies are now making a variety of great, all natural deoderants that do not contain aluminum, parabens, PEG's, perfumes, dyes, and synthetic ingredients. I started my search at my local grocery store. There are a lot of deoderant companies that are in the regular deoderant aisle that claim to be natural and good for you, however I found after reading labels that most of these still have harmful and synthetic ingredients in them. I moved to the "Natural" section of my grocery to continue my search and found a few good starters:

  

1. Tom's of Maine- these come in a variety of forms such as liquid roll on and stick and a multitude of scents- unscented also available. So far I've tried the Garden Fresh roll on. I like the smell of this one as it isn't perfumy and doesn't irritate my skin at all. The only downside is that I usually have to reapply in the late afternoon.

2. Jason Everyday Natural Care- Jason makes a handfull of different deoderants, all available in stick or roll on. I've tried the Tee Tree Deoderant Stick and I really like it. It smells fresh and clean but isn't overpowering and it lasts all day. I'm a big fan of products that contain Tee Tree oil as it is an natural anti-bacterial and antimicrobial agent. I would reccommend this product to anyone looking to try a natural deoderant. Not all stores carry Jason products, but around here it's readily available. I find mine at Fred Meyer, New Seasons and Whole Foods.

3. Make Your Own Deoderant- there are a few recipes I've found online, but I've only tried one: Baking soda and cornstarch. You just mix the two together in a container and dust in on your armpits in the morning or at night. It works well, but also leaves powder on things so I wouldn't reccommend this method if you are going to be wearing a dark colored top where the powder might rub off and leave you a bit streaky.

  

I still have some leftover old deoderant that I'm trying to work my way through- so the transition isn't complete yet, but after reading about what types of things are in deoderants really made me wonder why people would put such terrible things in products that we use on our skin!

  

Hand Soap:

  

There are recipes out there to make your own soaps, however I don't want to spend time concocting things and making a mess, so I usually go to the store for these. My favorite soaps are:

  

1. Nature's Gate Pomegranate Sunflower liquid hand soap. It smells awesome and is super moisturizing. I find it at Fred Meyer, but I've seen that many stores in the area carry Nature's Gate brand products.

2. Dr. Bronner's Pure Castile Soaps- I've written about these soaps before and I LOVE THEM. They do tend to dry my skin out a bit, but if you have a good lotion or moisturizer you should be ok. This soap comes in so many scents which is great because you can find exactly what you like. I love the Almond, Lavender and Rose scents.

  

Face Soap:

  

I never thought I'd say this, but I've gone SOAPLESS. A few of my friends have done this and I was really hesitant to try it since I have this crazy combination skin since hitting my mid-twenties. I've been using expensive face soaps for the past few years to try to combat my t-zone issues and I go through cycles of victory against it and then sorely losing. Very frustrating.

Essentially for cleansing your face using this soapless method you just need a few items:

1. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2. Castor Oil
3. Tea Tree oil or any other essential oil you like.

Here is the recipe I use:

• 3 Parts Castor Oil
• 1 Part Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• couple drops of Tea Tree Oil

I just put all of the ingredients in a little travel sized squirt-top bottle and shake it up. If you have drier skin you can change the EVOO/Castor Oil Ratio to 2 to 2 or you can also use a different carrier oil instead of Castor Oil, like Jojoba or Sweet Almond Oil.

To Use:

After you've mixed your "face wash" up just squirt a little onto your fingertips and massage onto your face for about a minute. Take a washcloth and run under super hot water and wring out before setting on your face and letting it steam for another minute. Then just gently wipe the oil off of your face with the washcloth, you may need to rinse the cloth and wipe a second time.

It takes less time using this method of cleansing than it did with my 3 step super expensive soap method which dried my skin out and made me flaky while I still had pimples and blotchy spots.

It sounds totally counterintuitive to wash your face with oil, but it works! It has left my skin feeling ultra smooth and soft and, strangely enough it doesn't make me break out. My skin doesn't feel tight, but it doesn't feel greasy or oily either.

  

In addition to this, every few days I take a cotton ball after I wash my face and dab on a little bit of Witch Hazel over my t-zone to help dry up the little blemishes I have. I have noticed that the amount of large pimples on my face has decreased and the only skin issues I'm dealing with are the leftover pimples that were there before I started using this method.

There are commercially made natural face soaps, but since this recipe is so simple and easy to use/make I figure why buy it if I already have the ingredients?

So there are few of the natural products and homemade products that I have been using and have mostly found success. I hope you find the info helpful if you are looking for alternative products are wondering what it's like to use some of these products.

My next transitions will be hair products... scary. I LOVE good smelling clean hair so I'm super nervous about going 'poo less. I'll definitely write my findings for those of you who are curious.