Natural (Poo-free) Hair Care Info

[Megadodo]

Basic info on "Poo-free" or naturl hair care

The basic method is to
1. wash the hair with baking soda,
- some people use a few T. mixed with water to create a slurry
- some people with short hair apply it directly and scrub it in

2. rinse well with water

3. rinse again with either diluted apple cider vinegar or diluted lemon juice (minimum 1:4 ratio, I use about 1:10 ratio)

4. rinse well with water

Once the hair is dry it won't smell of vinegar.

The number of days between washing varies. Most people wash anywhere from every other day to once per week. You just have to experiment to find out what works best for you.

If you shower between washings, do a water rinse and vigourous scalp massage.

For most people, a transition period occurs between 1-2 weeks of starting. During this time the scalp becomes more oily. This is due to the scalp trying to rebalance to its natural pH balance. It's normal. Be patient, wear a hat for a few days and when you come out the other side your hair will look and feel better than it ever has.

The scalp may be itchy for a few days before the transition occurs. This seems to happen between the first and second week for most people. Don't worry, it goes away quickly.

When you cease using shampoo, you no longer strip the hair shaft and scalp of the natural oils that are supposed to be there. When in proper balance, these are not excessive, but they do make the texture of your hair feel different. This thicker feeling does not mean your hair is dirty, it means it is healthy. In time, you will get used to it.

Most people find that doing bs/acv some days and shampoo on others doesn't work. You end up with bad cycling because your scalp can't keep in balance. Best to stick with one way or the other.

One school of thought uses no shampoo but washes with conditioner only, particularly for curly hair. See the book referenced below.

For other alternative methods for more natural hair care can be found in the book Curly Girl by Lorraine Massey.

Storage of the supplies: I keep my bs in a tupperware container near the tub. I pre-mix diluted acv solution and put it in a plastic squirt bottle, also kept near the tub.

[Megadodo]

How do I go shampoo free?
Use one tablespoon of baking soda per one cup of warm or hot water. You can double or triple the recipe if you have very, very long or thick hair. But do not use more baking soda, your hair will become hard, dry or feel brittle if you use too much. You can put this mix in a recycled shampoo bottle, and apply to your hair with warm water.
The mix should not feel gritty, and should be a liquid. If you have very short or thick hair, you may find it easier to make a paste with a tablespoon of baking soda (or less) and sprinkle it over very wet hair and massage in. Otherwise, spray or pour the mixture onto your hair and work it in. Let it sit about a minute, and then rinse. I personally find it easiest to make a liquidy paste in the palm of my hand with about half a tablespoon, and then sprinkle and massage into dripping wet hair. I have very short hair, so I use less. Experiment and see what works best for you, there are no official rules.

For a typical rinse, make up a solution of one to two tablespoons of Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) per cup of water. Apply to wet hair, massage into scalp and rinse off with cold water. Please note, you don't always have to apply a rinse with every wash! I personally find I only need to do a rinse every 2-3 washes.


What do these ingredients do?
Apple cider vinegar is a mild acidic made from fermenting apples, the acid content is usually only around 3-5% in store-bought ACV. It has a lot of health benefits when taken internally, too! When used on your scalp, it helps promote circulation, acts as a natural antiseptic, and dissolves excessive fatty deposits and reduces scaling or peeling of the skin. As for use on hair, it helps to clarify, detangle, balances hair's pH level and seals the cuticles. Some people are bothered by the smell, but be assured that the smell should dissipate within a moment or two of rinsing. If it doesn't, you're using too much in your solution!

Baking soda is the weakest alkali of sodium compounds, it would take using a lot to do damage to your skin or hair. It has a lot of useful properties like deodorizing, leavening (for baking), whitening, polishing and clarifying. You only need a little bit, regardless of what you're using it for. Just like with vinegar, a little goes a long way. Plain water can remove almost all the dirt you can get in your hair, but a little baking soda can not only remove the rest, but take care of the build-up from hair products, shampoos and anything else you might pick up. Some people find that over time, using baking soda in their hair will lighten the colour - although most agree that if this happens you're using it too much, and perhaps not using enough ACV. Once or twice a week is fine, even less if your hair is in very good condition or easy to manage.

Use warm water to wash or clarify, this opens up your hair cuticles and helps your conditioner or rinse penetrate the hair. Use cool water on low pressure to rinse to close the cuticle, cut down on frizzes, soften hair and enhance curls.

[Megadodo]

Why go poo free? Shampoo, especially when used frequently, strips your scalp of its natural protective oils and upsets the pH balance of the scalp and hair. This causes the scalp to over-produce oils. In some people, this leads to dry hair and oily scalp. In some people in leads to dandruff issues. In some people it leads to oily hair. The different miraculous shampoo by hair type cures only aggravate the problem.

Cutting out the shampoo restores the pH balance of the scalp and hair, returning it to it's natural glorious state.

You can go poo-free and still use other hair products, but many of have found we didn't really need them after quitting the shampoo.

[Megadodo]

Originally posted at Mothering.com:
mothering.com poo-free summary

This sticky is a "work in progress" as an attempt to summarize the whole "no-poo" thing. Please PM me if you'd like to add something to this particular post; otherwise, you may find me asking you for permission to post a great idea as I'm always trolling around looking for them.

Very basic no-poo regimen: Baking soda to cleanse, apple cider vinegar to rinse.

It's worth noting that basically cleansing the scalp comes down to cleansing it. Most no-pooers have noted using an alkaline agent such as egg or baking soda to cleanse the hair and scalp of the excess oil buildup, then rinse with an acidifier to restore the pH balance of the hair. This latter can consist of apple cider vinegar, infusion of rosemary, either dried or a drop of essential oil, lemon juice, and the like.

It's important to note that this is a process. Many no-pooers have been pleased that they "get to know" their hair and scalp in a way they never did before.

I'm quoting the earlier summary posted by akirasmamma just for a starting point to see if anybody's processes got left out as the discussion has progressed.
So, on to y'all's quotes:
Quote:
*an egg works great. Scramble it, and keep it at room temp, though, to avoid a nasty chill!
*a paste with bs, hot water, and tto and apply it to my scalp....let sit for a couple of minutes....wash out and spray with 3:1 water/acv leave in....comb with a wide tooth comb....apply jojoba oil to my hair except the scalp. Through out the week I will comb ro and more jojoba in my hair....I basically only bush (boar hair) my hair at night when I'm bathing the kids in the bathroom
*beer as a conditioner
*rosemary eo = rosemary essential oil
I used about 5 drops of oil in 24 oz of water, it's lasted three rinses. You could also just boil some fresh rosemary in water, let it cool down, and strain out the refuse.
*dark hair rinsed with malt vinegar
*a rosemary and mint infusion might suit you (especially lovely if your hair is dark) or lemon juice (use like vinegar - say 1-2 tbsp in a couple litres warm water) or pineapple juice (used straight out the carton - make sure it is sugar-free though eh??!!).
*some lemon EO directly on the ends of my hair after a shower to keep down the dry ends and to avoid getting static.
*soapwort-grab a couple of handfuls of it - stem, leaf and flowers if it is in flower. Cut or tear it up into pieces about 1/2 inch long; and put it in a pan with enough water to cover. bring to the boil and simmer for ten to twenty minutes, cool and strain.
Then, you can use it as it is (no good unless you have short hair really), or you can thicken it in some way - last time we used it, I think we added arrowroot, (I'll check with dh when he surfaces; on second thoughts it might have been agar) much like we were making a sauce from it. Also, we got hold of one of those cappucino makers - a glass jar with a plunger in it - a bit like you get in a caffitiere and we aggitated the mix - it was amazing to see the suds we ended up with. We also like to add a handful of mint to the decoction - soapwort smells a bit like old cabbage when it is boiling! and just be aware that I believe the root is poisonous
*for static, i have always used aluminum combs
*give it a rinse with diluted red-wine vinegar.
*about 5 drops of rosemary eo in 24 oz of hot water


*I actually put corn starch on my roots then massaged/brushed it out
*I use a lavendar mist -- a few drops of lavendar EO in water in a spray bottle. The water should be either boiled and cooled or from an RO unit so it doesn't get skanky after a few days in the bottle. I use it to dampen my hair, then sometimes use a little aloe vera gel to smooth any flyaways.
*A friend told me to rub honey into my scalp at the beginning of a shower and rinse out at the end to help with dandruff dry scalp issues.
*On my rosemary EO bottle there is a recipe for "nurturing hair oil" 5 drops rosemary, 2 drops lavender and tbsp jojoba oil. You could take that and dilute it with water to use as a rinse, I would guess. Might try it myself
*It was an equal portion of rosemary, southernwood & burdock root solarised in olive oil. Altho' I reckon vodka or vinegar would be just as good & be heaps easier to get out without poo.
*I used a little almond oil on the ends and it seems to have helped a bit
*The conditioning mixture I used was a mixture of 2 whole eggs and 4 TBS olive oil. You wrap your hair in plastic wrap and let sit for 10 minutes.


From MaryLang:
Quote:
A No Poo Recipe
I just wanted to share this since its working great for me.
I make no-poo balls, its a lot easier than mixing everything together in the shower.
I just mix together BS, water, honey, and EO's roll it into about 1/2"- 1" balls and let them dry for a few days. I keep a dish of them on my bathroom counter and just bring one into the shower, cup it in my hand, let some water mist over it and work it into my hair.


Here's some info added from girlndoc's troubleshooting thread:

Quote:
No Shampoo Troubleshooting
in general, the troubleshooting might go like this:

frizzy = too much bs, too long with the bs in the hair, try adding honey
greasy = try less acv, switch to lemon/lime juice, leave out honey, comb instead of brush, might just be adjustment
itchies = tea tree, lavender, rosemary eo's seem to help, try a good rinse, this too shall pass
dry hair = try a *tiny bit* of oil (any oil, i like coconut) smoothed on bottom of hair

experiment! experiment! you are free now! LOL!

***************
Veganmamma's "recipe" for a good scalp massage:
Quote:
Also, from my experience in the salon, people don't wash their hair properly. The proper way to wash the "hair" is to thouroughly clean the scalp and the ends will get cleaned by whatever cleaner you're using dripping down them. People frequently miss the corwn of their head, particularly in the back. Here is a pattern to really get your scalp clean.

Using fingerTIPS, not nails and really scrubbing the scalp to stimulate blood flow, clean out pores and get off built up grime you should make a circle on the top of the head where a crown would be. Focus on the back of the circle. Spend the most time in this area. Now fill in the circle. Spend the second most time here, as this is where your part will be and grease here will really affect the way your hair looks to you and everyone else. Now trace while still scrubbing with your fingertips around the bottom edge of the crown you scrubbed first. Keep making scrubbing circles underneath each one drawing lines in circles around your head. Lastly, give a good scrub to your occiput, or the round bulge of your skull and your temples/sideburns. You can repeat this if you want. You should see less grease and more new growth. Your scalp will feel different, alive. I promise. This is why many women swear their hair growns faster right after a visit to the salon-- it does!

Also, when I say scrubbing in circles, I really mean drawing a line in a circle, your scrubs should be more like ribbing your fingers back and forth in short movements. Be gentle with your scalp and definitely with your hair. Your fingers should be falling in small parts in between your hair, If you aren't careful, you can actually break your hair, so DON'T scrub your hair!! Happy scrubbing, y'all.


VM's thoughts on chlorine exposure:
Quote:
Also, before you swim you should really saturate the hair with water, notjust wet it, but let the water get absorbed into the hair. I used to work in a salon and you really, really, really have to clean chlorine out of your hair, in fact, we did chelation treatments for kids on swim teams. I see no reason the baking soda wouldn't do a good job. You would definitely want to rinse with ACV because chlorine and bleach in general is a strong, strong base. Bleach is pH 11 which is as alkaline as you can get! Soaking the hair in water will help make sure the inner core of water in the hair is regular water and not chlorine water which will make it easier to clean out. You might use an oil on their wet hair before they get in to seal it off too. The BS will clean the oil off so their hair won't be greasy. Just tossing out ideas.


Recipe ParisMaman found for an after-chlorine treatment to limit damage:
Quote:
1 egg
1 eggshell's worth of olive oil
1 quarter of a peeled cucumber

Blend the egg, olive oil and peeled cucumber. Spread evenly through your hair, leave on for 10 minutes, then thoroughly rinse.