Mainly, in an effort to save some money and get away from pre-made products that I am unsure about what some of the ingredients are, I started washing my hair without shampoo.
I've been using the Avalon Organics Lavender Shampoo for 5+ years now, I was always pretty happy with it, but looking over the ingredients I was a bit alarmed, I couldn't understand or hardly read half of them. I want to be able to know what I'm putting in my hair and using for my family. This is a natural/organic product and still contains many ingredients that really shouldn't be put in shampoo. Take a look at the shampoo ingredients here:
Aqua (water), aloe barbadensis leaf juice, cocamidopropyl betaine, sodium laurylglucosides hydroxypropylsulfonate, glycerin, sodium cocoyl isethionate, stearic acid, sodium lauroyl sarcosinate, lavandula angustifolia (lavender) oil, citrus aurantifolia (lime) oil, citrus medica limonum (lemon) peel oil, calendula officinalis flower extract, chamomilla recutita (matricaria) flower extract, lavandula angustifolia (lavender) flower/leaf/stem extract, allantoin, arginine, beta-glucan, bisabolol, hydrolyzed wheat protein, sodium citrate, sodium PCA, panthenol, tocopheryl acetate, guar hydroxypropyltrimonium ghloride, alcohol, benzyl alcohol, potassium sorbate, sodium benzoate, coumarin, limonene, linalool. 1) Certified Organic IngredientOnce I read all those ingredients (and looked up a few!) I was ready to try something more natural and with fewer ingredients. I had read many testimonials on other options and I decided to try the baking soda and apple cider vinegar method.
I tried it and now I'm totally impressed and probably won't go back to regular "shampoo & conditioner" again anytime soon!
My hair feels so clean and is much easier to manage. I always have frizzy hair and I have noticed much less when switching over.
How to:
1 TBSP of baking soda mixed with 1 cup of water (shampoo)
1 TBSP of apple cider vinegar mixed with 1 cup water (conditioner)
TO USE:
Wet hair like you would normally in the shower. Squirt/pour the baking soda mixture onto your head. I have noticed it works best to remove oils, etc. from your hair when you mainly just focus on your scalp and roots. Rinse thoroughly and then repeat with the apple cider vinegar mix.
You might have to change the amounts of baking soda/vinegar to water depending on your water type. We have well water that isn't totally soft or hard and the above mixture works perfectly. If your water is softer I believe you'll need to add more of the baking soda/vinegar to water mixture.
Note - your hair can go through a transition period when switching to this method of washing. You may experience oily hair or other things that you normally don't deal with as your body is trying to regulate after being used to "regular" shampoos that strip all natural oils and moisture away. This period normally lasts between 1-3 weeks. I didn't ever deal with this and I think it probably is because I was switching from a natural shampoo already. : )
Are you afraid of smelling like apple cider vinegar? Don't worry, as soon as your hair dries the smell totally goes away. I read some places that you can add essential oils to the vinegar mix if you want to mask the smell some. I'm hoping to try that sometime soon!
I wash my hair daily with this method and am very happy with it. I would recommend to continue to wash your hair as you normally do when/if you switch to going "no poo". : )
Leave a comment if you have any questions about going "no poo" or if you tried it before. : ) I look forward to hearing from you!
P.S. Sorry for the lack of posting lately. Life has a way of getting busy. :)
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