As many of you may remember, I started questioning my beauty care regimen around the beginning of March. This questioning started after diving into Y’s blog at AGreenSpell and L’s blog at EcoYogini. Both of these lovely ladies regularly share ideas, tips and advice for going green. AGreenSpell wrote several articles around the same time I wrote my original Hair Fail Post. We became fast friends. She was so kind as to respond to my numerous emails questioning, how exactly do I go about this? I started researching more about it and discovered a whole movement called the “No Poo Movement”. I bought and read the book Curly Girl. Everything was useful, but how would it work for me?
The “No Poo Movement” started for both political and environmental reasons and gave me a lot to think about in relation to my beauty care choices. Basically, to go “no poo” one stops buying and using shampoo entirely . . . wash hair with baking soda and condition it with apple cider vinegar.
My reason for questioning was much like the considerations that take place surrounding my food choices. If I want to put all natural, whole foods into my body, why wouldn’t I want to do the same with the products I put on my skin and hair? But, take THAT one step further . . . how much plastic is wasted with all those shampoo bottles? Especially if I am washing my hair everyday! (which I absolutely was!) And even if the plastic is recycled, isn’t it still just MORE plastic in the world?
So, here is an account of going green with my hair care:
- March . . . At the beginning of the month, my shampoo bottle was empty and I vowed not to buy regular shampoo again. No matter what. (I’m kinda stubborn that way
) I started using a shampoo bar made by Burt’s Bees but found it made my hair very tacky, pretty gross actually. For many years I’ve been a shampoo EVERYDAY kinda girl, and my hair is typically oily by the end of the day. I switched a few days later to a mix of Dr. Bonner’s Liquid Castile Soap and water, but that didn’t work either. Meanwhile, I emailed Y at AGreenSpell and she gave very sound advice . . . “Listen to your body the way you do in your yoga practice. Question what normal hair feels like. Normal to you right now is what it’s always been, but is that really normal?” I’m paraphrasing, but that was the gist of it. I spent the month of March with pretty nasty hair, committed, experimenting, but nasty hair the same. - April . . . I began experimenting with “no poo”, shampooing with baking soda and using apple cider vinegar as a rinse. At first this went really well. Baking soda doesn’t lather, but it thoroughly cleans the hair. Apple cider vinegar makes the hair super soft. It takes an adjustment period no matter what you do because after using regular shampoo for years, your hair gets used to being stripped of all the natural oils. Plus conditioner coats each hair strand and adds a build-up that you never really get rid of. You’re just walking around with a headful of chemicals. Nice. Sometime in April my hair started looking better even on the non-shampoo (or non baking soda) days. However, what I discovered is that I really didn’t need the apple cider vinegar every time, but the baking soda tended to dry it out too much. Because of the texture of my hair, it still needs “watered down” each day. I shower, scrub my scalp with fingertips and “wash” my hair with water only.
- May . . . I’ve settled into washing my hair every second or third day now, with an organic baby shampoo. I don’t use conditioner or any other hair products at all, and when I want to clarify my hair every few weeks or so, I use the baking soda and it looks great. Here is a pic M took of me just a few minutes ago. It’s a little frizzy because of the humidity, but I can live with it because it’s au natural I typically wear it wavy now instead of straight, but as the day goes on, it just does it’s own thing. I taught at OhioU today, so it was pulled up earlier and I was sweating. Not so bad now after all of that even!
If I had to bottom line it for you, I’d give you the same advice others on my blog left for me: listen to your body and inner voice to determine what is right for you, and by all means do what makes you feel healthy and beautiful. If you are interested in lessening your footprint here on Mother Earth, as well as naturalizing your hair care choices, try it out. You won’t regret it! Incidentally, M does almost the same routine as me. However, she can get by with washing her hair about once a week (two if she’s sweated a lot from sports). Her’s is virgin hair – never colored, permed, curled/straightened very little. I told her about writing this post today and she said to me, “I love my hair now mom, thanks!”
What about you? Hair trials? Learning to go green? Have you tried “no poo”?
Happy Wednesday
i buy a generic shampoo and conditioner bottle from my local coop and then fill up on the herbal bulk stuff. honestly, i dont know the ingredients and am not the best consumer, therefore. um, but it’s organic and from my coop, so it cant be too nasty?
You look great! Kudos on the hard work.
Your hair looks great and has gotten so long! I wish I could stop washing my hair every day. I hate shampooing and then the drying and styling. Sadly, I’m far too vain. I’m proud of you for your changes.
Yay!!!!!! You look so pretty! I love your hair – so long and healthy! I’m doing the same – it’s getting long, and I just let it dry naturally, most of the time, so it’s a little wavy at the ends, like yours.
I’m thrilled to hear you found something that works for your hair. That is awesome! I’ve been using baking soda more often, but like you, I cannot use it every time, or it makes my scalp a little irritated. But I alternate with the castile soap, and I’m good to go!
Don’t you love the freedom of not having to wash everyday?! Yay!
Oh Y, thank you SO much! Your encouragement helped SO much! I cannot thank you enough. Shana made a comment that my hair is really long. I think it has grown more now that I mess with it less. I too am happy about M! She won’t have to go through all of her teenage and young adult years agonizing over her hair. It is absolutely gorgeous as it is if she doesn’t mess with it. For once in my life, I feel like mine is too! Many blessings!
your hair looks fab. baking soda turned out disastrous for me. the info around at the time wasn’t great… everyone saying to use BS. but bs broke my hair!
i blogged a little about it: http://holisticmum.blogspot.com/2008/05/no-shampoo-hair-washing.html
anyway, i tried a few other ways and it was great not using ‘poo. but i have reverted back to shampoo, ALTHOUGH the eco-friendly/organic kind. all the plastic containers of bs and bottles of vinegar didn’t seem as eco afterall, in my case. i only wash once a week and use minimal ‘poo so it’s pretty good solution overall.
glad it’s working for you!
I don’t have green hair; I shampoo & condition on the regular. I am always up for a positive change, though.
I’d definitely be willing to try your regime because your hair truly looks beautiful. Look at you, inspiring others!
I find my hair growing way faster these days, too – pretty cool side benefit!