No Poo - Revisited

Let's talk No Poo again. It's been 13 months since I've regularly used shampoo.  I get lots of questions about  how it's going. Time for an update.

In case you have no idea what I'm talking about, here is  original post.  My recipe is there, too.

My hairdresser has finally gotten used to my routine and has admitted that my hair and scalp are much healthier.  This is my routine now:

I'm only using the baking soda mixture followed with the apple cider vinegar mixture about twice a month now.  My scalp is almost never itchy any more. When I used shampoo, by about day 3 to 5, it felt a little itchy.  Remember, my hair is super dry.  I have no oil.  At all.  I can easily get away with this.  Side note:  I never did find the aloe vera to add to my ACV rinse.  Oh well.

When I need to "start over" with my hair, I just do a cold rinse, scruntch in my conditioner, followed up with squeezing in some clear gel.  I squeeze and scrunch it until no water comes out.

The very important "plop"

Then, I add my plop.  My version, which seems to be working for me, is to use a big t-shirt and lay it out flat.  I tip my head upside-down, place all my hair at the top of my head, then twist and wrap both sides of the shirt, tucking it in to the back of the t-shirt/towel.  I look like Princess Leah with the plop on my head. I leave it on as long as possible, even a couple of hours.  The longer, the curlier.

The only thing I use the blow dryer for is my bangs.  Some people use a diffuser, but I don't.  I just let my hair air dry.  I try not to touch it much while it's drying, but if I do, it's just to scrunch it.

My hairdresser says not to tell anyone this because it'll put her out of business, but she said that my color stays better and that my hair feels really different - better. I think it kills her to admit that because she was so opposed to me doing No Poo.

I was so intimidated in the beginning of my No Poo journey because I wanted to know exactly when to do the rinses, what formulas, etc.  Everyone told me to give it time and I'd figure out what works and what doesn't.  They were right.  I've met a couple of people that have done No Poo for a long time and they have been helpful with different techniques and tips.

Curlier to the root & more volume

Just this week I learned of a place in Ft. Worth called The Curly Tree.  She does a curly haircut when your hair is DRY, not wet.  I'm totally going.  I feel like I'm cheating on my hairdresser (we've been together for almost 8 years!), but as one of the no-pooers said to me, it's like leaving your OB for someone better for you.  I have more anxiety over the possibility of leaving my hairdresser than I ever did over leaving my OB!

People always ask me about doing No Poo when they have oily hair.  I really don't know.  The only reason I do it - do I dare admit, with a Diet Mountain Dew in hand - that I couldn't care less about the chemicals?  I just heard that the No Poo makes your hair curlier.  That's why I do it.  If I had straight oily hair, I wouldn't care about No Poo.

Yes, it's true, I'm not crunchy.  Maybe chewy.  Maybe.