Going Shampoo-less

What's Wrong with Shampoo?

There is a large variety of reasons to reconsider using shampoo regularly (if at all).  First, shampoos are detergents that contain harsh chemicals that throw your body's natural balance of oils out of whack.  Second, they usually create a vicious cycle of dependency (ie- shampoo causes your scalp to overproduce oils, so you need to shampoo more often, which causes your scalp to produce even more oils in an effort to keep a balance, etc.) Third,  shampoos and conditioners are quite expensive. Why pay so much to throw a bunch of harsh chemicals into your hair that create a vicious cycle?   Fourth, corporations who produce shampoos and conditioners often use less than environmentally-friendly procedures, and make a huge profit doing so.  Fifth, many of the producers test their products on animals in very inhumane ways.  Sixth, the "disposable" bottles contribute to a huge waste of energy and oil (to produce them) as well as making the garbage heaps of non-biodegradable waste even bigger.  Ok, I'll stop there because I think you see what I mean.


Psychological and Social Barriers to Living without Shampoo

The vast majority of us grew up using shampoo and have douced our heads with it our whole lives, so we've never even contemplated the possibility of not using it.  It's pretty much as natural as eating and sleeping to us.  Therefore, it's very difficult for most people to imagine living without it, as with many other chemicals that we've used throughout our lives, from laundry detergents to toilet cleaning agents.  Yet, when you think about it, how long has Ajax or Clorox been around?  How long have people had Herbal Essence or Head and Shoulders?  Only for the last seventy years or so.   In fact, people were driving cars before they were washing their hair with modern, synthetic shampoos.   And if you want to look at from the perspective of the really big picture, modern humans have walked the Earth for the last 200,000 years.  How could they have possibly managed without L'Oreal?  Well, they seemed to have gotten along just fine.  And without all of the environmental crises that we have on our hands.

Luckily, our perception of shampoo and other cleaning chemicals is starting to change.  Ordinary people are learning more and more about these chemicals and are not so happy with what they've discovered.  Not surprisingly, one of the first groups of people to start living more chemical-free lifestyles have been parents with young children.  It makes sense.  After all, who wants to clean the kitchen that their baby eats and crawls around in with bleach, which has been found to cause cancer after repeated exposure? 

My Experience with Going No 'Poo

Going no 'poo (as many refer to discontinuing the use of shampoo) is actually simpler than I thought it would be.  I should say that, as of this writing, I have only gone about 3 weeks without shampoo or conditioner.  But so far, so good.  I haven't missed shampoo or conditioner at all.  In fact, I feel really good.  Kind of empowered.  Making your own shampoo and conditioner doesn't take much time or effort, it's cheap and you feel a sense of comfort from knowing exactly what you're exposing your body too.  Skin is our largest organ and it's very important to treat it well.

How to make it:
Shampoo:  2-3 teaspoons of baking soda and 3/4 cup of water (I put it it a cup that has a lid, with a hole in the lid for straws and it works great!)
Conditioner:  3-4 teaspoons of white vinegar (I've read that lots of people use apple cider vinegar for a slightly better smell) and 3/4 cup of water (in another cup with a lid with a hole, as described above)

How to wash your hair:
1. Wet hair
2. Massage baking soda mixture into the roots (no need to wash the length of the hair, as the baking soda will reach all of that when you rinse)
3. Rinse
4. Apply vinegar mixture to ends of hair (no need to do the roots, but it doesn't harm them if you do, I've heard that it can cause your hair to get oilier faster if you apply the vinegar to the roots)
5. Rinse

It's that easy (and cheap!).

At first I was reluctant to use vinegar because I know how acidic it is, but the vinegar has worked really well with my hair, making it soft and manageable.  In fact, thus far, I don't have a single complaint.  It even works as an excellent de-tangler.

How often?  Well, I've read blogs of people using it every day.  However, I want my natural oils to balance out again (rehabilitate from the years of shampoo), so I'm using the baking soda and vinegar about once a week and I wash my hair with water-only about once a week.  I should mention, though, that my hair is very full and thick and somewhat long, so it doesn't get greasy very easily.  People with finer hair might have issues with my routine. 

Anyways, I hope that this helps some people feel more comfortable with the idea or even inspired to try it.  You won't regret it!  (And if you don't like it, you can just switch back to shampoo the next time you wash, no harm done.)  Happy, healthy washing!

Update:  It is mid-April now, so I have been washing my hair once a week with baking soda and vinegar for over four months and it's great!  It's so much easier, cheaper and my hair feels much healthier because the oils have balanced out.  After 7 days of not washing, my hair is hardly oily at all.  And when I tell people, they can't believe that I only use baking soda and vinegar.  So, there you have it.