How to Go No Poo': The Benefits of not Shampooing your Hair

I'm sure by now you have heard of the benefits of using shampoo less often for healthy, attractive looking hair. In my quest to be more healthy, cut costs, and expose myself and my family to less harmful chemicals used in commercial products, I decided to try ditching shampoo all together. It sounds kind of gross at first, but your hair still gets clean, you just don't use shampoo at all. This is becoming more and more common as awareness of the harmful effects of chemicals commonly found in our cosmetics and personal care products is spreading and people are looking for ways to save money in a bad economy.

Your hair produces its own natural oils which promote healthy hair. Shampoo strips your hair of these naturally beneficial oils and conditioner basically artificially replaces these oils promising to leave your hair soft, shiny, voluminous, frizz free, the list goes on and on. Why fix what isn't broken? Not only are conditioners a poor substitute for what mother nature produces best on its own, but they contain a ton of unhealthy, toxic chemicals. The shampoos and conditioners that claim to cure dandruff and other common hair problems are actually the culprit further irritating your hair and scalp while your skin absorbs the chemicals where they are carried into the blood stream negatively affecting your overall health.

Going no poo is easy and cheap. All you need to do is add a couple of tablespoons of baking soda to a cup of warm water, stir, pour over hair. Then rinse. To seal the hair's cuticle which helps eliminate frizz and dryness, add a couple of tablespoons of organic apple cider vinegar to a cup of warm water, stir, pour over hair, and rinse. You should play around with the measurements to find what works best for your hair since we all have varying lengths, hair type, and texture to take into consideration. Your hair should not smell like vinegar after it dries. If it does, you have used too much vinegar and not enough water in your conditioning rinse.

There are other ways of going no poo. For instance, you can choose to skip the baking soda and simply rinse your hair with hot water. You can use olive oil, coconut oil, or other natural oils, egg, mayonnaise, banana, avocado etc. to condition your hair. You can use honey mixed in with water as your conditioning rinse. There are also conditioning rinses sold online, but be sure to buy a rinse containing only organic, all natural ingredients. This will cost more money, but you can still protect yourself from harmful chemicals found in shampoos and conditioners. There are organic shampoos and conditioners that you can purchase, but I find the benefits of not shampooing to be too overwhelming and honestly, shampoo is a waste of money, so I choose not to shampoo at all.

You want to use organic apple cider vinegar since some vinegars labeled apple cider vinegar are white distilled vinegar with caramel coloring and artificial and natural apple flavor added in. This is not the same and will not have the same positive effect on your hair.

I must warn you that your hair will go through a "transitional period" where your scalp will be overproducing oil and your hair will appear greasy and unclean. Your scalp will have to adjust to no longer be stripped of its natural oils frequently. For some, this period will be short lasting a few days, for others, it can last up to two months. I suggest braids, hats, and scarves until your scalp has adjusted.