avoiding shampoo

[serehfa]

I have fairly fine, straightish hair to my waist or thereabouts,  that I only wash about once a week; always had it drummed into me that letting the natural oils appear in the hair before washing it, was good for it. I get chronic itchy flaky scalp that appears guaranteed a day after using any commercial shampoo

Comments

[rebellibrarian]

The most interesting thing I read about no poo is this blog... http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfmoms/category?blogid=46&cat=2385

Good luck finding what works for you!

[sumidha]

Using a vinegar rinse on the length smooths down the cuticle, leaving the hair shaft smoother, also I believe it balances the PH level of your scalp after shampoo or baking soda, but there's other people here who know more about chemistry that could give a more thorough explanation. :)

My grandma's all have short, curly permed hairdo's, so I don't think they'd be much help.

[piperchicki]

Re: any other ideas?
In addition to the benefit of making the scales of your hair lie flat, after you use baking soda to scrub the excess greasiness off of your scalp and roots, you need some kind of acid to return your scalp to it's natural slightly acidic PH, or the oils come back in full force and then some to balance it out for you. (Which rather defeats the purpose of having "washed" with baking soda in the first place.) Some people use diluted lemon juice or tea in place of vinegar if they don't like the smell of vinegar. (There's a no_poo community here for more ideas.)

[mostlyplants]

i used baking soda in place of shampoo for almost a year to allow my hair to grow out the damage from a chemical treatment, by removing all other chemicals. my hair is really long now so after a while i found the baking soda to be a hassle. not to mention that method, for me, was so hit-or-miss. some days it'd look really great, other days it'd look like i never washed it at all. after almost a year i'd grown my hair out enough that i switched back to shampoo (mane n tail) just recently. baking soda did clean my hair, but i could never expect the same results and don't really miss it now that i've stopped.

[mshanai]

Have a look at the no poo community page (http://community.livejournal.com/no_poo/). It's extensively tagged so you can read specifically about different kinds of washes. Baking soda+vinegar isn't the only method available. (I have not used shampoo since October, and I haven't used BS since November and am happy with the results.)

You could also try a shampoo bar (again, more info in the other forum).

My grandma used a bar of cheap brown laundry soap to wash her hair.

[reibish]

I don't know what to say, except that I just have to lament/empathize about the oiliness at the back of the neck. I have waist/tailbone length that is very fine and thin. I stupidly bought a Lush shampoo bar a few weeks ago and ever since then, I have had that oily bit at the nape of my neck no matter what I do and I am about to start throwing things because it's pissing me off so bad. It makes me feel like I've not washed my hair in a month.

The conditioner, however (Lush Veganese), I am in love with.