Tried and True No Poo! (posted in the no poo community, so some of you might be seeing this again)

[westcoastred]

Hi! I made a few entries a few years back using flax seed mucilage with various herbal washes. I've tried the widely accepted BS/ACV method, the CO method, an assortment of commercial no-poo products, castile soap, soap nuts, and finally, FINALLY I have found the solution! Just water

Comments

[owlzen]

Water only is my ultimate goal! I can stretch washes 5 days now. I alternate between bs/acv, diluted white vinegar, hemp shampoo bar & sulfate free conditioner, depending on how my hair feels. My husband and kids are water-only since birth and have beautiful hair!
Loved your post, you've inspired me to try a little harder to WO :)

[westcoastred]

Awesome! It just takes determination, and patience through the freak-out phase. It really helps if your hair is short, and really really helps if it's curly, but people with all types of hair do it. I think the essential oils helped with my scalp a lot. Less itch, smell, and flakes.

[desertdreams67]

I'll have to try this :)

[westcoastred]

Oh, my gosh, I know it's ridiculous! You think, "Wow, chemicals and environmentally horrible things really do work best on my hair!" But, then I realized the whole message behind this particular concept: hair maintenance is a gimmick! All this desire to constantly be fussing with our appearance, even with natural methods, we're still buying into the gimmick! It's helped in so many areas, this realization. The simplest option usually is actually the best.

[melodystjames]

I have baby-fine hair that will immediately look oily if I don't wash it. The weight of the oil makes it look limp and, well ... oily. Yet my scalp runs to the dry side. I cut my own hair since it actually hurts to go through the beauty-salon experience (getting my hair washed with those sinks causes my neck to scream), and I always have to re-do the cut anyway. With cheap shampoo and organic acv, my hair will get softly wavy. Recently I tried coconut oil pre-shower, and my hair liked that, too.

This post is daunting, but really inspiring, too.

Thanks for sharing!

With much gratitude ^_^

[westcoastred]

Yeah, the time it takes really is almost a year, but my hair wasn't too bad if I showered and scrubbed my head under running water every day. I knew eventually I wouldn't be using so much water, so I did what I was comfortable with as far as the transition goes. Your hair won't be perfect for a long time, BUT, when I go my two weeks without showering now, my hair looks fabulous the whole time! I'll re-wet it with a spray bottle with a nice natural perfume or body spray in it once or twice throughout.

It took time, but the low-maintenance nature of my hair now makes it sooooo worth it. With the BS/ACV, it was just too much trouble for something that seems to have so many possible complications. Plus it smelled. I have one of those freaky senses of smell and, while everyone said the vinegar stink goes away, it didn't.

[megamuphen]

What EOs did/do you use?

[westcoastred]

I always start with 50 drops of lavender, 5 drops of Patchouli, and 20 drops of tea tree. From there, it's a varying rotation of chamomile (calming), rosemary (clarifying), geranium (smells yummy), clove (pain-reducing and smells yummy), cedarwood (base note and bug repellant), sandalwood (base note and good for shiny hair), rose (soothing and smells yummy SO expesive, though), davana (like one or two drops super expensive but so yummy smelling), lime peel (gets rid of icky odors), sweet orange (smells pretty)... And really whatever else I feel like smelling like. Lavender (soothing) and tea tree (helps with itch and dandruff) are the most important, though. The patchouli is not for smell, but for a base note and it stabilizes the scent. I don't want to run out of any one EO (they can be pretty expensive if you're just starting your collection), which is why I use so many. It's usually just a few drops of each...

[megamuphen]

Thanks so much!