Shampoo free

I spent a couple months visiting family with my kids this summer while my husband held down the fort here in Texas. We spent a month staying with my parents near Chicago, and a month staying with my 87-year-old grandmother up in Wisconsin. It was a lot of fun, but it was also shockingly difficult. A full month alone with a 3-year-old, a 5-month-old and and 87-year-old was challenging. I was basically a single mom for that period of time in a house that had no child-proofing what so ever. Yeah. My husband did join us for about a week at the end, so we managed to sneak in a little family vacation, which was wonderful.

Meeting Mimi-Mama for the first time

The Eskimo, watching golf with Mimi-Mama

Anyway, the point of this prelude is that I didn't have a lot of time to do basic stuff like showering. The only time I could shower was when both kids were asleep. And the shower was in my grandma's room, so I had to shower in that tiny sliver of time after the kids are asleep and before she's asleep. So, I ended up showering every other day, at best. Vacation me doesn't mind not showering. Vacation me also stopped washing her hair. I've been wanting to go no-poo for a while now and this was the perfect opportunity. All the chemicals in shampoos and conditioners scare me and a lot of the "safe" stuff is super expensive. I should also note that since we shaved our heads for St. Baldrick's Day back in March, I still have pretty short hair. This has helped make the transition a bit easier.

Somewhere in mid-August (I neglected to note the date), I stopped using shampoo. I rinsed my hair thoroughly every time I showered, and was kind of surprised to discover that it was ok. My hair never looked gross. When we got back to Texas, I started using baking soda and apple cider vinegar a couple times a week to wash and condition my hair and the results are downright amazing. My hair is ridiculously soft and shiny. I'm kind of amazed.

Look, ma! No shampoo!

When I wash it, I mix about a tablespoon of baking soda with some water into a paste. I massage this into my scalp and then rinse. Then I pour a little bit of apple cider vinegar on my hair. I let it sit for a couple minutes and then rinse. One of these days I'm going to find a spray bottle for the ACV so I can spray it on my hair. I've found that pouring it onto my short hair inevitably gets it on my scalp and it can actually leave me feeling a bit greasy. The ACV serves as a conditioner and the results are shockingly good.

Shampoo free for a couple weeks here.

The best family shot we managed to get. :)

So, there you have it. No-poo is easy, super cheap, and I can't argue with the results. For some, the transition from daily washing can be a challenge. But keep in mind that the oil on your scalp is a supply-and-demand thing (like nursing!). If you strip the oil from your skin, your body will rush to replenish it. Some folks will likely experience a lot more oil than they're used to in the first couple of weeks, but your body should figure it out pretty quickly.

Give it a try and let me know if it works for you!