Goodbye, Shampoo

[Currently listening to: Imogen Heap radio on Pandora]

Hello, baking soda.

I started my new routine last night. It slowed down my showering process a little bit, so there are definitely a couple things I will need to modify. But, overall I loved it!

I put some baking soda in a little plastic container with a lid, and set it next the shower. Some blogs say to mix the baking soda with water and work the mixture into your hair, but Make Your Place suggested just putting the baking soda straight onto your wet hair. So, that's what I did. I liked using it without watering it down, it felt like I was really scrubbing my scalp clean. I probably used a little over 2 T, I'm not sure how much is the "right" amount but it felt right on my head! I rinsed thoroughly and then grabbed my "conditioner." I had already put the apple cider mixture (recipe is in this post) into my old shampoo bottle. So I opened that up and pretty much poured some onto my head. I used enough to soak through my hair, probably around 1/3 cup. Again, that's just the amount that felt right for me. The vinegar smell actually wasn't bad. I don't know if it is because of the herbs or because it is apple cider vinegar (I'm using Field Day Organic), but I didn't mind it at all. I rinsed it until the smell was gone, though. And my hair felt so soft and smooth already! Next time I wash my hair I will probably wait to rinse the vinegar out until I've washed my body so it can sit on my head for a minute. The same thing I did with my old conditioner.

So my biggest worry was dry hair. I've always had a lot of hair, and it is pretty dry. I usually only wash my hair every other day, and I use a lot of conditioner. I've used shampoo without conditioner before, and I remember how course and dry my hair felt when I got out of the shower. Well, I can honestly say that my hair felt great! Not the same as using my normal load of conditioner, but still very... conditioned? Since I stayed home last night I decided to let it air dry without any product. Another part of having dry, curly hair is I need to use some kind of gel or product if I air dry so it doesn't dry frizzy. So my curls didn't have the same definition and didn't look as smooth as normal, but I wasn't a total frizzball. I rubbed a little olive oil in my hands this morning and ran that through my hair, and it actually looked good enough to go out. The olive oil was a tip from another blog. Warning, DON'T USE A LOT. With most frizz taming products, my hair soaks it up so quick that I can use a lot without looking greasy. But a little bit of the olive oil goes a long way. Seriously, just a couple drops rubbed in your hands is plenty.

Back to the things I need to modify. Basically, the containers I keep the product it. I need to figure out a way to keep the baking soda dry but also have easy and quick access so it's just as quick as squeezing shampoo out of a bottle. And for the conditioner, I need something that has a smaller opening. It is a liquid, and so when I tried to use the big shampoo spout(?) I know I missed my head and wasted a lot. I think the best thing for that will be a bottle like the old fashioned ones you put ketchup and mustard in. Or for my industry friends, the little squirt bottles a lot of bartenders use for simple syrup. So I'm going to look for some of those.

The results of the first night of this routine in a nutshell...

Hair felt clean and conditioned.

Hair looked clean and conditioned.

The vinegar left my hair odorless. Some of you may want perfumy hair, but I like the odorless, clean smell.

The end. I'm very happy so far and can't wait to see how my hair starts to change after keeping this up for a few weeks! I would love to eliminate putting product in my hair as well, so I want to try using aloe as gel this summer! I've heard it is a great substitute for styling curly hair like mine.

Oh, and please let me know if you are interested in trying this routine and have any questions!