I love the no poo thing. Just this last weekend I had someone touch my hair (because it was shiny) and they gasped and said "Oh my god, your hair is so soft". It is...but it still has good body. I don't use styling products besides my natural leave in conditioner type product which I'll talk about below. Ok, If I wanted to do an updo I would probably use my hair gel and hairspray... but I don't use any products with silicone in them. This isn't the best picture, but it is from this weekend... you can't really tell how shiny and soft my hair is but trust me... it looked great.
It takes every bit of a month to adjust, I would say more like 6 weeks. Your hair will suck for the first couple of weeks, but it will gradually get better then be amazing. There is some mental road blocks you will have to get past. Your hair will feel different in the shower. You aren't using shampoo that strips your hair of all it's natural oils, then conditioners that lay down artificial silicone to coat your hair and make it feel slick. Your hair will not feel slick in the shower, it sort of feels waxy... but that is your natural oils that are coating your hair so that is actually what your hair SHOULD feel like. The slick silicone coated hair is not what your hair should feel like.... But that's what we've known all our life, so it is a little hard to get past that mental block.
My recipe:
You will tweak things and find a formula you like. This is what works for me.
BS = Baking Soda solution ("shampoo"). Mix 1 Tablespoon of baking soda with 1 Cup of water. I add 5-10 drops of Liquid Castile Soap. I like the Lavender and the Almond. It just gives it a little bit more "slip" (I'll talk about this below).
ACV = Apple Cider Vinegar ("conditioner"). 1 Tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar to 1 Cup of water.
My routine:
Every 3 days or so, I use the BS to wash my hair. They say to try to only get it on your scalp, but it gets all over my hair since it is short right now. I use a squirt bottle and add solution to my hair until it feels a little slippery. Then I use my fingertips and "scrub" my scalp. I let the BS sit on my hair/scalp for a few minutes (while I'm washing my body in the shower). Rinse thoroughly. My squirt bottles are sort of small, but I mix up a couple of cups and that gets me through the week if not more. Same with the ACV.
After the BS, you need to return your hair's pH to normal, so you rinse with the ACV solution. This you should just get on your hair, not your scalp, but again... it's a solution so it just goes all over. I work this in (no scrubbing) and let it sit while I shave my legs. Rinse thoroughly. The vinegar smell will go away when you rinse.
In between BS/ACV "washings" I sprinkle my hair with a cornstarch/cocoa mix, I really work it in and let it sit for 10-15 minutes. I then rinse it out in the shower. The cocoa is supposed to make it less noticeable on darker hair than just plain cornstarch... but if I use this and leave it in my hair looks matte and powdery, cocoa or no. So that's why I rinse it out. It absorbs any excess oil and smells like cocoa (YEA!).
Things to note:
Clarify your hair before you start. I just picked up Suave's Clarifying shampoo and used it as my last shampoo. No conditioner... just shampoo and let dry naturally. Remember, you hair is going to suck for a few weeks. But I feel this helped the transition period because it got rid of all the gunk in your hair.
If you aren't ready to go no poo, you can go low poo. Instead of BS, you can use liquid Castile soap. Liquid Castile soaps are made with various oils, tocopherol (vitamin E) and Potassium Hydroxide (None remains after saponifying oils into soap and glycerin). It lathers up, but is really quite natural. It is a good alternative to BS, and what I use to wash the color out of my hair when I'm covering my grey. (I love it as a shower gel!). I like Dr. Bronner's, they have great scents and can be found at Target. YOU STILL NEED TO USE THE ACV RINSE AFTERWARDS!!!!!
https://www.drbronner.com/DBMS/category/LIQUIDSOAP.html
My hair went through a dry period, and still can be a little frizzy if I let it dry naturally. You have worked hard to rid your hair of silicone, so don't use a styling product with them! Anti Frizz products and leave in conditioners are chock full of the suckers. I LOVE Shea Moisture's Coconut and Hibiscus Curl and Style Milk. The ingredients are all natural (Mostly different oils) but the texture is like a lotion. A little goes a long way. I run about a dime size dollop through my ends before letting my hair dry naturally OR blowing it dry with a hair dryer. My hair texture is wavy and slighly frizzy. This really helps, and helped with the dryness. You can also find this at Target. It is with the products for African-American Hair. I really like every product of Shea Moisture that I've tried. I'll eventually be trying their different hair products, just to see what else I like. Good natural stuff. It also smells quite good, and you all know how I like good smelly stuff.
http://www.sheamoisture.com/SheaMoisture-Coconut-Hibiscus-Curl-Style-Milk-_p_747.html
Speaking of smell, Since your hair just smells like nothing using this process...I wanted to fragrance my hair. I found fragrance oils rated for use in soaps, lotions etc. I put a dropper or two in with some distilled water and spray some on my hair before drying. I find it works nicely, just shake the spray bottle before every use... oil/water... you know... don't mix.
This is my routine. I have a few things I want to try, like an aloe and honey mixture to use as "shampoo", but this routine really works well for me now... so that's what I'm going with. They say you should only have to no poo your hair 1x a week, but I'm finding 2x a week works for me. Eventually I might get to 1x a week.
This is a commitment, but once you get through it, it is so easy and good for your hair. I don't buy expensive shampoos or products anymore. It's really great. I had a friend tell me that she doesn't want to do it because she wears a helmet and gets sweaty and nasty under there... which is understandable, but just rinse your hair afterwards and you will rinse the sweat away. You don't have to wash and strip your hair to get rid of sweat. I have no problems working out and getting stinky hair, and I work out on days I don't BS/ACV. I just rinse and it is fine.
I don't "do" my hair for work every day. I dry it most of the time and am out the door. On days I do "do" my hair, I have no problem drying and flat ironing. As I mentioned above, I don't need any products to just straighten it, and my hair is super shiny and soft.
So that's it. My No Poo formula in a nutshell.
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