new thread
Over the past 3 months i have tried going without shampoo, using many different "alternatives" posted by other users on the web (mostly women), tried a new method or two of shampooing my hair every week or so, (some of these methods were: baking soda, and various kinds of vinegar) and all of these methods still left my hair greasy, even tried pulling a 3 week period of no cleansers just to see how it would affect my hair, regardless at the least in that 3 week period my hair wasn't getting any less oily.
Just today i picked up my dog Zoe and noticed how soft her hair was, as my mom had washed and shampooed her this morning, and i decided to give the dog shampoo a shot, so i went and did it, and my hair thanked me, i forgot how soft and light colored it could be after shampooing and conditioning, not that i stopped conditioning throughout my no poo experiment! (not all dark and oily)
In the end, i believe no shampoo (coined no poo by many) is not right for me, it may be right for others, but not for me.
I would reccommend lowering your useage of shampoo and or using shampoos without the harsher chemicals found in most shampoos to anyone however, its much better to shampoo once every 4 or 5 days (or longer if you can manage it without excess oiliness) than to shampoo every day or two like some people do, as for the dog shampoo, i honestly dont know what was in it (not required to put ingredients on container) or if it would have done me any better than a regular shampoo, but i do know it was better than going without, i will try one of the more common shampoos lying around my shower next week for comparison sake.
Kind of a long read, but hopefully it was informative enough for you guys to be worth it, any comments/questions are appreciated.
Hallelujah for shampoo & conditioner, --- I wouldn't want to be without it!!!
As one's hair gradually gets longer and longer, it's true that most longhairs find that they prefer shampooing with less frequency than when it was short. I shampoo mine only about twice a week on average, for example. But, to go completely without shampoo altogether just would not work for me. And yet, I know of several people here who are regulars or have been long-term MLHH members who swear by water-wash only.
We are all different. What works for one longhair does not always work for another. Part of the fun of reading this board, I guess, --- something to gossip about, if nothing else (LOL)!!
- Ken in San Francisco
Ok. For a little bit I was having issues with my hair. It was becoming dry and brittle because I was swimming in saltwater all the time. It was literaly dried out.
Most shampoos are not neccessary. One thing that I would recoment is what I made formyself. It will help and it keeps the heair clean and is gentle. Vinager is good for shine, but can also dry out hair.
My friend uses this on his dreads.
In a pot add 2 cups of water and boil
Add in 6 or 7 shavings of goatsmilk soap or any gentle soap
1 Drop of Rosemary oil
1 Drops of Orange oil
Then bring it to a cool and add in half of an orange (Do not use lemon as it will color the hair)
This will look really watery. So watery in fact that you could put it in a spray bottel, which is what I did. Then you just spray it on the roots and massage it in. It will not get foamy but it will clean you scalp.
Rosemary oil stimulates the scalp and orange oil removes oil and makes the rosemary oil scent go away. The will keep it all bound together.
Just shake it, spray on the roots and follow up with a conditioner. It's cheap, economical, green and biodegradable.
Thanks for the idea, i may try it out sometime, but for now, for personal comparisons sake, next time i need shampoo i am going to use some baby shampoo we have laying around and then maybe the time after that some of the pantene shampoo we have laying around, just so i can decide what i like best. But maybe i will try this out sometime if i can convince my mom that i am not crazy for wanting to do something innovative =p