A while back, I happened to read a thread about using baking soda and vinegar to wash your hair.

Now, for years, I have been feeling bad about my dependence on commercial, chemical-fffilled hair styling products. My hair is big, thick and curly, dificult to manage and prone to frizzing. So, I was using a moisturizing shampoo, super conditioner and mousee to style.

I never thought that I could just switch to baking soda and vinegar and not face the wrath of unruly hair. But, I tried it, and it WORKS!! :D

I can go 5 or 6 days between washes now, and my hair has more lift to it.

I also switched to a natural styling product by Giovanni Cosmetics called Sunset Styling Lotion. It is organic, cruelty free and made of a blend of plant extracts. ( www.giovannicosmetics.com ) I've had good luck finding it on ebay for a good price.

So, thanks to the Mamas here who inspired me to try something new and switch to a more natural alternative.

:)

I have heard of just water and massaging and rinsing your scalp well.

I have been meaning to try that. :)

How did you mix it? Like how much of each?

I did a search on Mothering.com to read the threads there on "poo free", and saw that there are a lot of different methods. Here's how I do it.

We have a 2 quart plastic pitcher I keep in the bathroom for rinsing the girls hair during their bath. Before I take a shower, I grab the pitcher and add 1/4 to 1/3 cup of baking soda and a tablespoon or two of honey. I also grab the bottle of Apple Cider Vinegar and bring it into the bathroom.

First I rinse my hair and wet it down, and then I use the shower water to fill up the pitcher containing the baking soda and honey. When full, I pour the mixture over my head and scrub at my scalp for 2 or 3 minutes. I don't scrub the ends at all. Then I rinse my head for a few minutes.

Then, I take the Apple Cider Vinegar and add about a half cup to the pitcher. I fill the rest up with warm water and slowly pour it over my head. some people add some essential oils to the vingear, but I don't mind the vinegar smell and it does rinse out well. When the vinegar is in my hair, I comb it out with a wide tooth comb and then rinse well.

That is it! It is a bit of a process, and a lot different than just using commercial shampoos. Actually, once in a while, I follow up with a natural conditioner from Giovanni if my hair is still snarly.
But, my hair does not seem to have a build-up or coating on it anymore, like some conditioners used to leave.

I know other people have different methods that work for them.... Maybe they can share them?

How to say this.....did your hair look/feel "okay" immediately?

I thought I had read (over at Mothering, too) that there was a bit of an adjustment period before your hair would behave, so to speak? For some reason, I'm thinking maybe a week or so? I've been wanting to go poo-free, but just never had that week where my hair could be nasty - always have to be somewhere looking nice (or at least clean, lol).

If this method kicks in without that "waiting period", then I'm all over it!

Hmmnm, I didn't notice a period of bad hair at all.... Maybe because I use the Sunset Styling Lotion. I swear by that stuff! It's awesome for curly hair because it holds the curl together, holds in moisture and is lightweight.

I'm not sure about other hair types, though... Maybe some other Mama's can give their take on it?

I have went poo free, but I still used conditoner (watered way down so that I could be used as a leave in conditioner). I am a bit scared to go poo free, I don't think that it will have the same effects on African American hair.

Does any AA moms have any expertise on this?

I have very oily, fine hair (but lots of it) and poo free didn't work for me. But, I haven't tried baking soda or vinegar. I tried just plain water and massaging my scalp. I would go about 4 days, then wash with a natural shampoo and conditioner. It was fine for a month or two, then got really limp and icky. Now I can't use my natural shampoo/conditioner anymore! (Giovanni Magnetic or Aubrey Island Naturals) Both make my hair all icky and limp, so every third or fourth day I am using some Suave I had left over. Ugh! I'm going to try the baking soda/apple cider vinegar method and I will report back.

Then I'll wait until you report, mamabear. :p Sounds like we have the same type of hair....

I have to do the shampoo brand switching thing, too. It drives DH crazy b/c I have 2 or 3 different kinds of shampoo/conditioner in the shower, whereas he just has his one bottle of Pert, lol!

I'd love to go poo-free, but I'm nervous.....

Kinsey

BS/V never worked for me. I tried as many different combos as I could think of and finally pulled out the shampoo again.

I have very fine, straight-wavey hair. My hair is very very soft. I also only shampoo 3x per week to begin with. When I did the BS/V my hair was wild! Almost impossible to comb, greesey at the roots, frizzy at the ends, wavey-curly and corse. I tried being shampoo free for about 2 months so it wasn't just a bad before good period thing.

Funny thing is that I have a friend (with 2 adopted AA children) who is shampoo free & her corse, curly hair looks great. As does her children's hair. I have had other friends with thick and or corse hair do BS/V and have good luck. I can't help but wonder if it isn't a hair texture thing.

Chole

OK,,well you guys got me all jazzed,,and today was my first poo free day. BS and Vinegar was it ,,,,,and my hair feels great!

I actually talked my 12 yr old daughter into this adventure too, so I will report back how it goes with her!

I have been "poo" free since February and I love it! I was originally inspired by the Mothering.com threads as well.

Meeshi, I, too, have very thick, naturally curly hair also and I actually just use sweet almond oil as my styling product. It is very conditioning, gives my curl just enough hold. I keep it in a pump bottle and with some essential oils added to it for a yummy smell.

I have also noticed that if I make sure to only use lukewarm water on my hair it helps dramatically with the frizzies. I LOVE hot showers, but I make sure to turn the temperature down when rinsing my hair.

I originally began using the baking soda/apple cider vinegar every few days, but now I can actually go a few weeks between baking soda uses. I now just rinse my hair with water most days and sometimes use just water and the vinegar rinse on others.

Hope this info. helps!

I have straight, oily hair and the BS/ACV works WONDERFUL for me :D It makes my hair very soft, not oily at all, and managable to comb through.

I do use some organic shampoo sometimes if I'm in a hurry (this is whats in the shower, DH won't go shampoo free....so he uses some kind of TTO and mint shampoo), but if I want a deep down clean I always go for the BS/ACV. I can wash every other day with that, if I wash with shampoo my hair is oily by the end of the day.

oh, and thats the only thing I'll use on Gracie's hair as well. I wash hers about once a week, sometimes less.

hmm. I started doing bs/acv because my hair was nasty on shampoo anyway--I also have very very fine very dry hair.

The first day was fabulous. my hair was soooo soft, and beautifully curly (I have wavy/curly hair). I loved it.

Then, it gradually got too dry and brittle, and wouldn't do anything. So I switched back to shampoo, at least it wasn't so dry. Oh, it was after about a month that I didn't like it anymore.

But maybe I'll make some modifications to my routine. I was doing the soda about every other day, maybe that's too much. And I will consider throwing in a conditioner if it's getting too dry. Any other suggestions?

maybe add some honey to the BS or an egg for moisture?

Ok, I did Meeshi's Method (LOL) yesterday and my hair was GREAT! Super soft, super wavy but not frizzy. Except - I added a final cold water rinse, I always do that - that is what I find cuts down the frizzies immensely.

I had to do it again today b/c I had a massage yesterday and had massage cream in my hair and it felt icky.

My scalp feels great and my hair looks great, too! :) So far, so good.

I also washed Katie's the same way, but added a couple of drops of rosemary EO to the vinegar/water rinse pitcher.

I will be so happy if I can be off of shampoo forever. ;cool:

I am planning on giving it a good brushing in the morning before showering, then using plain water and massaging my scalp, and seeing how long before it's greasy - then repeating BS/ACV.

Ok so I have been silently following this thread for about two weeks now... and have been product free for the whole time. I have some great MOP shampoo and conditoner that I was using (that I got for my b-day) but I have such trouble with my hair.

I have been happy with the results, but only because I have such dry hair that oily seems BETTER. lol... My hair is so brittle that it will break off at the scalp and then grow into frizzy nastiness before I know it.

Anything that does not include vinigar? It seems like that would kill my hair, but after going two weeks with out washing, I think that I would be fine with something that is not too harsh.

I keep my hair up all the time... I want to get it cut so I don't have to keep it up, but I look funny with shorter hair. So I just keep it up and back... but I bet that is what is making my hair break off. Ugh... catch 22... any ideas?

Love Val

Heather, I think that using baking soda every other day is probably too much. Try doing it maybe every third day? And the honey does seem to work nicely in the mixture, I think it add moisure.

Val ~ I don't think that dilluted ACV is really all that harsh for hair. I googled it when I was reading up on the subject, and a *lot* of hair care sites recommend it.

What happens when you shampoo is that you strip your hair of it's natural oils and then the conditioner tries to be a replacement for them. When using a natural method, like BS and ACV, your hair gets back to regulating itself, so to speak.

But, with drier hair, I would use less baking soda. Maybe 1/4 cup diluted in a large pitcher of warm water?

Constantly putting hair back in a ponytail is pretty bad for it, especially if it is dry. I used to do it, and then I would have a poof of shorter hair all around my face that looked silly. I switched to putting my hair up with a claw thing if I have to.

Also, another Mama here mentioned using (I think it was) sweet almond oil after a shower. Just a few drops on your palms, and smooth through hair. I have also used a dab of olive oil, rubbed between my palms to help my hair if it is dried out.

I have been using this method for a while now and it just keeps getting better and better. I love it! :D

Thanks, I will try that. I am a little worried, but I know my hair will regulate itself (even better than I have, since I washed only once a week to begin with) and perhaps it will stop being so brittle. I don't put it back in a pony... always use this one Japanese double rosewood stick I got from a friend. Should get rid of my ponies though... they are just taking up space and I can feel them pulling my hair out when (even though rarely) I use them.

:D:D:D

Love Val

Originally posted by choleblack
I have very fine, straight-wavey hair. My hair is very very soft. I also only shampoo 3x per week to begin with. When I did the BS/V my hair was wild! Almost impossible to comb, greesey at the roots, frizzy at the ends, wavey-curly and corse.

Same here. Tried it and had the hardest time just getting the BS out of my hair. Hard time combing it, felt gross/greasy. Wanted to like it. Didn't.

Originally posted by BlueRoseMama

I keep my hair up all the time... I want to get it cut so I don't have to keep it up, but I look funny with shorter hair. So I just keep it up and back... but I bet that is what is making my hair break off. Ugh... catch 22... any ideas?

Love Val

val, i used to wear my hair up all the time too- and the pony tail holders would just tear it up... even the non tangle kind.

now i use a claw like meeshi mentioned, i just gather it all inthe back, twist a few times, flip it up and attach it, leaving a little out at the top end. it looks much like a pony tail, but my hair is in much better condition since i began doing this!

:)
am

My dh and I have both been shampoo free since August. He does great with it...which is very surprising, since he laughs at almost everything I do that is "witchy". (His word.)

I've had some trouble...started with baking soda/honey/water/tto w/ white vinegar/lemon juice rinse. That worked well, then I went through a period of seriously annoying greasy hair. So I upped the amount of BS...and had traces left in my hair...really annoying!

Now I'm using ACV/lemon juice rinse and the same BS mixture, and occasionally have a couple of "greasy" days. I'm still not sure why. But for the most part, it works fine.

Here's what I do:

Keep 2 quart pitcher w/ top under the sink filled w/ honey, BS, water

Keep ACV under the sink

Fill old Dr. B's bottle with BS mixture every couple of days....keep it in the shower

Fill water bottle w/ ACV mixture and keep in the shower.

I found that keeping ingredients in the kitchen was too hard when I'm running off to grab a shower during the day...I needed it right there, lol!

I'm jumping on the bandwagon. haven't washed in a week and a half. Just rinse, haven't tried the bs, honey, vinegar. Haven't had time. I am showering everyday now because I feel like i need to rinse my hair. before when I washed my hair i showered 2-3 times a week. My hair feels yucky, but I'm trying to go a month and see how it feels.

Val--I was very attached to having long hair. I was going through a depression and cut it, and it felt soo GOOD!!! I can do so much more with it now, I used to just put it up in a ponytail and that was getting really old. But don't listen to me, I just cut my 2 yo dd's hair really, really short. As in boy/pixie cut short!!! It so cute. And my 4 yo ds who wants to be a banjo playing rock-star (or a lion) when he grows up, got a mohawk this weekend too. I will have Katie take pics with her dig cam so I can show off my little butch dd and her punk bro!!!;cool:

Jennifer
P.S. VAL--Remember me, I met you at Katie's this summer.:D

Yes! HI! Remember Cyan and the elephant game I was playing with Maizy and Max? Remember Cyan freaking out because the elephants were really coming through the door? lol... That still comes up ocassionally... poor little thing. Anyway... great to hear from you!

I feel like caving. My hair does not look good... but I think it is mainly because I have not cut it and so the ends are all straggly. The top looks greesy too... not too bad... my hair is super dry, but just greesy for me. I need to get my hair cut and styled with out products, and see what they can do. I wonder if it is even ok to ask a place to cut with out washing and style with out products. I bet they would flip... lol...

Love Val

Woke up today with my hair feeling really gross. I'm totally into messy bed head look, but this is beyond me. I'm not one of those ladies who has to shower, shave, primp, etc... so when I feel bad about it, it must be bad.:(

I'll try the bs, honey, vin. thing.

Val--Maybe a freind would cut it for free. Up until I moved here I would only let my aunt cut my hair. Well Nebraska's a long way to go for a haircut!! I had to let go of my anxiety about it. Last time I cut my hair my friend Micha cut it! HE is my traveling gypsy friend and he's pretty funky!! He just chopped away and I love it!

Hey Amity! Nice to see you! I do the same thing with my claw, too!

Val, you have straightish hair, right? One thing I remembered reading at Mothering was that some straight haired women recommended using some special type of brush with natural bristles between washes. Supposedly, it would spead the natural oils down to protect the hair, as well as de-greasing the roots.

I can't do this, though. If I brush my hair, I'd end up with an afro 3 feet wide, no joke.


I also wanted to mention that I had to get used to the feeling of washing my hair this way. I had gotten used to the suds and slippery feeling that the chemical products were leaving. The BS/ACV method definately feels funky while in the shower. Almost greasy... I find it easier to comb with a wide tooth comb just as the vingar is on my hair.

Once my hair dries, though, it feels great.

My hair is like Hermionie in the first Harry Potter movie... just like that. Wavy, but strait enough to make it frizzy instead of pretty... and there is TONS of it... like more than a lot of light, simi curly, sort of strait, frizzy, dry, brittle hair... anything but heavy products and a flat iron make my hair look CRAZY... I can get the fro thing too... all I have to do is nothing. I have a natural Aveda Brush (and have tried more)...

I tried this morning to wash with minimal shampoo (just a dime size of MOP to cut the scalp greese) and V after wards... and my hair is a frizzy mess... I briaded the front sides (just little 1/2 inch wide braids to add some texture,) and the rest just freaked out on me. I am going to go and clip it... hopefully it will calm down tomorrow.

I have this trouble with ALL hair products... so it is not the V causing the trouble. (I did not wash my hair at all for the last two weeks. It got greesy but actually not bad) I have never found a product that works on my hair with out lots of effort... hense the 'always up' thing. When I want to spend 45 minutes straitening and polishing my hair then I can wear it down for about three days... or I guess I can keep it wet all the time. :p

Any suggestions for that?

Is it ok that I sort of stole this thread? Sorry Meeshi. :) I really would like some real world help with this, but I can start another thread. :)

Love Val

Well, Meeshi has inspired me. I read this thread and went poo free immediately. It's been a week, and I'm amazed! My hair is fine, thin, and can get oily when I am exerted. I have found the baking soda and honey is awesome, and I add a little Tea Tree EO for my scalp (we live in a dry climate and our water is a bit hard). I rinse with lemon juice and water since I am blond, and it brings the highlights out more.

Thanks for this great thread!

Val, my ends are dry and frizzy too. I did a Olive Oil hot treatment on just the ends, then baking soda'd it out. I also did an extra rinse of just honey and water, and my hair was fly away free not to mention uber shiny!

You could get really fancy and infuse the olive oil with rosemary (if you have dark hair). I added some lemon eo to my olive oil. LOVE the smell!

can one who colours her hair *a lot* go shampoo free? is it safe for incredibly colour-treated hair?

Branwyn - I don't know the answer to your question - my color experience is limited to one time using Manic Panic, LOL.

I have brushing my hair with my natural-bristle brush before the shower to distribute the oils. Then doing baking soda in a pitcher of warm water, scrubbing scalp well for 2 min, rinse with plain water, then followed by a splash of ACV and a drop or two of rosemary in a pitcher of warm water. (Pitcher is 2 quarts.) I comb it out while the vinegar is in, rinse well after with warm water, and finish with a cold rinse.

I have to do this every other day or my hair gets too greasy. Natural state of my hair/skin is oily, and my hair is very fine but there is lots of it.

I love the way my hair looks and feels. It is a bit different than the squeaky clean of SLS shampoo, but for me it is much better than the Giovanni and Aubrey shampoos I was using.

Oh a couple of times I did put the Aubrey Island Naturals cream rinse on the ends.

I keep forgetting the honey but I am going to try the honey/water rinse - sounds perfect! My hair can tend to get flyaway/frizzy with this method and the cream rinse helped with that (as does the cool rinse - but now the humidity is gone and it is totally fine). The hot oil treatment sounds cool, too.