AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH! So, I swear I checked Lush shampoo bars before I started using them, but I just rechecked and they all have SLS!!! And Lush classifies it as a “safe synthetic” WHAT??!!??!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! And my Lush face soap has it too!!! I am sad now. :-( I don’t know if I’ll be able to convince my husband to go no-poo (although CHEAP is good with him) but I’m convinced!

I’m in the same position as you meghan… It’ll be a marketing hell to sell the idea to my gf so I can try this >_<

How does this affect colored hair? I use EcoColors which is supposed to be less toxic (than what ?!) I don’t want to strip all that glorious artificial color.

I’ve been off/on no-poo 3 or 4 times now, and I have a suggestion+question about distributing the oil in your hair. I have waist length, fine, straight hair, and the oily period can be pretty rough.
I was always told that a *natural* bristle brush was required to distribute the oils. The whole brush for 1000 strokes thing is just a Bad Idea with a typical detangling, plastic brush. It’s great with the natural bristles, though. My husband says he can just see the shine spreading around :P
I just have a boars bristle brush that works really well, but what type of brush do you use, being vegan?

The brush is actually a deal breaker for me. If I don’t use the brush, the oils never properly distribute, no matter how many weeks I wait. I’ve waited over half a year before! But that might be because of my hair type+climate. I’ve never washed my hair every day, and for at least 5 years, I’d wash it at most twice a week (during the summers in the south). Clumpy oiliness is yick, and I like my long hair!

I am also concerned about how this would affect colour treated hair. I also am so scared about the oily period. How long does it go on for?

I don’t know about regular colors, but baking soda can strip henna off of hair, but the amount is small enough in standard use that I don’t really notice.

ummm, what about the smell? maybe some people like the smell of vinegar but i personally find it revolting. do you walk around smelling like vinegar?????? ewwwwwwww…..

I have found that I can’t do water-only rinses in between. And I know I’m not the only one. I simply put my hair up in a shower cap on the off days or else it looks a lot worse and clumps and gets nasty if water hits it.
I may have to go and get some squirt bottles for my bs and acv. Right now I’m using old Tazo tea bottles, but I have to pour it over the scalp instead of targeting it.

The ACV smells more like apples esp after it washes out. I like to add some rosemary leaves or cloves of mint to the bottle which makes it smell very yummy once rinsed

Err that should be sprigs of mint or whole cloves. Although cloves of mint does sound yummy to me at the moment.

So far I’ve only done the vinegar rinse once, and I was sure to rinse off my hair with plenty of water. I didn’t smell at all like vinegar when I got out of the shower.

I haven’t used shampoo in about two years, and have been using only water for the past 9 months. The transition was tough, as I actually hated the way the BS/ACV made my hair feel, so it was quite liberating to discard those, as well.

I began by using BS/ACV every couple of weeks, then once a month, then bimonthly, and now…never. :)

My hair is so manageable and reliable these days. I know what to expect every day from it. No more “shower day” hair.

I’m pretty confident that I’ll never use shampoo again.

I think I would actually recommend a transition period for those of you coming off traditional products before going no-poo. I took the challenge and haven’t used shampoo/conditioner since the beginning of this month and it’s been fine… but I detoxed my hair the beginning of the year and have used natural (as possible) products since then, and have only ever shampooed my hair once a week, maybe twice at most. I just think a jump from suave to no-poo would be absolutely miserable.

Scent: the first wash my hair noticeably smelled like ACV until the next wash (actually a rinse). Immediately after the rinse it was stronger, then faded out and I haven’t noticed it since, despite using the full BS/ACV since. I plan on purchasing rosemary essential oil, or preferably brewing a strong “tea” from fresh/dried rosemary for future rinses if that becomes an issue. Or regardless, actually, because rosemary smells freaking amazing, and it’s fantastic for dark hair.

Color: I have (Redken) blue-black hair with bleach. I haven’t noticed the BS/ACV fading it any… but I am overdue for color. I am supposed to get it redone in the next week or two so I will update then.

Water Rinse In Between: I only attempted once, and it didn’t work well. I will attempt again though (serious brushing might help… maybe). I don’t think it’s been mentioned but if oily hair is an issue a lot of no-poo’ers will use dry shampoo or even oatmeal (flour) or cornstarch. I haven’t tried this myself but I’ve used makeup finishing powder in a pinch for areas around the face.

@ the other Sarah – the vegan alternative (that I know of) is a wooden brush, which seems to be the popular choice. I haven’t decided if I want to buy/try one yet – I haven’t owned a brush for years. Sayward do you use wood and do you like it? I”m really curious about this because it sounds awkward.

Other: I noticed more volume as soon as I stopped using shampoo/conditioner and the reported lack of dandruff issues on no-poo are correct. I also gradually turn the water down cooler as I rinse to seal the hair shaft. It’s wise with traditional shampooing, but even better with ACV. Leaves your hair soft feeling actually – not what you’d expect, but it depends on the amount of ACV.

Oh, now to convince the husband…

@ the the first Sarah: You might want to check out these two articles, which tell you how to distribute the hair oils using rags (how cool is that!)
http://www.grizzlybird.net/2008/02/green-familys-further-adventures-with.html
http://thephoenix.com/Boston/Life/40141-No-Poo-Do/

I just ordered two wooden brushes from ebay, they were pretty cheap! Right now I have a nasty plastic faux-boar bristle brush and I can’t imagine it being very good on my hair. I’m hesitant to brush at all though, because brushes take my waves right out. :-P

So far this is my dandruff situation (I’ve had a problem with it for forever): The days that I use BS/ACV it is GREAT. No flakes at all, which is really amazing to be. Maybe my issue is one of exfolialtion, and the BS does a good job with that? Subsequent days though that I don’t use the BS it comes back. Maybe after I’ve done no-poo for longer it will be gone for good.

Saturday I used BS/ACV, then I didn’t do anything Sunday or Monday, and yesterday I washed my hair with water only. Today I used BS/ACV. Every 4 days seems reasonable for now, when I was shampooing I varied from every day to every other day to occasionally ever three days.

I joined the no_poo livejournal community that someone posted in the last no-poo post here, it has a lot of useful tags.

Thanks for the replies, everyone. I’ll have to keep my eyes open for a wooden bristle brush, and I am definitely trying the washcloth method!! The Phoenix article was great, Nina!

My husband tried no-poo for a while too to try and get rid of the dandruff. It worked well for him for about 4 or 5 weeks, and then it came back like 6xs worse… I couldn’t convince him to do BS/ACV, though because he can’t handle the smell. He said the ACV stung too. I’ll have to mix him some that smells pretty :)

This is so excellent! I started my no poo adventure just around the time you posted about it.
I had been waiting to run out of shampoo. Even though I used handmade all natural shampoos and conditioners, they are mighty expensive and not necessary.
So as opposed to the normally too oily hair, I found that I had too dry hair. This happened for a number of reasons.
First. I had a terrible fruit fly problem, and was concerned that my head would attract them and I’d be dealing with dead bugs in my hair. So I tried just white vinegar.
The result was too dry hair.
It wasn’t the most pleasant, but I didn’t need to wash my hair for about 5 days, LOL.
So since then, I’ve tried adding a bit of lavendar oil to my BS solution, so that it wouldn’t be quite so intense and using ACV, since the bug problem has reduced.
I still went through an odd period of not so great hair. But the last couple days have been fantastic. I got my bounce and curl back!
PS going into this my hair has been chemically dyed for the last 7 years and I’d just recently dyed it as close to my natural colour as possible, so I’m excited to see my real hair and how much more curl it will have!

Hello everyone!! Thank you all for all the wonderful comments, there’s so much great experience and information here! I’m just going to respond to the questions, but please know I’m reading and loving all the contributions.

@ Julie – No-poo is supposed to be totally safe for color treated hair (I sure hope so!). Some people say they notice a bit of lightening, which could be of concern to some people. To me, it’s totally worth the toxin trade-off, but I understand that mileage may vary. =)

@ Sarah – I have really short hair and so I have not encountered the brush issue – I use a comb if I have to but even that is rare!

I’ve heard good things about both the synthetic that mimic boar bristle brushes, and the wooden ones. I know of vegan stylists who use the synthetics and swear they do just as well at distributing the sebum through the hair. I’ve also read many reviews from individuals who love their wooden bristle brushes.

I say snoop around, and don’t give up on cruelty-free just yet!

@ Staar – Well, everybody will have a different experience, and I’d say this goes for both the color and the transition period. I know a lot of hair-colorers who no-poo, so I’d say at least give it a try. It’s working so-far-so-great on my color fried mop!

As for the transition, it can range from a week to a few months, depending on how often you were washing your hair before and how much oil you naturally produce, as well as other factors. But it can be manages, with phasing in BS/ACV overlapping with traditional shampoo, or by using the BS/ACV more often, etc. But bottom line, everyone will be different. Wish I had something more solid!

@ Jackie – I notice the smell when I apply it, but it rinses out. I don’t notice it at all once I leave the shower. As other posters have suggested, you can add all sorts of essential oils or herbal distillations to make it smell better, if that suits you.

@ Vrimj – ‘cloves of mint’ sound delightful. =)

@ sarah – Thanks for the awesome comment (as always) and all the great information. To answer your question, I haven’t tried any of the vegan alternative brushes. I’m using the same crappy drugstore comb I bought like literally 5 years ago! Even when my hair was long I used a comb.

But my curiosity is definitely piqued. I’m going to investigate and ask around regarding these wooden and synthetic ‘boar bristle’ brushes . . .

@ Nina – Great articles, thanks!

And thanks again everybody! I’m so thrilled that so many people are interested in this challenge. You guys inspire me!!!

Hello from Russia!
Can I quote a post in your blog with the link to you?

@ Polprav – Of course! I would be honored. =)

Stunning!!! nuff said!

@ Jason – Thanks!

Hi all! I started my no-poo journey almost 2 months ago. It’s going pretty well! I do miss the smells and fragrances of my old shampoo and conditioner though, but I’m making due.

Just a tip: I think it’s great to experiment with the conditioning rinses. I started with ACV, but the smell just really annoyed me. I still smelled it in my hair (very faintly though) even after it dried, and I became self-conscious of my hair’s scent. I have tried rinsing with lemon juice (diluted), coffee, and black tea. I think so far, black tea has been my favorite– I like the smell, and I think the results are good.

I do the BS/tea wash every 3 days… on the third day my hair is pretty oily. I am hoping that as my hair transitions over time, I can move it to once a week.

@ Megabeast – Congrats on the no-poo journey! Have you tried adding essential oils to your solutions? May give some of that sweet ‘shampoo/conditioner’ smell that you miss.

I’m super interested in all the conditioning rinses, so thank you! for sharing them. =) I’m excited to try out some different concoctions.

I started doing this maybe three weeks ago, after I ran out of shampoo. I never bothered with BS/ACV, and went just water from the get go. Surprisingly, my ‘oily’ period was very short, lasting maybe a week before my hair started to feel clean (and I have thick, long hair, so I really was expecting it last a while). However, I have noticed that my hair is very dry now, that I’m having more of a problem with split ends, and it lacks shine. I’d hate to go no-poo, only to start using other hair products to fix these problems, any idea what natural solutions I can use?

Kaye– have you considered using oils on your hair tips? Coconut oil and jojoba oil are known to be good for hair! Maybe you could do a ‘hot oil treatment’ of some kind as well. But I’d be careful though, since oil is not water soluble and you’re doing water-only… if you get too much oil in your hair it might be hard to get back out again. However if you just add some to the ends of your hair, I can’t imagine it not helping a bit.

Sayward– I have tried using essential oils, and I usually put a few drops of tea tree oil in my BS rinse, and a few drops of rosemary in my conditioning rinse. It does smell very herbally, but it eventually goes away after a lil bit, and I really miss smelling like..well.. artificial fragrances like lovely coconut, caramel, etc. I am adjusting though!

If you have not already, you should check out the no_poo community on livejournal. With the amount of people on there, there is tons of experience to share and read-up on, and ideas on various rinses or methods. It’s wonderful!
http://community.livejournal.com/no_poo/profile

@ Kaye – My first thought is that your oil production has dropped, and so oil is not distributing all the way through your hair. Basically, it’s staying near the scalp (you said your hair is thick and long, so this makes sense) and isn’t reaching the tips. I’d try getting into the habit of brushing your hair thoroughly each night, using a mimic boar bristle brush. This should distribute your natural oil evenly and help you from drying out.

If that doesn’t work well enough, I’d try adding a bit of oil to your tips (just a bit), like Megabeast suggested. Coconut oil, jojoba, cocoa butter, or vitamin E (that’s what I would try first) would all work. They’re natural and easy on the hair, so they won’t ‘counteract’ the whole no-poo ideology.

You may also want to try the ACV rinse once or twice a week, until the problem clears up. We’re transitioning seasons which is always drying on hair, so this may clear itself up eventually.

@ Megabeast – I miss the pretty smells too! I need to do some experimenting with that. I bet some fruity oils like grapefruit or vanilla would be lovely.

I need to join that community! Thanks for the reminder. =)

I go swimming a couple of times a week. Do you think this would still work?

@ anna – Yes! You may want to wash and condition after each swim (at least at first), but the BS/ACV will definitely work. Your hair will probably be better than ever!

little question regarding the contents of the stuff…Is baking soda the same as sodium bicarbonate?? Cos thats all i have and its what I was using. I dont wash it with vinegar though, instead I was using a jug of cammomile tea. do you think that that matters at all?
thanks a bunch :) oh, and that deodorant recipe is FANTASTIC if i ahevnt mentioned it before. x

@ Annie – Yep, baking soda and sodium bicarbonate are one-and-the-same. =) And I have heard that chamomile makes a great conditioner, though I haven’t tried it myself. What do you think of it so far?

Glad you like the deodorant!

Hi,

I love curly hair but have the most straight hair possible. I have been looking every where to see what affect the no poo method has on permed hair but there has been no response. Does any one know?

@ Jenni Halsted – From what I’ve seen and heard from people who use it, no-poo works great on ALL hair, any texture, dyed, natural, permed, whatever! Most people have wonderful success with it. =)

i went no-poo like a month and a half ago. i haven’t used the ACV though just regular white vinegar bc that’s what i have but, everyone has been saying my hair is looking so much better now. i do it like 1 a week and water the rest of the time. I LOVE IT!!!! my frizzies are almost gone but my hair has gone back to thecurl i had as a little one. it’s crazy. one of the best ideas ever :)

I just found your website and have been reading nonstop! Excellent information, thanks! :) I have so much to learn when it comes to the all “natural” thing but am so excited.

I do have a question on the no-poo BS. Do you mix it with water and apply it or just put it on in the powder form? I couldn’t tell from your post for sure. I’m excited to try this although I’ll have to give up the hairspray :(

Thanks again for the info, I’ll be back.

@ Lisa – I’ve heard of it done both ways! Personally I premix it and keep it in a squirt bottle, otherwise I wouldn’t remember until I was already in the shower and I’d have to get out and tromp water all around the house and get cold and whew – just a mess. =D

But I’ve heard of people applying it dry with great success. Whatever works for *you*!

Luck!

I couldn’t go no-poo, so I tried urban hillbilly organics; no chemicals whatsoever. Smells fantastic too! But, great article! I absolutely LOVE your website!!!

Hi! I have a doubt about this method you see, my hair is curly and thin, so I’d like to know how many times a week would you recommend using it? is it safe for everyday use? Thank you so much in advace!
XO

@ Alexa – You’re in luck lady, No-Poo is *ideal* for both thin and curly hair! (especially the curls)

How often you do it depends on your own preference and where you’re coming from. I do it once a week, but if you’re coming from washing your hair every day, you could start off doing it every other day or so. Slowly increase the amount of time between washes. Of course if you prefer, it IS perfectly safe for every day use.

Luck!

I started washing my hair with olive oil soap and rinsing with apple cider vinegar in January and noticed no oily period. I have super thick curly hair that goes just below my chest. I switched to baking soda after my hair dresser said that I need a clarifying shampoo. I love it so much more, though it takes more time to wash my hair now.
As for smell I originally used a bit of Burt’s Bees conditioner to cover it up but I stopped a few months ago to no complaints, I am surprised when I smell it.

thank you for sharing this! i finally did and will NEVER go back i love the way my hair feels awww! :)

Love this, I tried it for myself and was unsure it would work as my hair is very dry and frizzy all the time and is almost to my waist. I washed it with the BS and v and loved the results. Then I moved on to my kids hair they liked it because it was truly tear free and they did not have all the tangles that they usually get after washing. no more shampoo for us thanks.

Baking soda made my scalp very dry, soo just water for me^_^ rather happy with the results.. and plus the fact i just do nothing to my hair.

I just went to the grocery store and picked up my BS and ACV! I’m really excited to try this.

LOVE this post & the AWESOME comments! You’ve inspired me to continue experimenting! Anybody else like Ella, tried all natural conditioners rather than ACV with baking soda? I’m trying to go no-poo but a) ACV has so far made my hennaed hair very limp and b) I have a ton of all natural shampoo & conditioners. My partner will use up the shampoo, no prob but he doesn’t use conditioner and I don’t want to waste it. (No, can’t give it to anyone cuz we recently moved overseas & I have no girlfriends as yet!)

@ Carolita – I just keep the shampoo and conditioner around for overnight guests! =)

Today’s my 8th day and it’s going pretty well! Just want to say that I’m doing as Megabeast does, rinsing with tea rather than ACV. Only twist is that I brewed the tea with a couple of tablespoons of dry rosemary so it’s a lovely-smelling one that’ll also hopefully darken the orange of my henna. Another note is for newbies who are having the greasies adjustment period: try dry shampooing in between baking soda washes. You can use either cornstarch, rice or oat flour and just rub it gently onto your scalp/greasy hair areas (do this over the sink obviously!) and then comb or brush it through a bit; let it sit for 10-20 min. (while you eat breakfast!) then brush & shake it out. The day I did this, my hair seemed to get cleaner as the day wore on. Was really soft too.

Great blog, but I have a question for you!

I dye my hair chemically (not a veg dye, but a permanent dye with developer) and I’m trying to go no ‘poo. Have you combined these ever? I’m wondering if you might have a suggestion about what sort of thing one could use to wash out the dye after processing (to stop the developing) which wouldn’t strip the color unnecessarily or counteract the good of the no ‘poo method. I was thinking that perhaps a dilute castile soap might work, but that can be sort of harsh on hair. Thanks in advance for any thoughts on the matter (you know, other than “ditch the dye,” and yes I’ve tried henna and veg, but this is the dye I’m doing for now).

Nicole, I know I once had a hair dresser who washed out the dye with apple cider vinegar and cold water. To help lock in the color. you might want to try that.

@Morgan: Wow! I wouldn’t have thought that could be enough, but I’m certainly willing to give that a shot.

@ Nicole – To be honest I never shampooed my hair after dying, even when using the harsh chemicals. Is that crazy? Haha, but really a long thorough water wash was always enough for me.

That said, I think ACV is a *fantastic* idea!

@Sayward: I don’t know if it’s crazy. Maybe I’m crazy, paranoid. But hey, I’ve got my dye, plus all the basic supplies and a mostly-natural alternative should all else fail. I guess I’ll just have to see how it goes!

Thanks for telling me how it worked for you!

@Nicole – Depending on your preferred color, of course, you really should consider going natch for the coloring too. There’s red (that’s me), black, and some have success with brown even (it’s trickier though). Hennaforhair.com tells ya (and sells ya, affordably) everything you need.

@Carolita: The original comment does say ditching the dye isn’t going to happen. It also says, “yes I’ve tried henna and veg.” Don’t you think that’s “consider[ing] going natch”? I don’t want to be rude, but it’s frustrating and nigh insulting to receive suggestions which whether intentionally or unintentionally fly in the face of what’s been requested. I’m not asking for advice on choosing a dye – I’ve clearly already done so. And while you didn’t get a lifetime history of my hair (who wants to read that? It’s not my blog!), you certainly got enough info to deduce I’d examined other options.

Hennaforhair.com is on the first page of results in google for the search term “henna” (and is the go-to henna website on every hair forum I’ve ever seen). If I hadn’t seen that website, I wouldn’t just be a neophyte – I’d be a dunce.

So, really, while I appreciate your concern for my hair (and whatever else is presumed), it sounds like preaching and frankly doesn’t come off well. Thanks for your unbidden good samaritanism, but I’m sticking with this dye for now, just as I said I would.

Whoa, excuse me for being busy and not reading all the way up the chain! I got an e-mail follow-up comment notification and was yes, guilty of laziness. But talk about preaching… Meee-OW.

Whoa, excuse me for being busy and not reading all the way up the chain! I got a few e-mail follow-up comment notifications and was yes, guilty of laziness. But talk about preaching… Meee-OW.

That’s not preaching at all. Preaching is normative; it is intended to give advice. I didn’t give you any. But now I’m about to tell you something that is normative: If you want to tell me I’m overreacting, rude or anything of the sort, it would behoove you to do so like an adult. The way to do that is to say something like, “I didn’t intend to offend you, so your offense is unwarranted,” not to make cat noises. And yes, I am offended, mildly, because there are a lot of assumptions involved in telling me what I ought to consider when you didn’t even bother to read the comment. And I think at least some of those assumptions are incorrect.

What I was actually doing is telling you how frustrating it is to say, in short, “how can I get developer off my head while staying no ‘poo?” and receive an answer that says “you really should use something without developer.” It’s presumptuous and rude to give advice that’s specifically disinvited.

And I’m not going to come back to this discussion because I think it can only devolve from here. I’ve said my piece, I would appreciate it if further discussion didn’t presume to tell me how I should treat my head (except the specific advice I asked for and was graciously given), and I have more respect for this blog than to bicker on it any further.

Sayward, for what it’s worth, I apologize for rocking the boat and I appreciate your advice. I’ll be reading quietly.

Will this no-poo routine work for curly hair? When I mean curly hair, I mean thirsty 1/4″, in diameter, corkscrews.
I heard of the no-poo regimen is good for curly hair because the poo does nothing for dry, frizzy curls. That method was all about skipping the shampoo and using conditioner for cleansing and conditioning your hair (of course, a weekly deep conditioner and scalp scrub was included). A scalp scrub is a mixture of a tbsp. of your regular conditioner and tbsp. of brown sugar. You would a massage this mixture into your scalp to exfoliate the dead skin cells that would be sit on you scalp and hinder your hair from it full potential to healthier and grow better.
Could I still do these weekly treatments if I were to do the no-poo method you wrote about in the above post?

I LOVE no poo. I use bs and acv everyday for now. I switched back to shampoo briefly after we moved, but find commercial shampoo makes my scalp much oilier. Commercial conditioners also seem to make my skin break out. I use a tiny amount of liquid castille directly on my scalp when needed, and add vanilla to the acv. My hair is fine, thick, and wavy.
Sayward- thanks so much for the blog. It keeps me inspired!

@ Isabella – Yes, no-poo is AWESOME for curly hair. And you can still do whatever treatments you want. I still use products. It’s all about making it work for YOU! =)

Ok, I decided to give this a try- I feel I have nothing to lose anymore. I’m having some pretty major hair issues right now as it’s super dry and falling out. My blood tests are coming back ok- thyroid, nutritional, and all of that, but I continue to lose tons of hair daily. My hair is like straw so I was very afraid of giving this a try, but I’m tired of how awful my hair looks and feels. So I did the BS/ACV today and I was very surprised at how things came out- soft, soft, soft. Easy to brush through, no tangles, not out-of-control dry straw. So I’m really hoping this continues to work for me as I strive to find the cause of my hair loss- maybe this will even help a bit! Thank you for posting this!

@ Vicki – I’m sorry you’re having so many issues. But good luck figuring it all out, and I hope the no-poo continues to work for you!

Sayward, thanks! It’s continuing to work beautifully for me. My hair is still soft and brush-able- even has a slight sheen to it. I’m in awe. :)

I know this post is over a year old, and I didn’t read EVERY comment on here, but I just wanted to mention that dandruff is caused by a fungal infection and ACV is anti-fungal. Hence the amazing anti dandruff results of the no-poo. (My source for this is a bio class I took in college, so I don’t remember any more details.)

Ok so I have been doing the no poo for about 6 months now and love it, my hair is a bit dry but it was before no poo( I blame moving from a beach town to the deserts of Colorado) So a friend asked her hair dresser about no poo and the hair dresser said to add a little lanolin to the BS solution. So i tried it and it is very nice I only suggest doing it at most 1 time per month if you have very dry thick wavy/ curly hair. And far less often if your hair is straight, or thin. and not at all if it is oily. Now im not sure what the vegan version of this would be possibly a little olive oil/ cocoanut oil. so it takes very little to work well. I use 1/4 a teaspoon of lanolin in a 8 oz bottle of hot water with 4 tablespoons of BS. My hair feels great, I used the same ration on my daughters hair( her hair is to her chin mine is to my waist) and hers is a bit oily now but not that bad( not at all frizzy and very manageable).

Ive tried this (ok not enough to transition all the way)… and bar shampoos, and other natural soap shampoos (not detergent!) Turns out I have hard water here (University) and the calcium and something reacts and causes my hair to go waxy and get terrible build up. Its so terribly frustrating, since when I go home these ‘products’ work great. Ive read that vinegar should help soften the water and get rid of the waxiness, but it doesnt my water is just that hard(our tap water is white). I guess more detergent shampoo for me…

Steph have you tried soap nuts to wash your hair? They are suppose to work with hard water.

To make the liquid, add 6-8 whole shells to 6cups water, boil and then simmer for 30 minutes. Strain the nuts and pour into an appropriate container. Use this liquid as you would your regular shampoo. Pour a 1:1 solution of vinegar and water in a spray bottle, and use as conditioner. Rinse well and dry as usual.

Shampoo bars are awesome! While I haven’t tried using BS, I have been using an all natural, handmade shampoo bar for a little over a month now. Not much of a transition period for my hair, thankfully. I just did my 1st ACV rinse today & it worked wonderfully. My hair is a little on the dry side, but I use a teeny bit of coconut oil as a leave in and that does the trick. Once my kids get a little older (1 & 4 years now) I’ll start using bars on them too, but until then I’ll keep spending a fortune on California Baby products. I also just started using coconut oil as body moisturizer for myself and both kids. I’m so loving the transition to natural products. Great blog, thanks!

Very educative, i use vinegar for hair shine and it works very well!

Hi,

I’ve tried to read through all of the comments so I wouldn’t have to ask you, but with the BS, does one mix it with water to make a solution out of it or just pour some BS on one’s head?
Then the ACV in a spritzer bottle to spray on, right?

I’m excited to try this out!! :)

Yes you mix the BS with water and then yes the ACV in a spry bottle. Have fun i love what this has done for my hair.

@ Christine – Yup, I just mix the BS with water right before I get in the shower, make a thin pase and I’m good to go. =)

ACV in a spritzer.

Luck!

I’ve just started about a month ago going no-poo. I have extremely thick, spiral natural curls about midway down my back and they are normally a royal pain. For years and years I dealt with tons of split ends, and very dry almost scratchy feeling hair. I tried everything commercially I found, even paying up to 75 dollars for a single bottle!

I already had stopped shampooing daily in the shower on my own, and had noticed a great difference, so after looking around for a few weeks I took the plunge and decided to go for it. Never going back for sure, my normally sand-papery hair is silky again and so much less frizzy. I use baking soda one a week, about 1tablespoon per 2 cups water is my mix. For conditioning I use diluted ACV mixed with lemon juice and lavender buds(Pluck them right off the plant and fill 1/2 the bottle up with them. They steep just like suntea in my window for a day and voila no vinegary smell to report.

Good luck to all with your own adventures~

I’m having trouble with this – I began about 3 or 4 weeks ago but my hair has lots of build-up on the scalp. It’s very oily right at the roots, as well. It’s a little below shoulder length and pretty thick. Any suggestions?

@ Em – I think the transitional period can take quite some time before it mellows out, and unfortunately that means a long “oily” period. Sorry!

How often are you using the baking soda? If it’s mor than twice a week, I’d say cut back. But give it at least 6-8 weeks. Sometimes it just takes a while.

Luck!

I have extremely thick and oily hair that i wash everyday. I’ve tried washing every other day with scrubbing my hair under water in between and it just resulted stinky itchy greaseball mess lol. (During puberty i used to wash it sometimes twice a day, really bad i know lol). No poo sounds fab, but I’m nervous about the “transitional” phase. I work in a hotel and I can get written up for “bad hygiene” (greasy hair, not smelling fresh, looking not put together) so looking like a greaseball during transition worries me. Any fellow thick oily haired ladies wanna share their experience with me like length of transitional time etc so I kinda know what to expect? Also, lets say I go no poo, then go get my hair cut and the stylist washes my hair, do i start the “transition” phase all over? Thanks!

Hi Natalia, is there any way you could wear a fashionable head scarf or wide headband or something like that – something chic and pretty but that would mask the oily period? I am growing out baby bangs right now and pretty much wore a hat/scarf for a month!

If you wash your hair just once or even twice with regular shampoo it should be fine. Your hair might freak out and go a little oily, but you certainly wouldn’t be back to square one and you wouldn’t have to start all over again.

Luck!

try a little cornstarch sprinkling at the roots and then brush out well, it works for me! IT will make hair look dull if you use too much but it is absorbent and will help with those terrible greasy patches.

try a little cornstarch sprinkling at the roots and then brush out well, it works for me! IT will make hair look dull if you use too much but it is absorbent and will help with those terrible greasy patches.

Started the no-poo experiment (what a hilarious name) today by washing my hair with just water. It looks and feels pretty clean, which may have to do with the fact that I’ve been using mild organic shampoo and only washing my hair every other day the last couple of years. Do you think this might shorten the transition period a little bit?

If you make your BS rinse beforehand in a large quantity, you could try boiling the water to soften it. After the water has cooled (that last part is very important – I plopped about a cup of BS into the water right after I turned the stove off and it EXPLODED on me! Live and learn, right?) but is still hot enough to dissolve the BS, add the BS sloooowly and mix until it’s dissolved. Then just go ahead and pour it into a shampoo bottle, I find a funnel really helps with this, and there you are! Soft water!

Definitely! That’s what I was doing and my transition period was super short – less than a few weeks. Luck!

I’ve been doing no-poo for nine months, and my hair has never looked better. I only use the vinegar in my son’s hair once every one or two weeks, and his hair is perfect. I put the vinegar in a lavender water mix that I make myself. 7 cups water, 1/2 cup vodka or witchhazel astringent, 40 drops lavender EO, and 10 drops tea tree EO. Let “steep” for two weeks. Just put it in a container and forget about it for two weeks. Old vinegar bottles work great for this. Then, I add 1 to 2 tblsp ACV to every 8 oz of lavender water. The lavender enriches and stregnthens the hair, and tea tree oil is great for dry skin and lice prevention. Also, they are both antimicrobial. I also use this mix as an all purpose cleaner, “Fbreeze”, window cleaner, facial toner, pour some in the bath water, hand sanitizer, and more. Oh yeah, I use the baking soda once every one or two weeks. Sometimes I make the paste, and sometimes I just sprinkle it on my fingers and scrub it into my scalp. I also use BS to wash my, brush my teeth, exfoliate my skin, and for cleaning of course. One more thing. Once a month, I make a paste from sugar and lemon juice, and I use it to scrub my scalp, and body, and face… But don’t do that if you don’t want highlights.

I’m kind of behind on the whole no poo thing as we just discovered it, but I’ve been using Dr. Bronner’s on my hair, so just made the little switcheroonie…if you will…to no poo. Anyway, started using it on my 5.5 year old daughter and she loves the way her hair feels, but HATES the smell of the vinegar in the bath. Do you have any ideas for decreasing the smell or if I add essential oil would that help? or be not so good? Thanks so much. I’ve really been enjoying your site!

I haven’t tried it personally but know people do add essential oils to mask the vinegar smell, and they’ve said it works out well. Definitely worth a try!

Thanks so much for your speedy reply! I’ll definitely have to try the EO! :)

[...] No Poo- It’s been about two weeks for me and my hair is soooo healthy and [...]

Maybe you could also try using lemon juice instead of vinegar.

Help! Am in week 7 now and my no-poo project seems to be stagnating, sort of. My hair just feels limp and sticky most of the time. :(
Any suggestions? Brushing my hair more often maybe? Haven’t really done that very much.

How often are you no-pooing? If I go more than 6 or 7 days, my hair gets very limp. You might need to do the bs more often.

Yes, that might be it – I only no-poo once a week. Thanks a lot!

I also think it might have to do with the relatively hard water we’ve got here. Will try boiling it next time I no-poo.