No-poo residue & stinky hair

[chicaalegre]

I've been no-poo-ing for about 6 months now, and for the most part I love it. My hair is healthier and I have less problems with scalp itchiness and flaking. I can also go about a week between washings--my hair really looks and feels clean for about that long! My hair is long, about half-way down my back, relatively thick and wavy.

I've got a few complaints and questions for those of you more experienced than I...

1) I've noticed that I get a buildup of a waxy grayish residue on my hairbrush. It's really hard to clean out of the brush and it kindof grosses me out. I don't see residue in my hair and it doesn't look bad at the roots--a little flaky, but not waxy. Is this just sebum? Or some other buildup? I know that this can be really individual but I'm not sure how to figure it out--more or less BS? I use about a 1/2-1 T mixed with 3 oz water and a few drops of TTO, squirt on my roots & massage in, then rinse well.

2) I'm not really digging the smell of ACV that lingers on my hair. I rinse with about a half cup of ACV mixed with ~3 cups of water (I use one of those big 4c measuring cups) and dip the ends in and then pour the whole thing over my head. I then rinse quickly with cold water. The smell sortof goes away when it dries (but it takes a really long time to dry), but then returns when I wet it again. It makes my towels stink and my husband really hates it. I'd rather smell a little more yummy and not like a salad...anything I can add to the rinse? Different rinse? Will lemon juice do the same thing in terms of detangling/conditioning? A few drops of an EO to the rinse?

Thanks for any advice . I don't think I'd ever go back to using shampoo but fixing these minor problems would be really great.

[soygurl]

I'm no expert (I haven't even started yet, lol just been researching), but from what I've read, it soulds like you're using way too much ACV. I've read several times to use 2 Tablespoons diluted with 1 cup water. And maybe try adding the EOs to the ACV rinse instead of the BS? I think I've seen that suggested too...

[Mrs.Oz]

I'm guessing that the buildup you're seeing is a combo of dead skin cells and sebum. I have a very high skin-cell turnover rate and use BS and honey on my face every other day and I can take a fingernail and run it across any part of my face after I've cleansed and scrape the same grayish gunk off that the BS exfoliated. I don't have that issue with my scalp, but my face and my calves for some reason are subject to it.

I would say if you're only no-pooing once a week and are otherwise happy with how clean your hair is (vinegar smell and other issues aside) I would probably stick with current ratio of BS and water. You can try cutting back on BS but my guess is that you're seeing less flakiness and having less itching because the BS is lightly exfoliating your scalp and keeping the flakes at bay.

If you're like me and your skin sloughs off at a faster rate than average, each time you no-poo you're loosening a weeks worth of skin cells, which for us, is a lot and probably why it's noticeable on the brush.

[hibana]

Grey gunk is sebum and dead skin. I use a wooden comb, and when I'm done I clean it with a toothpick to get the gunk out. My boar-bristle brush goes in the dishwasher when it gets too yucky.

I can't offer anything on your no-poo routine, as I just rinse with plain water. It works beautifully when I have the time to brush it thoroughly at least twice a day...