Shampoo alternatives besides no-poo? - Page 2

[Freedom~Mama]

Well it is still going great for me using the borax to wash and then acv to rince. I have very long hair that is prone to getting dry and tangled and as sensitive scalp and the borax is great at getting my hair clean but not making it too dry. I like the smell of my hair after it is dry too. It just smells like clean hair with no chemical/perfume smells.

[MommyHawk]

subbing...and thanks for all these great ideas. my hair has been falling out (IMO due to shampoo) so I think I might try the CO washing for a while and see if that helps it stop falling out...and grow back!!!

Originally Posted by His Own

I haven't used actual shampoo for at least five years, and yes, my hair is clean and shiny!

1. Conditioner-only washing (sometimes called CO washing) works great as long as you really WASH your hair well (you know, massage the hair and scalp very well), then rinse for a LONG time. Your hair will actually lather slightly. I don't use any other conditioner afterwards, as it seems redundant to me. You want to use a cheap, light conditioner, without silicone ingredients. For my hair, the cheap old VO5 line works about best. I like the champagne kiss, the strawberry & cream, the sin-kissed raspberry and the kiwi lime ones. Another that works as well, and that has no fragrance is the Cure Care conditioner sold at Sally Beauty stores. I think it's about my favorite.

2. I used baking soda and vinegar. It worked sort of OK, but not as well as other things I have tried.

3. I used Indian herbs. You can mix these powders up and wash with the liquid mud you make. What I like best is to use Heenara Hair Wash Powder, made by Hesh company, (contains only the herbs, no soaps or detergents) and add in a little methi (aka fenugreek) powder for conditioning. This works great, leaving the hair clean and shiny, but is very messy to do, and if you get any in your eyes it burns like heck! I can explain how to use this if anyone is interested.

4. Lately I have been using, with great success, (get ready for this) plain old Borax, mixed in warm water and followed by a citric acid or vinegar rinse. It works so well, and is the fastest and easiest of the bunch. There are health experts who advocate using this who consider it the safest thing in the world to use. Some others think using borax sounds scary. I am completely comfortable with it. It's a dry, white mineral that comes from the earth and is used 'as is'. I love it! This one is so easy, I'll explain here. I take an empty quart bottle, dump about 1/4 inch of the borax into the bottom, fill the bottle up with warm water, shake very well, then use. In the shower I dump it all over my my already wet head, making sure to get it on all the hair and scalp, massage the scalp and hair only slightly, then rinse it out. That's it. It takes about 30 seconds. I follow with a vinegar or citric acid rinse which I don't even rinse out, and I'm done. My hair is clean and shiny and very happy. (By the way, my hair is tailbone length, so others may find that half this amount is more than enough.)

There are probably other things I tried too, but I'm tired of writing, so I'll stop here.

Just know that there are many ways to clean your hair and scalp that don't involve detergents or soaps, but that leave the hair in lovely condition.

[ladygish]

Originally Posted by mmhinton

so, if anyone knows why NOT to use borax - could you post??? if not, I'll have to try that!!!

I would avoid using borax as a shampoo. The box suggests handling it with gloves and to avoid inhalation. It may cause developmental problems as well.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borax#Toxicity

That said, people way back in the day used to use borax in beauty products all the time. It's still used today (outside of the US) as a food additive. Sodium borate is also an ingredient in the Gardasil vaccine. So there isn't really a definitive answer here I guess, but personally I'd steer clear.

[jeminijad]

I enjoy reading these threads, but can't break free of the greasy hair cycle.

My hair as a teenager was so oily that I used dishwashing liquid to clean it, because that was the only thing that let it look clean and didn't oil up for the entire school day.

As a young adult, it mellowed a bit, but still where I would have a very oily scalp 18 - 24 hours after washing. Things were great during pregnancy & nursing, but now that they are over with the oil is back in full force!

I did try CO washing... worked OK, but required 15 minutes of full blast rinsing in the shower to get clean, not exactly earth or budget friendly. I switched to sulfate free shampoos two years ago, and that has helped with the hair loss I used to experience, but I still need that coco betaine to cut the grease!

Soooo... it is going to take some glowing testimonials indeed for me to make the leap of faith and stop using a sudsy, sebum busting shampoo.

[painefaria]

We have been using burts bees for over a year. I wash every two to three days so a bottle of shampoo takes a long time to use. I think that we use one bottle a month. We order all of our burts from Luckyvitamin.com every three months. We buy a lot and save on the shipping.

http://www.luckyvitamin.com/p-16065-...gar-beet-12-oz

[BettinaAuSucre]

A week ago yesterday, I stopped using any and all hygeine products. Including hair care, makeup, deodorant, face wash, lotions or body washes.


So far no ones complained. My BF says i have "no smell" like i dont smell bad but i dont smell good. Feel kinda crappy about that. but i love how easy my shower routine is. I shower everyday and just use a washcloth. While my hair is limp and a bit greasy, i cant complain. I just feel bad for my BF bc he is skeptical.


One more week and if things dont start to improve, ill try using just natural shampoos and hygiene products.

[ian'smommaya]

Originally Posted by Abarat

Everyone is different and I'm sure you'll get a slew of answers....here's what we do...

I actually make my own soap, so I use an all natural basic liquid soap to wash my hair with and follow it with a herbally infused vinegar rinse. I used to have very oily hair and washed once a day, sometimes twice. Now I wash once a week or less. I could go longer but my head does get itchy from sweating, etc. I have hard water but don't have too much trouble with it. I also use oil on the length of my hair as it's so long. A wooden comb helps move the natural oils down my hair.

DH used to have bad itchy scalp and dandruff and since switching to soap (versus detergent-most of what you buy in the store) he's had no problems. He'll use whatever I leave in the shower, so basic soap bars or liquid soap and it doesn't make a difference to him.

Natural hair care is a process as far as finding what's right for you and also re-learning your body. Your scalp and hair will change when you quit stripping it with detergents and adding all that other store bought junk.

I love this more natural hair care regime and I sure hope you find something that works well for your family!

this is what i do too. i make my own shampoo bars herbal rinses. i do a strong vinegar infusion with herbs and then dilute it with water. that way i dont have a big jug of vinegar around but a littler bottle of herbal rinse. i find it really works well.

abarat what herbs do you se? i tend towards rosemary, nettles and the red-ing ones for some help with color.

[Smokering]

I went water-only for more than a year. It was OK, not great. When I had the baby I found all the required grooming took too much time (I have hip-length hair), so I went to baking soda and ACV. Again, it was OK but not great. Recently I discovered Indian herbs, and - wow, I'd forgotten what it was like to have nice hair! It's so much more combable and sleek and conditioned. Not denying that WO or BS/ACV work superbly for some, but my hair needs a bit more loving.

Indian herbs are kind of a pain to use - think double Potions, with a few days of looking like Snape if you use too much of the wrong herb. I've had succes with shikakai, amla and fenugreek (methi). Catnip - which isn't strictly an Indian herb - made my hair really greasy, although it could have been the pre-wash oiling combined with not quite enough shikakai powder, so I'll try it again sometime. I have a bag full of the stuff and no cats, so I want it to work!

I also have marshmallow root (again, not Indian), which I plan to use alternately with the fenugreek when I want some slip.

[ian'smommaya]

i use several herbs too. nettles, rosemary, cinnamon, paprika, etc. a lot for coloring, some for conditioning.

i also do a acv rinse with herbs in it. much like potions but not double

[adorabelle]

Make your own Shampoo

Ladies, I found this simple recipe to make your own shampoo. I have tried no poo and it worked for me for awhile and then quit. Here's an all natural alternative: http://ultimatemoneyblog.com/how-to-make-shampoo

[limette]

Originally Posted by Magelet

Ruth, by no-poo I mean baking soda. It just seems like a pita, rather than having something which can sit in the shower, and I don't have to worry about getting the container of baking soda wet and all. I'm definitely looking to use something besides water. (though admitedly, thats pretty much what I've been doing. I'd say we've been functionally out of anything but a drop or two of shampoo for months and I haven't noticed).

Interesting. I definitely condition more than I shampoo (which is almost never). I feel that conditioners are healthier than shampoos, even natural ones, with coconut based detergents.

I think I'll go ahead and give real soap a try for the occasional wash. Thanks.

On one of the blogs I read (can't remember which one) she mixes 1 part baking soda to 5 parts water in a spray bottle and let's it sit 2 weeks before using (then makes another) and that's what she uses on her hair. So no dealing with the baking soda box every time you wash your hair.

I don't use shampoo, I just use conditioner every couple of weeks.

I don't use anything for the kids and their hair is lovely.

[Nicolette507]

I just posted this on another thread but think it is relevant here as well

My husband and I have been using J.R. Liggett's bar shampoo for a few years now and we are in love!
This is from the website:
Why to use our products:
It's made entirely from pure 100% natural oils.
It contains NO animal products, or preservatives.
It doesn't strip hair of its natural oils.
It makes a luxuriously thick lather.
It rinses out clean and easily.
It's especially good for permed or colored hair.
It gives your hair body, and manageability.
It leaves your hair soft, healthy and smelling clean.
It's great for TRAVELING, OR BACKPACKING.
100% Biodegradable with minimal packaging.
No Petroleum Based Detergents.
No Sodium Laurel Sulfate or DEA.

The best thing is that it does not strip your hair and you don't need conditioner. It isn't cheap but if you buy from herbspro.com you can get a bulk discount. We bought 12 bars and just put the extras in the freezer until we were ready to use. I can't say enough about this shampoo!

[MommyHawk]

Originally Posted by jeminijad

I did try CO washing... worked OK, but required 15 minutes of full blast rinsing in the shower to get clean, not exactly earth or budget friendly. I switched to sulfate free shampoos two years ago, and that has helped with the hair loss I used to experience, but I still need that coco betaine to cut the grease!

Soooo... it is going to take some glowing testimonials indeed for me to make the leap of faith and stop using a sudsy, sebum busting shampoo.

I did COwashing for 3 weeks and then did an vinegar rinse and my hair got instantly greasy...couldn't get it to 'wash out' so I shampooed and, again, instantly my hair started falling out, breaking horribly! I have yet to find a way to get it to work for me, but at least my hair wasn't falling out in clumps when I was COwashing only...

[Teenytoona]

I use Chagrin Valley Shampoo Bars on my (thin, fine, straight white-girl as my DSD would call it) hair. The woman from CVS recommends for dry hair to try her regular soaps since they are superfatted. For the girls (biracial black/white and black/mexican, thicker, dryer and faarrrr curlier than mine) I usually shampoo their hair once every few weeks, with conditioner only washes 1-2 a week in between.