Hi Melanie,
With no-poo, the 'shampoo' is baking soda (you can also add other ingredients to it like Oat Flour, Tea Tree Oil, Rosemary Oil, or Lavendar Oil for specific hair needs) and the 'conditioner' is diluted apple cider vinegar, roughly 1/2 water, 1/2 apple cider vinegar. I use a spray bottle, which makes it easier. If the ends are still dry, you can put various essential oils like lavendar, or basic oils like jojoba, olive oil, coconut oil, etc.
The apple cider vinegar or other acidic rinses like lemon or lime is important, since baking soda is slightly basic in pH (about 8.0). Hair and skin usually favors an acidic pH. The reason you would want to clean anything with something basic is that bases clean well. Baking soda (as well as traditional shampoos and detergents) acts like a mild alkali that saponifies grease and oils from hair into 'soap' and rinses them away. After cleaning hair with shampoo or baking soda, the hair is rinsed and then we typically use a conditioner of some sort to bring the pH back down to seal the cuticle and prevent tangles.
Though the thread is lengthy, it's full of information - check out the NO shampoo mamas thread:
http://www.mothering.com/discussions...d.php?t=120033
You can also opt for doing conditioner only washes (CO) or the condition, wash, condition method (CWC) for your thick curly hair. I recommend that you also check out the NaturallyCurly website for the no-poo method and hair care advice there. There's also great information at the LongHairLoom Community. They use all kinds of yummy oils and concoctions for their lustrous thick hair.
Curly hair is a bit different to care for - I have curly hair, but it's probably not as nice and thick as yours
I wouldn't want your hair to look completely different because you can't find a natural solution for it.
Also, the trick with curly hair is using silicone free conditioners. You can use something cheap like Suave Tropical Coconut (which has no silicones) or something else that's commercial, but doesn't have anything ending in '-cone' in it, or you can get something even more natural from a Whole Foods or health foods store.
Note that no-poo will make your hair look pretty bad for a while until you find the perfect 'recipe' for your hair and while your hair gets used to the idea of not using traditional shampoo and conditioner. When you first use baking soda, your hair will look and feel like straw - but if you use the apple cider vinegar afterwards, it will take care of the pH problem and leave you with shiny hair.
You can also try Burt's Bees and Avalon products that are free of harsh detergents.
Good luck!
Melanie
