2 weeks of no-poo and I'm left wondering when - ??

[YinYang]

So I gave it an honest effot. Er, I'm giving it an honest effort. I got some Chagrin Valley shampoo bars and have used the egg, beer, and honey one for the past 2+ weeks. I thought that by now, my hair should be adjusting and it should feel nicer and better and all those things that you all talk so wonderfully about. So far, it is just as much of a mess to comb afterwards. What gives?

FWIW, I have not done ACV rinses. Maybe I need a kindergarten-based explanation on how to do this. Everytime I used a spray bottle (in the past, not this time) of ACV/water, it just never felt like it penetrated.

My hair is short now (it was long before) so I really thought I could make this work.

Suggestions?

Thanks very much - I want this to stick but at this point, I feel like putting a nice clump of chemicals back in my hair !

[Rhiannon Feimorgan]

I've never used a shampoo bar, and diferent hair types need diferent care so FWIW here's what I do.

*I've been no-pooing for about 6 months. I have long, fairly thick, slightly wavy hair.

I use bs. About 1-2 tbsp disolved in a mason jar. In winter when my hair was getting really dry, I disolved a tsp of honey in there too.

I soak my hair and then pour the jar over my head. Trying to get it everywhere. Then I rub it in with my finger tips. Let it sit for a min. Then rince it out.

If I'm going to do a ACV rince I mix about 1/4 cup in to the mason jar of water and pour that over my head again. Let it sit and then rince it out.

I sometimes do an herbal finishing rince. Usually rosemary. Basically just herbal tea poured over my head. I'll do that one as cold as I can stand it to close the hair cuticle so my hair will be smoother and shinny.

[Spastica]

In a spray bottle, combine 1/2 apple cider vinegar to half water. After you shampoo with your shampoo bar and rinse thoroughly, spray your hair from ears down.

The apple cider rinse takes off some of the waxy residue that shampoo bars puts on your hair and it seals the cuticle/restores the hair back to the acidic pH. Try 1/2 and 1/2 first - if your hair feels too greasy, dilute the vinegar more. If it's too dry, make the ACV mixture stronger (not as much water). You can also add a drop of oil to your dry hair (rub in hands and smooth onto hair) or use a natural conditioner along with your ACV rinse (use the rinse and then condition).

[YinYang]

Originally Posted by Spastica

or use a natural conditioner

Such as - ?

Thanks so much...

Oh and I don't have but an inch or two framing my face below my ears (as far a the ACV rinse goes....).

[Spastica]

I'm not sure - whatever your favorite brand of natural or non-natural conditioner you'd like to use. I'm not that crunchy as far as some products are concerned, so I use Suave Naturals, Tropical Coconut.

You can try spraying your whole head with the ACV mixture if it's dry. If it gets too oily, cut down the amount or don't put it near your scalp so much.

I opted for the baking soda plus conditioner/ACV rinse method since natural soap bars/shampoo bars are tricky for me too. They leave buildup in my hair, which can only be remedied with ACV, but my hair never looks right with all that. I can use a natural soap bar every once in a while, but repeated use makes my hair look weird, waxy, and...moldable.

[sphinxie]

There's no significant harm in washing your hair with shampoo once and starting over with no-pooing (with an improved regimen), with a clean slate.

[Siennaflower]

Do you have hard water by any chance? I use about a TBS of vinegar per two cups of water, mix it in a cup, dangle my ends in it and then dump it over my head. I have to use an ACV rinse, and if my ends feel crunchy I oil lightly or use whipped shea to get my ends soft again.

Also, keep in mind shampoo bars have different compositions and there are other brands to try. Some people do better with Prairieland Herbs as opposed to CV bars, they tend to be more cleansing. Or maybe try a different bar, I can't use that one at all it's too moisturizing. I do better with Herb Garden or Summer Sunshine.

[YinYang]

Originally Posted by sphinxie

There's no significant harm in washing your hair with shampoo once and starting over with no-pooing (with an improved regimen), with a clean slate.

Huh? Sorry I'm : - I thought getting rid of the standard shampoos meant that I now have a clean slate! Wouldn't washing with regular shampoo just get me back to where I was before??? Thanks for clarifying, please!

FlutterBee - I have soft water... well water with a water softener. Actually, I've been used to hard water my whole life so just getting to soft water is an adjustment. It makes me really want conditioner because it seems so hard to get any soap out of my hair.

This morning I tried the citrus and chamomile shampoo bar and it seems alright. I'm still not convinced. If anything, I had a very oily scalp before and all of these seem drying (could it be that my scalp still hasn't adjusted? But I do shampoo every day -- when I've skipped a day, my hair gets greasy and I cannot stand that at all).

Thanks so much for your help. I really want to "get" this and I've finally made a commitment but it's not working!

[Siennaflower]

Honestly, try the ACV rinse before tossing in the towel. For some folks, like me, it really makes a difference!

[Spastica]

Actually, you have to prep your hair before going no poo. Most people have residues, old products and whatnot. Without getting rid of the buildup to start with, the no poo process won't do much to clean and you'll just add to the initial buildup.

Add baking soda to a shampoo that does not have silicones in it. You can condition with a silicone free conditioner as well. You can use more and more baking soda and less and less shampoo for a few weeks. This ensures that you get the scalp scrub method correct, which is essential for no pooing. Most people, with regular shampoo, just slap shampoo on their heads, kinda make some sort of lather and then rinse. They rely on the lather to clean their hair. With no poo, you have to remember that it's mostly manual manipulation that cleanses your hair and scalp.

If using baking soda to clean your hair for no poo, diluting it in hot water helps clean your hair and scalp more and it's really easy to make a no-poo 'shampoo' with silicone free condtioner and baking soda. It just cleans better and leaves your hair silky.

It may be best to read the Curly Girl no poo thread - the first page has a ton of links that I posted about no poo. It's a process and lifestyle, without sounding all over the top. I think most people who have bad issues in the beginning just start slapping baking soda on their heads and hope something happens.

[sphinxie]

Originally Posted by YinYang

Huh? Sorry I'm : - I thought getting rid of the standard shampoos meant that I now have a clean slate! Wouldn't washing with regular shampoo just get me back to where I was before??? Thanks for clarifying, please!

Well, if you have buildup in your hair, that's not a clean slate. If regular shampoo gets rid of the buildup, that's a clean slate. OTOH if it causes buildup for you as well, that won't get you a clean slate either.

[FluffiB]

I switched from daily shampoo and conditioners w/ silicone to BS and ACV/lemon juice cold turkey. My hair was greasy for a month. I wish I would've done the gradual approach, but I didn't think about it at the time.

Try wetting your hair and washing with just BS, massaging your scalp, and letting it sit for a few minutes. Letting the BS sit helped a lot - in fact, I think that's when my hair stopped getting greasy (in other words, the BS got rid of oily buildup). Rinse thoroughly, then rinse your entire head with diluted lemon juice, about 1T to a cup of water. Don't rinse afterwards. Lemon juice made my hair really soft, and it's a very good detangler.

I recently switched to washing with BS mixed with conditioner after Spastica's recommendation. This has been working really well for me (thanks, Spastica!). I follow up with conditioner too. I use Kiss My Face Whenever conditioner.

[YinYang]

Originally Posted by Spastica

It may be best to read the Curly Girl no poo thread - the first page has a ton of links that I posted about no poo. It's a process and lifestyle, without sounding all over the top. I think most people who have bad issues in the beginning just start slapping baking soda on their heads and hope something happens.

Can you link me please? No luck searching (I know, I know).

FWIW, I've switched to bs with the suave coconut conditioner... better... but I'm still not sure that I HAVE it...

Has there been a thread to show pics of all of your no-pooers hair? If not, I'll start one... if so, please link me... I wanna see a Breck no-poo girl!