No-poo problems

[paisleypoet]

I'm sure this has been discussed before but I can't find anything. I have been doing no-poo with BS and ACV for about a month now, and I was very happy with it. My hair felt great, some days I couldn't stop touching it. It helped my itchy scalp. But for the past week or so things have not been so great. My hair feels heavy and greasy. I'm very discouraged because I was getting such good results and I love the idea of not using shampoo and conditioners. I tried diluting the BS and ACV more, but this has not helped. I'm going to wash my hair with shampoo tonight, as I have to work tomorrow and I look awful. Is there anything I can do? Is this just a transition phase? Help me to not give this up for good. I'm very determined that it work, especially since I have bragged about it to so many people!

Oh, and my routine is, I put about 1-2 tbsp of BS in a container and add about a cup or more of warm water. I dump it over my head and scrub my scalp for a few minutes, then rinse it out really well. Then I spray the water/ACV mix all over, wash my face (with honey), then rinse my hair really well. I have really hard water, though. Would that make a difference?
TIA!

[hananana]

I would try ditching the ACV for a while. I had a similar experience a year or so a go when I was falling into a routine with it and haven't had any issues since I gave up the ACV rinse.

[Robert Goodman]

Oh. Thought you needed a laxative. Never mind.

[paisleypoet]

Sorry for the confusion...

[nataliachick7]

first, acv should only go on your ends. otherwise it will make you oily. and some oily people prefer to use white vinegar or lemon juice instead of acv.

[Spastica]

I was just about to say about the ACV on the ends part.

Also, as you progress through the no-poo process and go through seasonal changes, you will have to tweak your regimen some. You will also have to clean your hair less with the baking soda and be able to skip days when you scrub your hair with the baking soda solution. I have gotten to the point where I can just use water on my hair for 1-2 days and if needed, just scrub my scalp a little with the pads of my fingers. Oddly enough, I still may need some conditioner for the ends only.

As for seasonal issues, for example, if wherever you live is going through true fall weather now, and the air is starting to get dry, you may need to add more conditioning agents (even conditioner) to your no poo regimen. Sometimes, when you use baking soda as a cleanser, your hair gets really dry, flat and shiny, and even staticky. It looks limp, lifeless, and it pisses most people off. For some reason, this kind of hair looks really oily, but it feels dry to the touch.

For this reason, I started doing no poo using baking soda and conditioner and have had great success. I use Suave Naturals Tropical Coconut, which is lightweight, cheap, and doesn't weigh my hair down (and doesn't have silicones in it). For summer and since I live in Atlanta and it's still fairly humid, I don't have to use ACV a whole lot, I can get by with using extra conditioner or a light spray of diluted ACV from my ears down after I no poo. During Atlanta's fall and winter (starting from late October probably), I will have to keep doing my no poo routine with Suave, but I will have to use a heavier conditioner at the ends of my hair after I'm done because there is so little moisture in the air (I'm really digging Mane and Tail's conditioner, it's really emollient yet affordable).

[FluffiB]

Washing with BS only eventually built up oil in my hair. So I use a natural shampoo once in a while to get rid of buildup. I do what Spazzy does now - mix conditioner w/ BS and let it sit for a few minutes after I massage. Oil still builds up this way though.

[Spastica]

I've noticed if I use regular conditioner or anything other than Suave Tropical coconut it builds up (I've tried some Suave melon type and it felt kinda yuck). Regular conditioner builds up even faster, it's really gross. I think because the Tropical coconut one has coconut oil in it, the coconut oil acts like a cleanser. It's not very moisturizing, so that little amount doesn't build up. I also put everything in a tiny bottle and shake it up with some warm water. Lo and behold you get some foam too with the baking soda and Suave Tropical Coconut mixture. If I want some shine or a little bit of hold for my curls, I put a little pinch of brown sugar in that mixture. That foams up even more. Don't put too much sugar or else your hair will look greasy (if you're skeptical about sugar use - it's what Garnier Fructise uses to keep your hair shiny... a bit of sugar and some acidic plant oils, among other silicones).

If I feel like my hair is getting bored, I have an Avalon Organics shampoo I do use, but it's got oat stuff in it, so that tends to build up too during summer. I see that switching from time to time prevents buildup. You can also get rid of buildup by using the conditioner and some lemon juice (or lime, or ACV).

[vioburn]

For those that use BS, do you put it on as a paste or does it work better mixing it with a cup of water and pouring it on your head?

[Spastica]

I've got wavy medium-textured hair and for me, it cleans better if I dilute it with water in a little bottle. The conditioner and BS together is something I do when I'm being really lazy or my scalp isn't that greasy/dirty. For me though, I noticed that the paste combination breaks my hair a lot more than the diluted method (and it doesn't 'spread' as well so all your hair and scalp doesn't get equal coverage/treatment).

[paisleypoet]

If I use BS and conditioner together, do I just mix them together like a paste, or do I dilute it in water? I'm going to try skipping the ACV for a bit and see if that helps. Maybe I will only do that once in a while.

Thanks for the replies.

[Spastica]

Diluting in water (try warm to hot so that the baking soda dissolves instead of staying in grit form) in a little bottle helps clean hair better than a paste.

Don't use a moisturizing conditioner or one with silicones, it will build up in hair. Use something ridiculously cheap and lightweight. V05 and Suave are good for that - they don't moisturize much. I use Suave Naturals - Tropical Coconut. I personally think the coconut oil in it helps clean better.

[paisleypoet]

OK, I have some Aussie Moist Conditioner. How do I know if there are silicones? Would this one be OK?

I also have some Jason's Super Moisturizing Hemp conditioner, but I'm assuming that would not be so good...

[Spastica]

Yeah, you don't want something that's super moisturizing or anything that has all kinds of crazy proteins and silicones - those don't clean hair, but just stick to it.

If you look at the list of ingredients, see if there are any ingredients that end in '-one' or '-cone'.

A good test to see if the conditioner is too moisturizing is put a bit in your hand and see if it rinses off easily in the sink. If you still feel it on your hands or it takes a while to scrub it off, it's too emollient or it has silicones or proteins that coat hair. As mentioned, the cheapo conditioners are great because they don't have much goop in them to moisturize your hair. Some people even use these cheapo conditioners to 'shampoo' their hair and use nothing else. If you use enough of this cheapo conditioner and scrub, you will see bubbles. Conditioner only works well for really coarse and dry or ethnic hair. I have to use some baking soda or else I don't feel like my hair is clean, but I have normal texture/wavy hair. The straighter your hair is, the less moisturizing stuff you need typically, unless it's chemically processed (or else your hair gets weighed down).

[paisleypoet]

Last night I washed my hair with BS and conditioner. I used Aussie Smooth conditioner, and no avc. Today my hair feels great. But I think I will pick up some suave for next time. I believe there are silicones in this one.

Thanks so much for the advice, spastica!!

[Spastica]

No problem, little miss Paisley! Suave is so damn cheap too. It's like a buck and a half. Keep the Aussie stuff or whatever is super duper moisturizing and 'repairing' for the ends of your hair, esp for winter, after you're done cleaning your hair with the cheapo conditioner and baking soda.

My hair actually keeps it's length as it grows now with no poo. When I used Herbal Essence or Biolage or Garnier Fructise, I would have pretty looking hair, but it didn't grow at all. I think after a certain point, my hair would just snap off. It helps that with no poo I don't have to use super high heat on my blow dryer, that makes your hair brittle too.

[nataliachick7]

i hate suave. i have an old bottle of their conditioner and the third ingredient is propylene glycol.

[paisleypoet]

What is propylene glycol? Are there parabens in it too? Or SLS?

[Spastica]

No SLS in Suave conditioner (SLS is a detergent/cleaner). Not sure about Parabens, if there are any, I think it's on the bottom of the list. As for propylene glycol, as far as I know, it's harmful if you swallow gobs of it.

[Robert Goodman]

Originally Posted by paisleypoet

What is propylene glycol?

It's glycerine missing an oxygen atom. Or you can look at it as isopropyl alcohol with an extra oxygen. I think they make it from natural gas. I'm pretty sure it gets metabolized as carbohydrate via 2-hydroxypropenal. It's a less polar solvent than glycerine, more polar than isopropyl alcohol.

Robert