no poo minus baking soda

[riboflavin]

I am a recent no poo convert, and my hair looks so much better! I have been using bs and acv. But, I started wondering what the heck baking soda is anyway? After a little research I would like to no poo without baking soda. But so far just vinegar has gotten me a touch greasy, heavy like. What else to use? I don't want to use store bought conditioner, so no condition only routine. What about something like sugar? Salt? Any other ideas?

[larablue]

You could try Borax dissolved in water to wash the hair.
Be careful not to let it flow into your eyes and don´t let your children play with it.
You can do the ACV rinse afterwards as well.

Just be careful- if you have brown hair, the borax might turn you into a bit of a red head (looks very natural though).

[Annabel]

A lot of people have success with water only, after an adjustment period

[riboflavin]

Thanks! I wasn't exactly sure what borox was either so I checked it out on Wikipedia and chemistry.about.com. Though it may be better than other things, this part made me not want to have it in my hair or house with kids:

"Signs of chronic toxic exposure include red and peeling skin, seizures, and kidney failure. The estimated lethal dose (ingested) for adults is 15-20 grams; less than 5 grams can kill a child or pet. For this reason, borax should not be used around food. More commonly, borax is associated with skin, eye, or respiratory irritation. It is also important to point out that exposure to borax may impair fertility or cause damage to an unborn child."

I would ideally love to use something that is totally natural, harmless, and doesn't cause environmental problems...

I'm just not too exited about water only because my hair gets all greasy like...

Today I made a mixture of brown sugar, olive oil, honey, water, and a tiny bit of baking soda and it worked good. I'll keep experimenting. I felt like I was making a cake and putting it on my head!

[thixle]

Originally Posted by riboflavin

But, I started wondering what the heck baking soda is anyway? After a little research I would like to no poo without baking soda.

Just wondering why?

As to borax, it is a stronger alkaline (borax, not boric acid, similar, but boric acid is much stronger)... I use it in the laundry all. the. time. Chronic exposure would be like working in a factory that produced it 8 hours a day, 40 hours a week. There aren't many substances, natural or man made, that aren't toxic around chronic exposure.

Water only would be your best bet for "completely" non-toxic, you'd need a water filter in your shower (not a bad idea anyway) and an adjustment period when you would be a little greasy for a while.

There is no way I'd put olive oil on my hair- if I'm trying to clean it of oil, I'm not adding an oil, i produce enough.

[riboflavin]

Originally Posted by thixle

Just wondering why?

Some baking soda is natural, some is man made. I don't have time to decipher which brands are made naturally. The chemicals used in the processing of baking soda are pollutants and have caused disposal problems. One of the waste beds in NY polluted a nearby lake, deeming it a superfund site.

Originally Posted by thixle

As to borax, it is a stronger alkaline (borax, not boric acid, similar, but boric acid is much stronger)... I use it in the laundry all. the. time. Chronic exposure would be like working in a factory that produced it 8 hours a day, 40 hours a week. There aren't many substances, natural or man made, that aren't toxic around chronic exposure.

Yes, but my next sentence read that only 5 ounces could kill a child or pet. And if it is associated with skin, eye and respiratory irritation, I certainly don't want to be putting it in my kids hair. Maybe I should have added earlier that I am not only no pooing my own hair, but my children's as well.

Originally Posted by thixle

Water only would be your best bet for "completely" non-toxic, you'd need a water filter in your shower (not a bad idea anyway) and an adjustment period when you would be a little greasy for a while.

We do have a whole house water filtration system in place connected to the main line of our house. All water entering out house is filtered. But, there may be other things not as bad as baking soda, but more effective than plain water. I'll just keep experimenting I guess!

Originally Posted by thixle

There is no way I'd put olive oil on my hair- if I'm trying to clean it of oil, I'm not adding an oil, i produce enough.

I don't always add oil to my hair. There are many sites that talk of the benefit of olive oil to the hair. I have very dry hair mostly, just oily on top. Thought I'd try it!

[e&tsmom]

I dont have any advice for you , but I am seeking some for myself. I have been no-pooing since July and I think I have to go back. I love the first day I rinse after using just bs, but the day I use bs and everyday after the initial rinse-only my hair just does not seem to lay right. It seems a bit oily, and I brush it a lot. When I dry it, it seems to stick up a bit in the back underneath and it just does not look nice. Also, my bangs seems oily looking which is simply not attractive. Augh! I tried conditioner only, but I dont like the oily look that goes along with that. Any advice before I step back into poo land???

[Smokering]

I don't use baking soda. I use various things--chamomile tea, ACV, milk, honey. Honey is a humectant so might help your dry hair. If your hair is dry with greasy roots, it sounds like you need to spread the sebum (grease) over the length of your hair so it can do its job of conditining and protecting. Use a boar bristle brush on detangled hair; it might take a few weeks for the sebum to spread down, but once it has your hair shouldn't look greasy, just shiny. Sebum is there for a reason!

Baking soda often overcleans hair and makes it feel dry/fluffy, so I think you're wise to avoid it. Wean yourself off it gradually if need be. If you move to a water-only routine there will be a greasy transition period, but it's well worth it!

[Juvysen]

I alternate between bs + acv and only acv, but you might consider just using a tiny amount of doctor bronners then a vinegar rinse...

Also, have you tried the washcloth method?

[MonP'titBoudain]

OK, I want to know what the washcloth method is? Please

[Juvysen]

http://www.greendaily.com/2007/10/08/do-you-no-poo/

[riboflavin]

Thank you! I was about to ask what the washcloth method was! But how do you 'brush with a washcloth' as the article states? Do you just wipe downward? When hair is wet or dry? I would guess wet...

And the chamomile tea sounds interesting. Why does that work? How do you prepare it?

Also, I am still using baking soda, because nothing else I have found to work as well yet. My son usually has very curly hair; but lately it looks only wavy! My hair seems less curly too. But my straight haired boy's hair looks fantastic! Could this just be curly hair transition?

Thanks everyone!

[Juvysen]

I don't know, but I would guess you'd figure it out with some trial and error. I think I'd do it wet - another thing I read said you would do it after a shower. Apparently it's what the native americans used to use or something?

[mrsalf97]

I started using bs and acv in the spring and my hair is so damaged now. It's dry, brittle, frizzy, breaking, and looks bleached. I've done this several times before so I'm not sure what happened this time. I'm so ready to just go back to using Giovanni. I stopped using shampoo on the baby and only using water and his hair looks fine most of the time.

Anyone have any idea why it's so damaged this time? I'm thinking of putting some coconut oil on the ends tomorrow to see if it helps.

[Juvysen]

my hair started getting damaged over the summer. I have no idea why, but I stopped using the BS for a while and went w/just vinegar and that seemed to help. I do put coconut oil on the ends (just a tiny amount) though, now. Maybe you need a better ratio of ACV to BS? Like, maybe the ACV isn't enough to rinse out all the BS and the bs is doing weird stuff to your hair? I dunno. You could try the just-conditioner thing for a while?