So a couple of months ago I saw a cool post in my RSS feed that talked about all sorts of alternative cosmetics products that used all-natural, home-made alternatives to things like face washes, shampoo, soap, toothpaste and anti-perspirants. I started with a face wash that worked great and then moved on to the shampoo alternative. I'd heard through some friends that it worked great. Basically you use a baking soda solution instead of the shampoo and a diluted vinegar solution instead of the conditioner. It's called "no-'poo" since you don't use any shampoo. I was skeptical but also very enthusiastic. The theory is that common shampoos do their cleaning too well, stripping the hair of oil so completely that it makes the scalp produce even more oil and thus requiring even more frequent shampooing. Plus most shampoos are full of detergents that can irritate sensitive people's skin. The really serious no 'poo-ers don't even use the baking soda and rinse with water only. People with curly hair especially swear by it.
The first few days seemed to go fine. The blogs say there can be a greasy phase. Mine didn't go away but my roots seemed to be relatively clean. My hair was shinier and easier to manage but I just could not get the greasy build-up. I knew I had to do some more research but only got the time a week or so ago.
It turns out that it wasn't the baking soda or the vinegar that wasn't working. It was the hard water. As Ben knows, hard water can make it tough to get things clean. Eventually I found a
tip online that fixed everything. A lady had had a similar experience and stumbled on a solution. Somehow pre-making the baking-soda solution with boiling water makes it work even with hard water. Is boiling water supposed to fizz when you put baking soda in it? Well our boiling water does. The first washing with the new solution removed the greasy mess that had built up.
So no-'poo DOES work, it's just a little trickier with hard water. Yay!
