No Shampoo: from daily washes to only washing twice per week

A few weeks ago I shared my first thoughts on trying the "no 'poo" method (using baking soda and apple cider vinegar in place of store-bought shampoo and conditioner). Since then I've continued to use this method on an average of twice a week. You may be thinking something along the lines of, "Wow! That's working great if she's already able to decrease her shampooing to twice a week!"

BUT it actually took me a little while (several months) to be able to get to this point.

 

 

I've mentioned before that I used to watch my hair every day and it would get really oily even before the end of the day, thus causing me to want to wash it the next morning... and start the cycle all over again. Well, I got pretty tired of that. If there are so many people that can wash their hair every other day, then why couldn't I? These are the steps I took:

Last summer I bought my very first bottle of dry shampoo (Dove) and started washing my hair every other day and using the dry shamps on days I didn't wash. I continued this for several months, eventually going two days (sometimes) between washes.

I utilized head bands, ball caps (on the weekends), and of course braids on braids on braids, on the days I didn't wash my hair to help hide the oiliness. In addition to that, I was going to the pool 2-3 times a week and the salt water actually helped my hair from getting really oily.

After about six months of washing every 2-3 days, I switched from using regular shampoo and conditioner to using sulfate free. I think this transition is what prepared my hair the most for using the baking soda/vinegar method. It felt different on my hair (waaayy less suds-y) and I noticed less oiliness on my second and third day. Around this time I stopped using dry shampoo and started using good 'ole baby powder. For no reason other than I was tired of spending boocoodles of money every other week on a new bottle (I know < $4 is a "steal" when it comes to dry shampoo, but it was money that could definitely be spent elsewhere).

So now we've reached the present and I'm still using the "no 'poo" method. Here are a few other things I'm doing in addition to no shampoo:

+ Started using squirt bottles instead of cups - this really helps to distribute the solutions evenly AND keeps it (mostly) out of my eyes and ears.

+ Using a boar bristle brush - someone told me this would help distribute the oils to the ends of my hair, and it does! It also helps on days when I use baby powder to distribute that evenly and prevent "gray areas" where I've accidentally dumped too much baby powder.

+ Rinsing my hair after the second or third day. I usually don't use baby powder until the third day, and I like to rinse my hair really well after that, because if I leave it in my hair and it gets wet or sweaty, it sort of "clumps" and makes it look like I have bad dandruff. Plus, it just feels nice to have the shower run through your hair every now and then too.

+ After about five or six washes (around three weeks)I did a deep conditioning treatment on my hair. Before that my hair continued to feel "drier" than it had when I used regular conditioner, but at the same time it felt much lighter, and still soft. It just didn't have the "silky" feeling you get from traditional conditioner. I plan on continuing with deep conditioning treatments after about every third wash or every other week. It really has seemed to help with the dryness on the ends.

I don't hate this method, but I'm not entirely convinced I love it yet. I like the fact that I'm only washing my hair twice a week (and rinsing usually once between) so I'm heat less frequently and I like that it's inexpensive. I don't like that I've got to think ahead and prepare my solutions (hashtag lazy) before I get in the shower or go to the gym. For now I plan on continuing before I decide for sure what I'll continue to do!

What are your opinions on the No Shampoo method?