No Poo Cheats, Tips & Tricks

In 3 years of being shampoo free (yes, you read that correctly, I don't wash my hair with shampoo), I've learned a few things.  I've learned the basics of what method works for me in my usual routine, but I've also acquired some cheats along the way!

If you want more details to either get started or solve some common problems, here's my usual washing details and here's a list of the most common questions I receive about being Poo Free.

My daughter and I!  Both shampoo free!

 In between the usual seven, eight, nine, ten days of a shampoo free wash, my hair sometimes encounters lots of different environments.  Here are some of my top tips to either extending the length between washes or dealing with unforeseen circumstances in between washes.

Cheat: Scent-Be-Gone! 

Ever been in a house or restaurant where bacon is being fried?  Really, if they're frying anything, you WILL stink, especially if you are a female with longer hair.  What do most people do when they have an unwanted scent in their hair?  They go home and wash their hair.  But what can you do if you're No Poo and you just washed yesterday?  You can't wash again, otherwise you might threaten your No Poo groove.  And you certainly can't walk around smelling like IHOP until your next shampoo free wash! 

Enter...Scent-Be-Gone!  Actually, it's nothing that fancy.  I mix a few drops of lemon essential oil (order here) with some water, mixed in a spray bottle, sprayed on your hair.  It works great and leaves your hair smelling neutral.  

From everything that I can tell, this does NOT bleach my hair, but I use Young Living essential oils, so I can't promise what your results will be if you use another brand.  You won't be left sticky or smelling like a Lemonhead (haha, I'm funny) because the lemon juice dissipates in the same way that the vinegar scent is gone when you rinse your hair with vinegar.

This works great for campfire or any other unwanted scents!

Cheat: Boar's Hair Brush

Have I mentioned I like this little creation?  Because I really do!  Sometimes, when you're close to washing day, you either notice your scalp is looking a little iffy or your ends are seeming a bit dry.  A boar's hair brush helps evenly distribute natural oils from your scalp to the ends of your hair.  You kill two birds with one stone by using this brush!

Cheat: Homemade Dry Shampoo

Sometimes, you know it's not wash day, but you really need your hair to look nice for a certain event, but it just looks a little too greasy.  While I don't recommend this technique during the transition stage of going No Poo, for someone whose hair has adapted to this method, there isn't too much harm in using this spray in emergency situations.  Here is the recipe for homemade dry shampoo for BLONDE or LIGHT hair only. 

Ingredients:

1 TB cornstarch

4 TB of water

1 TB of rubbing alcohol

Mix it all together in a spray bottle and spray lightly on greasy spots.  Not too much.  Comb or brush through hair to help even it out.  This can be premixed and stored, but make sure you shake it up before you use it. 

Cheat: The Peri Bottle

Image source

The peri bottle has brought many women relief in the postpartum period, but little did we know it's be the perfect size for No Poo washes.  Holding 8 oz, you can easily toss a tablespoon of whatever you're using on your hair, add water, shake it up and apply to your hair.   Easy mixing, no spilling, and perfect proportions.  I know some people that bought quite a few, prefill them with baking soda and apple cider vinegar respectively, and add water once they're in the shower.  I'm not that organized and usually fill mine right as I'm rushing to the shower. 

Best of all, they are fairly cheap! 

I want to hear from you, No Poo'ers!  What are some of the best tricks you've learned in your Poo Free journey?

2 years of No Poo: Questions & Pictures

I shocked the world when one year ago I announced on this blog that I've been No Poo for one year!  I know, I know, the human body is unbelievable.  ;)

You can read about my one year and 'coming out' first No Poo-iversary here.

In that post I explain and highlight some of the details of being No Poo.  It took a lot of courage to say that I was No Poo, but now it's second nature.  I literally know tens of people who are now No Poo!

In short, I don't wash my hair in the conventional manner.

Why?  Well, your hair produces oil naturally, and shampoo strips your hair of these oils.  No big deal, except the oil on your scalp is a supply and demand thing.  When you wash your hair, you remove the oils, and therefore your body begins to compensate by producing oils again.  That's why the next day your hair is greasy again.  I only 'wash' my hair via the No Poo method about once a week, and it really doesn't get that greasy.

You can drastically slow this process, save money on hair products, avoid toxic products in hair products, avoid plastic waste, save time and still have clean hair.

A close up picture of my No Poo hair.  Unedited, straight out of bed, not brushed, 4 days after my last No Poo wash.

Since posting that, I get asked questions via e-mail, groups I'm in, Facebook messages and in person.  That post on No Poo is one of my most read posts and many people find my blog through Google searches like 'no poo beginners' or 'how to go No Poo'.  I have many friends who have secretly gone No Poo (don't worry, your secret is safe with me) and it's fun to see this method gaining in popularity.

I've decided to answer some of the most common questions I get about starting No Poo.  Again, not an expert, just my experience over two years of being No Poo.

1. What do you do when you get your hair cut and/or colored and the stylist wants to wash it?

I just let them wash it.  If I've gotten highlights or color it needs to be washed out and I'm not about to ask for some baking soda. ;)  My hair does end up a little greasier and going through a very small transition stage, but it's nothing for a fresh touch on my hair.


2. Will the vinegars affect my hair color?

I have not noticed any effect on the color of my hair by either the baking soda or the vinegar.

3. I want to do a deep condition.  What should I do?

Many people use coconut oil, but don't expect that to come out easily.  Some also use raw honey and of course, the old egg yolk method.  I haven't felt any need to deep condition my hair at all though.

4. How often should I wash my hair?

If you are first starting, try to go four days. The longer you go, the quicker your transition stage will go.  I washed too much in the beginning and was really self conscious, but it only delayed the transition phase.  Now, I wash about once a week, give or take.  While I'm showering, I may do a water only wash, but most of the time, I just wash my body. 

5. How can I extend the time between washing?

I have two tricks - a boar's hair brush and water only rinses.  The boar's hair brush is probably the most useful.  It not only collects dust and dirt, but it helps remove some of the oil near your scalp and spread it to the ends of your hair, moisturizing the ends of your hair!  If you are a No Poo'er, I highly recommend this!

6. What additional products can/should I use?

That's up to you.  I use some product for special occasions, but I'm pretty minimal maintenance with my hair in general.  Many people ask how I get my hair to do what it does, and to that I say, I shower, maybe will pick through it, then let it dry.  If I'm longing for the perfumed scent of shampoo or conditioner, I will put some high quality Ylang Ylang essential oil in a spray bottle, mix with water and spritz my hair.  Since going No Poo my natural curls have been enhanced!

Unedited photo of my No Poo hair.  This was probably 2 days after my last No Poo wash.  I don't think I have any product in my hair either.  Photo by: Susie R.

7. I want to start No Poo.  What do I do?

You can go cold turkey, which will be a little traumatic, but is the fast track to No Poo.  Or you can transition slowly by diluting your shampoo, alternate every few days with shampoo or No Poo, or do a No Poo wash every few days.

8. But you don't understand, I have SUPER greasy hair, so it won't work for me, will it?

This is probably the number one comment that I get.  While my hair is completely different than yours or the next person, I do know that with the majority of people that I have known that have tried No Poo, have way less oily hair than ever before.  Your transition stage may be more difficult, I don't know for sure, but I can guarantee that you will wash less.  Maybe not every 7 days or so, but maybe every 5.  The point is, you won't know until you try it! :) 

9. What age can you start No Poo?

My daughter 11-month old India has never had a drop of soap anywhere on her body besides tiny bits of diluted Dr. Bronner's.

According to a 2007 study, the average child is exposed to 61 different chemicals daily. It's a long known fact that most of the children's products that you buy at your local store, like Johnson & Johnson and even Aveeno products, have high toxicity ratings.  You can check the toxicity rating for any personal care item on the Cosmetic Database.  It's sad when even our childrens' items are full of sulfates, carcinogens and parabens.  Not good stuff.  There are great products out there for cheap, like Dr. Bronner's, so I'm sure I'll be using that as India gets more mobile and dirty.  A friend of mine has three boys who love to get dirty when they go out to play.  They are all No Poo and have been for years and they're all doing just fine! :)

10. Will you ever use shampoo again?

I might, but I might not.  I figure that I've got a great thing going now, I think it's be really hard to transition back to washing and drying my long hair every other day.  I like the time I have!

I hope this answered some of your questions about No Poo.  If you have any more, please feel free to ask me, and I'll see if I can help at all.

Now, who's going No Poo?

No Poo for Me!

Shhhh, I've been keeping a secret for a while, that very few people know about, but I'm about to let EVERYONE know.

I'm coming up on my one year No Poo-iversary.

That may sound quite painful and uncomfortable to some of you, but really, No Poo has nothing to do with bowels. Clearly, it needs a new name, but No Poo is basically abandoning shampoo and conditioner, for others methods of cleaning. There are many ways to go No Poo, but the most common involves ingredients of baking soda and apple cider vinegar.

The Beginning
 
I first heard about this phenomenom when I was 19 years old. It wasn't called No Poo then; it was simply called Stop Washing Your Hair with Harsh Chemicals and Your Hair Will Self-Cleanse. Someone had told me that if you stop washing your hair with shampoo, and only use water, your hair will naturally start a self-cleansing process, after an arguous "finding it's identity" process. Little hippie me wanted to try this, but I started falling in love with this man named Dallas, and that took precedent in my life. I forgot about everything else. :)

I've never been a big hair washer, usually washing every two days, sometimes I could stretch it to three, but could only stay home because of greasiness. I can't clearly remember when the NO Poo idea starting seriously entering my head again, and I don't know what took me so long to decide to do it, because after one year, I couldn't be more pleased with the results!

How It Works

The idea with No Poo is that your hair detoxes from the abuse of shampoo and conditioner, then learns to function mostly on it's own. If you think your hair will be a greasy mess if you went No Poo, you couldn't be more wrong. Shampoo strips your hair of it's natural oils, and therefore, our bodies naturally produce more oil to meet the loss. That is how you get greasy hair. When you stop stripping the natural oils out, your body slows way down on oil production.

My Story

My hair went through a small transition stage, where it tested me, and a couple times I would want to grab the shampoo bottle so bad, but I persevered. The first three weeks were the hardest, but looking back I washed too often and didn't trust that in time, my hair would not only adapt, but become fuller, less greasy and more manageable than ever.

I now wash about one time a week. If I workout or get sweaty, if it's too early for my regular washing, I will quite often just wash my hair with plain water, and it works.

I know, you don't believe me that washing your hair with plain water can be sufficient, but with the No Poo method, it really is sufficient. Again, if you strip your scalp of it's natural oils, it will be quick to replenish those oils, leaving you greasy in a short time.

How To


First, I mix 1 tablespoon baking soda mixed with 1 cup of water and gently massage it into my scalp. I sometimes will let it sit for a minute or two, then rinse.

For my "conditioner", I mix 1 tablespoon vinegar with 1 cup of water.  Add a drop or two of Young Living ylang ylang essential oil, which has NOTHING on the scent of Herbal Essence shampoo and it will help mask the vinegar scent.  I dump it on my head, but I normally keep it away from my roots. I'm not sure why. Just a habit, I guess. I maybe will let that sit for a minute or two, then rinse.

About every other wash, I put a natural conditioner on the tips, and then rinse that out. And I'm done. I started by using apple cider vinegar, but switched to regular vinegar with the same results.

If you think the vinegar will make your hair smell - wrong. Come smell mine, it doesn't smell like vinegar ever.  Believe me, I asked my husband this question a million times over!   Again, make a spray of Ylang Ylang essential oil with some water and spritz that in your hair if you want a good smell.  I also stopped using all styling products as my hair gained a lot more body and I felt like gels were weighting it down. I do use gel, mousse or hairspray for special occasions though.

There you have it. My secret is out. Can you see why I didn't want to go blabbing this experiment to the world one year ago?  I feel very confident with my hair now, and don't feel like there is anything to be embarrassed of. I'm saving time, money, decreasing the amount of chemicals I come in contact with, and helping the environment, all while staying clean and having nicer hair than I had before!

Win win.

No Poo hair. Not the best picture, as my dark hair next to  my highlights make it look greasy....but it's not!

MSNBC article on the growing No Poo movement.
A mom tells her No Poo story.
No Poo Basics - While I disagree with her baking soda paste recommendation, she has a basic, brief overview of the chemicals in shampoo and conditioner and the dangers of them that's very easy to understand.

I'm no expert in this, but feel free to ask questions! :)