Shampoo-less failure

I like to think that I can do whatever I put my mind too. The whole 'poo free thing didn't work for me on many levels. My roots run oily, they always have. And I am still breastfeeding, which makes them feel dirty every day. Before Amanda I only washed my hair every few days! Long hair has never been hard for me to maintain but these hormones made my hair wacky! Wacky I tell you! where did the curl I love go?  I ended up going 'poo free for 11 days, with doing the baking soda "shampoo" and apple cider vinegar "conditioner" every few days.

The problem was the baking soda dried out my fingers too much (they hurt!), my hair didn't feel clean, and -I can admit it- I am just not that crunchy that I was willing to put the necessary work into it...yet. So I cut off 6 inches in a month (two cuts). And I switched to Aubrey Organics shampoo and conditioner, which I LOVE. That was all ages ago and I cut off another 2 inches recently. I am *tempted* to cut my hair short (a dirty word to me since junior high), but I have a bad ass flip on the right side that resists even straightening. Not that I have the time for that nowdays!

No 'poo

Even before I was a nurse I was concerned with what I put INTO my body. But now being a mom I notice what I put ON my body. I started to hate my hair during pregnancy. Previously I loved my hair, how low maintenance it was, how it looked good most of the time. But pregnancy made it look lifeless and stringy. And now almost 5 months post partum and after two haircuts and switching to an organic shampoo it hasn't changed much. Boo.

While I consider myself a little "crunchy", my little sister is "extra crunchy," only buys used clothes, doesn't wear typical perfume or deodorant, works at a co-op. She lives in Portland, OR so these things are practically mainstream. What I didn't know is that she doesn't use ANYTHING in her hair, not even the "no 'poo" shampoo of baking soda and apple cider vinegar. Granted her hair is about 3 inches long.

She said she used the no 'poo when her hair was long and since I already dislike my hair I might as well give it a go. My hair is long and I don't plan to cut it into a short mama cut because I had a bad ass outward flip on one side. It really is that annoying!

Today is my second day of no 'poo. Supposedly there is a 2 week adjustment period, but I already had my second good hair day in the last month! I made two bottles in the shower. The "shampoo" is 1 tablespoon baking soda and 1 cup water. Shaken well it is squeezed onto the scalp and massaged in. My ends are dry so I am doing the "conditioner" as well: 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar and 1 cup water. I put this just on the ends since my scalp runs oily (but then again maybe it is all the product buildup?). I was surprised to see that my hair felt the same gettign out of the shower.

Stay tuned to see if I have new fabulous chemical free hair soon!