Hairy Experiment: an update on life without shampoo
Since last posting on forgoing shampoo in favor of apple cider vinegar (acv) and baking soda (bs), I’ve had a hassle-free experience studded with minor misadventures. I’ve also had one pleasant surprise: no one who sees me on a daily basis seems to notice my change in washing techniques! Have the rest of you found that your frugal and sustainable hygiene habits simply slipped by with no scrutiny from friends, family and colleagues? Is it really this easy or does something sneak up on you at the 2-3 month mark and nip you in the rear-end?
My observations:
Benefits to date of ACV and BS: more ‘good’ hair days than bad, less time washing and waiting (I’m not down to a weekly wash), cheaper, greener, healthier.
And . . . hair less prone to the dreaded electric halo! I can now pull a fuzzy wool sweater over my hair without looking like I’m hooked up to a Van der Graaf generator.
Struggles and ‘uh-oh’ moments:
Most of the quirks I did experience came from human error as I experimented with different BS and ACV concentrations, and possibly to my adjusting scalp. Too much BS in the washing solution=itchy, dry scalp (yipes!), not enough BS= greasy, sticky hair (ugh!).
I am happy to report that the situation is currently stable! But I suspect that everyone will need a certain amount of messing around with concentrations and frequency to make this system work.
Lack of smell update: The one person who knows I eschew shampoo, my husband, observed that my hair no longer smells like shampoo (read fragrance). I don’t equate perfumed with clean, so smelling like synthetic fragrances does not appeal to me–but being attractive to my husband does! This week, however, DH leaned over to smell me and said: “Mmmmm, smells good!” Since I am without added fragrance, I asked him to elaborate on what he smelled. His answer, “You.” I don’t know what he was smelling, but I’m going to declare victory in the fragrance department and move on.
Further plans:
- Experimenting with the frequency of my washes with BS and ACV, since the readers of this blog reported washing as often as once a week or as little as once a month.
- Comparing costs of traditional shampoo with the BS/ACV technique.
- Infusing the cider vinegar rinse with natural scents in order to help win over folks who find a fragrant head to be non-negotiable–or whose partners may feel that way!
- Collecting data from my own personal experiment and am possibly talking to a dermatologist about risks and benefits of this new technique (unless I can find some actual research online).
- Coming out of the closet about the way I wash my hair to friends and family . . . and maybe even trying to see if they want to join me! But that’s a long-term goal. I’ve found that when trying to convince the skeptical, it’s best to have a veritable arsenal of facts and evidence.
A question for my readers: If you use BS/ACV (or some other unconventional washing technique), have you told people around you? How did they react? I have a hunch that for some people knowing that I don’t use shampoo will make them ‘observe‘ all kinds of interesting phenomena (real and perceived). Am I wrong?
No one has noticed a change in my hair care routine, not even DH (and he is aware of the changes). When DDs got their hair cut the last time, the hairdressers were so impressed with how clean and healthy their hair was they shared. They share with everyone they don’t use shampoo, and then I have to explain that they do shower, we just use soda water to wash with instead 
I too had to experiment with the amount of BS to clean our hair with. I find that I can get away with 2 Tbsps to 1 quart of water (boiled because of our hardwater).
Jennifer–congratulations! I know you’ve been thinking about trying this. I think your plan of switching first to not shampooing every day is a good one. So is wearing hair up in the first week! I think also that the added challenge of using this technique while on vacation during the first few days might well have made me nuts as well. Thanks for the link, by the way.
Tree–I think using the minimum of BS you can ‘get away with’ is probably the best for your hair. It’s interesting to note that no one has noticed your ACV/BS washing technique and that when the girls tell people, you don’t run into trouble. It would be great to think that something frugal, green and healthy is actually socially acceptable–social acceptance can make life so much easier 
.
This is really interesting! I’ve never heard of this. It’s definitely a valuable lesson in frugality.
Oh, I have to say that I think that often, people are TOO perfumed these days. Most times, I’d rather smell nothing at all!
Thomas–thanks for stopping by. (Your blog is so inspiring these days by the way!) The cider vinegar was new to me not too long ago, but I think I’m pretty much hooked now. And yes, sometimes smelling nothing is a great thing!
yay! I got throught to your blog. Don’t have time to read a lot right now, but I just had to say: our husbands were first attracted to us by our natural smell (that’s biological!) and so it’s a very good thing if your husband says he smells you My husband tends to be allergic to fragrances, so I should think about going the no-poo route. But sighhhh. . . it does seem like a lot of messing. I like messing in the kitchen, but in the bathroom too? Well, your experience would be a good guide for me!
Its interesting because my girls go to a private school. The kids are all in the latest brand names (including mine, but we get ours at Plato’s closet), and the other parents while not needing to save money like the idea of not using so many chemicals and still looking mainstream. On the outside we still look normal, even from the curb our house looks normal, its when you walk inside and smell fresh bread and realize you would like a sweater that you realize how strange we are
Wow! I just attempted this – but, unfortunately, my story is not a happy ending like yours. My hair did not adjust even after 11 weeks 
in trial.
I have had oily, fine hair my entire life. Unfortunately, it is harder for fine and straighter hair since the hair sits on the scalp (unlike curly or wavy hair). That was what my research told me, anyway. Good for you!
I’m with you on less chemicals. I use either some organic shampoos or shampoo bars. I can get by with once a week, with a scalp washes in between. My hair is long enough to sit on and in really good shape. I can sure tell I’m not using the drying sulfate-laden products. I also never use heat on my hair-that makes a big difference in condition. I use ACV rinses.
Margo, Thanks for stopping by! Excellent point about people being attracted to natural smells from a biological standpoint. I’ll have to look into that further. I just assumed that smell was so emotionally charged because of psychological associations we build up over time . . .As for the messing–you’re right, at first it is more work (or at least I found it to be). You don’t just wash your hair and go like with shampoo because your hair may require more or less baking soda etc. Although now I don’t think it takes me more time than shampoo. I have two biking water bottles (you know, the squeeze kind?). Before I jump in the shower, I pass by the kitchen, put a teaspoon full of baking soda in one and a tablespoon full of cider vinegar in the other. Then, I just add water to the bottles when I’m in the shower. You use them a lot like shampoo and conditioner after that. I only need to wash my hair about once a week, though . . .so the extra time in one department is mitigated by the decreased hair washing. I still rinse in between if I do sports . . .
Tree–another great observation. I think that you don’t have to deal with nearly as much snobbery and social resistance if people see the side of doing things for health reasons or environmental reasons (as they are somewhat in fashion these days) as they think you’re doing it to be frugal (perhaps not so in fashion, but it certainly should be!) Perhaps BS/ACV just happens to be trendy right now–works for me.
Aspiring Minimalist, ahhh that makes a lot of sense actually. I was just thinking this morning that I’m lucky to have frizzy hair when it comes to BS/ACV as it really doesn’t show the extra oils that much–in fact, it might look better with a little extra oil. I’m bummed to hear confirmation that this doesn’t work as well for people with fine/straight hair. I wonder if anyone else out there has some ideas. Anyway, I think it’s highly commendable that you tried for 11 weeks!
TrishB–thanks for sharing that. Shampoo bars might actually be a great idea for travel-friendly hair washing options too. And no heat is probably a good idea as well. I try not to dry my hair unless I absolutely must wash it and leave the house in the winter–I can’t take the cold or the frozen hair.
I have been using this method for about four years now, and I regularly have hairstylists tell me how healthy my hair is. At that point I usually tell them about my ‘no-poo’ method. I find that I have to adjust the amounts seasonally a bit as we are in a dry cold climate (Alberta, Canada) for most of the year but other than that it is great. I have found for my super-thick hair that I still need to bs/acv every time I shower, but that I need to shower less often.
Melissa, I’m curious what changes you had to adopt for a dry and cold climate–since right now in the Southern French Alps it is currently dry and plenty cold (and nearly everywhere in France, what’s with the weather, it’s MARCH!?!?!). I find that I have to not shower quite so often or my skin dries out and starts to hurt–and when I do shower, I actually put oil on myself to keep from drying out. I haven’t thought of the ramifications on the hair though . . .except that my hair is not nearly as curly here as in San Diego, California.
[...] Baking Soda and Apple Cider Vinegar instead of shampoo and conditioner [...]
[...] The other day, DH smelled my hair after I’d recently washed it with baking soda and vinegar. [...]
I use regular Ivory bar soap for washing the body then washing hair. I don’t bother with vinegar but have used regular vinegar in the past. I have dry straight hair and use gel and a blow dryer.
dlm–Hmm that’s an interesting idea using regular bar soap on your hair. It might be worth a try since I already use soap on my body. . .what’s the difference? I kind of feel like the vinegar helps my hair stay less tangled and frizzy–mine is rather curly.
To Aspiring Minimalist: I have oily, fine, straight hair and I found I have to use quite a bit of baking soda – 1 to 2 tablespoons in one cup of water every 3-4 days in order to keep my hair looking good (i.e. not oily). I have been no-poo for over 2.5 years now. I did just recently go through a weird glitch with my hair feeling very greasy and heavy, and not quite sure why. I tried using 3-4 tablespoons baking soda, still no joy. Finally resorted to using soap to get it clean. And now back to my regularly scheduled no-pooing. Glad to hear you are also a no-pooer!
Mrs. Accountability–interesting about your weird extra oily days. I’ll have periods of time when I don’t need to use baking soda for a week or more and then suddenly, my head gets oily and I need it more than once a week. I’m guessing that’s normal and I just go with it. No need to feel like a grease ball.
I did it! Well, not quite. I did use a baking soda solution to “wash” my hair last Thursday, and a vinegar solution to “condition” it. It felt strange. I definitely did not enjoy touching it or running my hands through it, although it did look clean, although limp. Following the advice to others at the online no poo community I gathered that washing it every day was too harsh for your hair, so I did not wash Friday. Which coincidentally, was day one of a two day trip to the state capitol. Well when I woke up and got ready to leave, I knew I could not just leave it. I was going to put a hat on, but then I didn’t find one I wanted to wear, so I put it up. It would not have worked down.
Saturday I broke. I’d met up with my beauty-conscious cousin Friday night, and when I took my hair down it was pretty messed up. Saturday I didn’t have any baking soda, so at first I scrubbed my hair with the washrag. I’d heard this worked for others on in-between days. Well after scrubbing for a bit, it still did not feel clean, and in fact felt really gross. So I shampooed. I have started my new job since and haven’t had time to think about shampoo experiments anymore. On the upside, I have managed to start shampooing once every other day. This is good in a lot of ways. It reduces the amount of shampoo I use, and I think it will help next time I try the baking soda thing, since it will reduce the amount of oil my hair produces, from shampooing less.
So first try: not a success, but definitely a lesson.