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?

The slippery smell of clean–and its costs.

On a warm spring day, I once rode past a field freshly covered in steaming cow manure with my mother-in-law. “Oooof!” I grunted.  “Quelle horreur.”  To which my MIL mused, “I’ve always liked the smell of fresh manure, it reminds me of life on the farm . . .” Association, apparently, is key.

Your shampoo may smell like flowers in the spring, but does the smell make you cleaner?

One of my favorite rewards of living abroad: reminders that many of our most hard-wired behaviors and beliefs are arbitrary cultural constructs–like smells.

Our culture and situation infuses our perceptions on everything from our notion of time, our ways of showing respect when speaking, expectations for clothing and modesty, our vision of aesthetics in general. . . preference for fragrances and odors.

What influences our notion of what smells ‘good?’

Personal psychology and experience, cultural beliefs (both traditional and ‘pop’ influences), evolutionary biology . . . I wonder, can ‘good’ and ‘bad’ smells exist without refined nostrils and complex brains to interpret them?

I personally have a strong (logical) bias for being clean, which my brain has (illogically) come to associate with smelling good.

If you’re like me, you can probably think of many instances in which you do something that allows you to stay clean and simultaneously expose yourself to a fragrance.  If you’re like me, you then come to associate the smell to the act of cleaning.  Fragrance is then, a perfectly legal subliminal marketing campaign. Consider the following:

• You wash your hair with shampoo (which gets you clean)–shampoo fragrances accompany the shower and stay in your hair for days.
• You brush your teeth and a ‘fresh minty’ smell greets you.
• You do your laundry and an ‘airy, floral’ smell invades your clothing and your home.
• You do the dishes and the pleasing odor of say, ‘green apple’ (currently the case in our home) greets you.

Can you be clean and odorless?

You could also wash your hair with cider vinegar(ok, vinegar has a smell, but it goes away!) or completely unscented soap, brush your teeth with baking soda, do your laundry with soap nuts, your dishes with boiling hot water, soap flakes etc.  Does the ‘minty’ smell clean your teeth?  Does the ‘apple’ scent clean your dishes?  You might rightfully associate a ‘bleach’ smell with disinfecting qualities, but even bleach these days has a tendency to come with an additional scent. . .

Scents and fragrances, while possibly enjoyable and associated with agreeable memories or ideas, also serve as a marketing strategy.

Particularly for manufactured products. Really, if you think about it, what differentiates the boggling array of shampoos, soaps, detergents, toothpastes and cleaning agents sold in stores.  I don’t think we’re paying extra for the active ingredients, but the smells, the marketing, the packaging.

But do all of these scented products carry a hidden cost as well?

Check the ingredients in your cleaning and hygiene products.  Does the dish soap contain actually  contain apples or their essence?  Does the toothpaste actually contain mint?  Don’t get me wrong, even real essences and fragrances can cause skin irritations–as I recently discovered after applying a (real) lavender scented oil to my face–ooops!  But the ‘fake’ scents might just be a little more worrisome . . . Sure, they’re ‘tested’ and ‘approved’ but I’m not so sure I feel I understand the cumulative effect of dousing oneself with such chemical cocktails, day after day for years on end. . .and in combination with other substances.  I’m not so convinced that the ‘regulators’ of the perfume and scent industries know either.

The other day, DH smelled my hair after I’d recently washed it with baking soda and vinegar.

“Don’t get me wrong,” he said.  “It doesn’t smell bad.  It just doesn’t smell . . .’good.’  It doesn’t smell like anything.”  Maybe DH misses the smell of commercial shampoo and the different (but illogical) associations it conjures up.  But we’re embarking on a bold new experiment.  I’m wondering, what other smells we might associate with our emotions and memories without the constant infusion of odors from consumer products.

False choices in frugality: ‘Lotions and potions’ versus filth and rejection.

Do you strive to cut costs in personal hygiene?  Minimize the amount of weird little vials in your travel case? Do you avoid slathering yourself in strange chemicals and them washing them down the drain?  If you’re like me you willingly drop frivolous beauty products but you don’t want to sacrifice being clean, healthy and happy to your quest for simplicity. Given my preference for ‘AND’ rather than ‘OR’ on the path towards simplification, it comes as no surprise that this article has me festering  with annoyance.  The article from the Daily Mail tells the tale of one woman who opted not to step into the shower, not to rinse her hands, not to brush her teeth for six weeks with the objective of discovering:

. . . whether we are all simply wasting our money in the name of vanity. Are all the lotions and potions that women–and millions of men–use religiously every morning merely a form of social and psychological armour, or do they have a practical physical use?

Don’t get me wrong, I value the objective of the experiment and found the article entertaining (fun fact: after 6 weeks without bathing her bacteria counts were up 5000 times but still considered ‘normal’ by doctors. . .)  I’d just ask that people examine the choice that the folks at the Daily Mail present to us: ‘lotions and potions’ or filth and rejection. The woman in question had been spending roughly 2,000 pounds a year on beauty products and then switched suddenly to not even dousing herself with water.  She staggered from one extreme behavior to another–the actions of someone who has entirely lost touch with the difference between health and cleanliness and frivolous addiction to consumer beauty products.

I’m not particularly surprised that other moms at her kid’s school found her behavior odd–are you?  People have been washing themselves to the best of their abilities since ancient times and people in third world countries with limited access to clean water continue to do whatever they can to stay clean. Not maintaining any form of personal hygiene is a behavior typically reserved to the highly depressed, the insane and it carries significant health risks*–two reasons why such behavior might be considered socially unacceptable.

*If you, like the subject of the Daily Mail article, have somehow forgotten about hand washing and germ theory, here is a very basic primer by the CDC.

Does one woman’s re-discovery that bathing serves a purpose mean that we should just default to using beauty and hygiene products without thought or question simply because some company invents them and markets them? The very premise of her experiment steers carelessly in the direction of a false choice.  What about simply washing your hands several times a day with soap (or an alcohol solution if you have allergies to soap), brushing with a toothbrush and baking soda and, say, even partaking in a weekly shower with only water and a good scrub with a washcloth?  That in itself may sound extreme to most people although it remains healthy and, dare I say, socially acceptable.  For the frugal, health-conscious or the minimalist, it only requires two ingredients: baking soda and bar soap (or rubbing alcohol).  Heck, she could have use the baking soda once a week too to wash her hair, but I digress. I admit that while the false choice presented by the article annoys me, the topic fascinates me and I’m glad it’s reaching mainstream consideration.

I’m curious to know about the various middle paths my readers (quite possibly not a mainstream sampling of people) take between good personal hygiene and social acceptance on one hand and minimalism and frugality on the other.   How many personal hygiene products have you been able to cut out?  Which ones are non-negotiable?

Save money: change your definition of attractive.

I’ve had this topic on my mind for sometime and planned a post for next week, but this article by Jacob at ERE and the following discussion inspired me to push up my ‘deadline.’  Don’t worry, I’ll post about global change later.

What we find ‘attractive’ is subjective, influenced by everything from mass media to culture, constantly changing and under our control. My modest proposal: if you want to save money on ‘grooming’ and find a partner capable of the same frugality, change your perspective, and never look back.

What exactly does it take to feel attractive?

I have two solutions for those who want to feel attractive: change your appearance or change your perspective. (Hint, one of the solutions is much cheaper and more sustainable than the other.)   For me, working out to produce ‘perfect abs,’ applying lipstick, finding the perfect undergarments or buying new clothes never cuts it.  I’ve found the secret to feeling attractive: go a month without a mirror and stop worrying about it!

Have you ever had an experience where you were out in the woods camping or backpacking and didn’t actually see yourself for a long time?  Those I know who have had this experience usually find that they feel unusually attractive during this time–or at least confident in their appearance (and I’ll swear by it myself).  If you don’t believe me, try it . . .

On being attractive to others:

“But,” you might argue, “you can feel attractive and be tragically wrong!”  Beauty is, after all, in the eye of the beholder.  Being attractive may not just be for personal satisfaction or self-fulfillment–you may actually want to find a partner who also finds you attractive.  In that respect, I think the following two questions are worthy of consideration:

• How many people need to find you attractive for you to be attractive enough?
• Who do you want to find you attractive?
• How much actual effort, resources and money are required to achieve this desired level of ‘attractiveness?’

An experiment with the bare minimum:

In my twenties I traveled through Europe with blatant disregard for my appearance.   (No, I did not look like a super model dressed in fashionable yet shabby clothes–I looked . . .frumpy).  I was surprised to learn that some men are attracted to women who carry a backpack, don’t wear makeup, don’t mess with their hair, wear the same jeans for days on end, don’t watch TV . . . I’ve found that you can ‘attract’ other human beings with minimalist efforts towards personal appearance–  AND that you may actually attract ‘higher quality candidates.’ The men that tended to find me attractive in my ‘frumpiness’ tended to value athletic activities, travel, intelligent conversation and also tended to be non-conformists. As far as numbers go, I’m sure that probably only 10-20% of men my age found me attractive–at most–I was not about to win a beauty contest, but you don’t need to win a contest to find a partner, do you?

Changing what you consider attractive in others:

By the time I met DH, I was already so picky that I wondered if I would ever be in a relationship again.  What attracted me to him?

Interests in life beyond money and status: DH had switched from being an engineer to being a primary school teacher because he liked it better and wanted more time for his family and his interests.

Low-maintenance appearance: DH dresses simply, has a low-maintenance haircut.  He is athletic-looking because he is someone who regularly enjoys sports–not because he spends hours a week in a gym ‘bulking up.’  (Don’t even get me started . . .)

Self-control in spending habits: DH lived in a sparse, low-rent apartment.  His willingness to save money on comforts and appearances allowed him (and still allows him) to spend selectively on developing passions: biking, cross country skiing, guitar . . . I didn’t have to worry about DH judging me for living in a cheap-o apartment with all borrowed furniture and sleeping on the floor.  I don’t ever have to worry about DH spending us both into horrific credit card debt!

Intelligence and ideas: DH is an educated and thoughtful person who can have interesting conversations on a number of topics (in two different languages!).  I occasionally want to shoot myself if I get stuck in a conversation with someone who has no intellectual interests, so DH’s keen capacity for abstract thought helps me avoid a messy end.

Kindness and strength of character: When we first started dating, I told DH he was  one of the nicest people I knew–and he winced, preparing to be dumped.   Apparently not everyone finds this trait attractive.  But I know too many interesting, intelligent and otherwise gifted people who seem unable to use their powers for good. 

I admit that I am possibly strange in my thoughts on what is attractive, and I’m curious to know what others think. What is your definition of ‘attractive?’  Do you find people you can appreciate easily?  Do you feel that people are attracted to those who spend more time, money and energy on appearance?

Note: I wanted to talk about frugal alternatives to dating in this post as well, but I realize there is too much to say.  It will have to wait.

Life without shampoo: a hairy experiment.

My hair during the 'awkward stage.'

Disclaimer: since my hair curled sometime around puberty, many attempts have been made to ‘tame’ my ‘do,’ but I find them to be unsustainable (ie too much work or skill required, too much time, or too much money).  In reference to my hair, my brother likes to quote the movie Pet Cemetery, “Sometimes dead is better.”  So, you see, I have little to loose in throwing convention out the window in terms of hair care.

If you decide to go this route, keep in mind that your hair might look ‘ funky’ for a while before it returns to ‘normal.’  Reading up on the matter, I decided to use a combination of baking soda and apple cider vinegar to replace shampoo and conditioner.   I know vinegar has antiseptic qualities, so I’m not worried about being clean, and I’m pretty sure my hair can throw nothing at me that will surprise me or turn me back.  I stand to gain in simplicity, cost AND in avoiding all that gunk that I formerly put on my head.  The only real fear I have in this undertaking is the prospect of more tangles–ouch!

Procedure: After some quick research and a little trial and error, I’ve decided that the best way to handle the situation is to put the solutions in a squirt-type water bottle for biking.  I prefer to mix the solutions when I wash my hair because I can use warm water!  Otherwise that cold water is just running down your back.  It’s good to have 2 bottles ready before you start: I use one with about 2 tablespoons of baking soda to about 2-3 cups of water and one with two tablespoons of vinegar to 2-3 cups water.  I then wet my hair, apply baking soda solution and massage it into the scalp.  When I think my hair is clean, I rinse with water, pour on the vinegar solution and rinse again.

The results: The first few days were . . .interesting.  My hair seems curlier with this method.  I’m not sure why.  Also, at first, my hair remained or became quite greasy between washes.  I just told myself that there were plenty of women out there getting ‘hot oil treatments’ and that a little oil couldn’t hurt.  Then I clipped my hair up with a clip and went about my life.  After about 5 days, things returned to normal.  Frankly, I’d read that the gross, greasy period can last much longer, so I was pleasantly surprised that my hair adjusted so quickly.

Unsuspected added benefits: my hair dries MUCH faster than when I used to use conditioner–extremely useful in the cold weather we’re having.  Nobody likes frozen hair.  I also have fewer tangles, which I find quite surprising. I’m curious if this will have any effect on static liftoff when I’m in the mountains this weekend.  I usually get quite a halo of electric hair going on cold winter days in the mountains, so . . .we’ll see.

Savings: I paid about 1.60 euros for the baking soda and 1.80 for the cider vinegar (a 1 liter bottle).  Since I dilute these, I expect they will last some time.  Perhaps a month or two?  I’ll let you know.  I guestimate that this will be much cheaper than shampoo and conditioner, but I want to wait and see how much baking soda and vinegar I ultimately end up using.  I’m not sure how often I’ll wash my hair with this method or if I’ll become more efficient in the quantity of soda and vinegar I use as time goes on.

Environment and health: I’m supposing that there is a health benefit to not applying so many ‘mystery’ ingredients to my head each day and an environmental benefit to not washing them down the drain.  I’m also thinking that if I ever manage to have a house with gray water reclamation, that the vinegar and soda might be easier to deal with than soap.  Does anyone have any experience in this department?

Convenience: For now, this is slightly less convenient as I have to mix my ’solutions’ but if I stop being such a wimp about cold liquids going down my back, that will become easier.  There is also the added convenience that I cook and clean with both of these ingredients, so I tend to have them around the house.  I’m wondering about travel, however.  It might be annoying to go visit friends and family with this set up.  I will have to think it through more a little more to see if I can come up with a ‘travel-sized’ solution.

Conclusions: It is still too early to know if I’ll break out in a rash or something, but so far appearance, smell and comfort are all good.  I almost feel silly for using shampoo and conditioner as long as I did.  I’ll give an update if anything interesting happens.

Questions: Has anyone out there done this long-term?  AND does anyone know if dousing your head in vinegar can protect against lice?  Just wondering. . .DH is a primary school teacher, so I have a healthy fear of lice.