Musings from the Junque Pile - The Great No-Poo Experiment - Finale

This is the final wrap up from The Great No-Poo Experiment started by me, Vino, and JayBee.  We did it together, because we all have different hair types, and we all are tired of spending so much money on commercial hair care product, and we'd all read how baking soda and vinegar will make your hair soft, clean, and more manageable without using chemicals that no one can pronounce.

First up, Vino:

I’ve continued my routine of BS, about twice a week.   I love it.

What little shampoo I have on hand will be used only if I have a major build-up of gunk in my hair.

Or after a night of mud wrestling, maybe……

For the most part, just a thorough rinsing every other day seems to be enough for me.

 

I use the ACV rinse only when I use the BS.  

I’ve been doing sulfate free conditioners when needed, as I still battle the frizzies.

Olive oil and coconut oils are my friends.  A little dab’ll do ya!!    I use them as needed as well.

 

In summary, I’m a fan.

I’ll be a no-pooer from now on.   Me likey.

 

One less thing to purchase.  

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Up next is JayBee, who details more of her No-Poo experiment on her own blog: www.thageekymomma.blogspot.com

So nothing much has changed for me since the last update. I did make the decision to go back to conditioner. I was never able to replicate the correct ACV:water ratio for me. I loved what the BC rinse was doing for my scalp and hair and I wanted to continue with that, but the ACV rinse was driving me batty.

Then I realized… It’s not all or nothing.

So I found a mild natural conditioner for a reasonable price.

I’ve been in love with my hair ever since.

I still use ACV when doing my weekly dandruff rinse and I have seen a great improvement in my scalp –I’m not sure if it’s only the ACV or the use of that and the BC rinse. Either way I love it.

I don’t know if I mentioned it here or on my blog, but I spoke with my mom about considering going ‘poo-free. She has had a very severe case of psoriasis for years now. It is so bad that she’s opted to keep a shaved head because the heat her hair kept was causing severe discomfort to her. Well she is making progress in that area and is trying to keep her hair, the only thing is that her skin is so delicate that traditional shampoos are too harsh on her and the special shampoos cost a more than she can afford on a regular basis and still offer little help.

So far she is a fan. She is able to keep her hair clean –which helps minimize the reaction and discomfort.

So the verdict for my mom and I: thumbs way up.

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And finally, Me:

I've been doing this for over 3 weeks now. I am to the point where I can go 3-4 days without out "washing" my hair. This is a major feat, because my scalp was so overproducing oils (called sebum) from shampooing that I had to wash every day in order not to look greasy, scratch my scalp until I bleed (yes, that happened), and have my hair hold it's style.

My scalp is WAAAAAAAAY less itchy, and the only time I've seen dandruff is when I missed a spot when rinsing the baking soda out of my hair.

I've also switched from using a brush to using combs, and see far less breakage, and the new hair growing out at my root line I can tell is stronger. The reason I mention this is because my hair used to be so "knotty" I hated using combs and only used brushes. Now, I haven't touched a brush for almost a month, and I don't get knots anymore.

My only "complaints" (if you can call them that), are that the ends appear to be fizzy, but I'm sure that if I ever get my behind to the salon for a trim regularly, that problem will cease to exist.

I am also still using hair spray to get my hair styled. But I have to use far less spray that I used to, so that's another savings right there. But I need to find a better hair spray, because sometimes when I rinse in hot water, the ends of my hair feel "gummy" and I'm sure that's just residual hairspray, not anything connected to the No-Poo.

All in all, I am happy with No-Poo, and so is DaHubster. He uses BS instead of shampoo now, too, and loves it.

I might need to buy stock in Arm & Hammer.
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There you have it folks, 3 more satisfied No-Poo customers.  Actually, make that 5, counting my hubby, and JayBee's Mom.

I think it says a lot that so many of us, with different ages, backgrounds, and hair types can try something that's not mainstream, and be happy with the results.

Don't you?

Musings from the Junque Pile - Holy Henna Batman!

If you've been reading my blog lately, you know that in addition to giving up shampoo and condition for baking soda wash and a vinegar rince, I have also tried a couple of different things to attempt to bring more red to my head.

My first attempt was with cranberry juice, and you can read it here: Dying my Hair Naturally part 1

My second attempt was with a mixture of ground paprika, olive oil, and cranberry juice, which was post in: Dying my hair Naturally part 2

Both attempts, I'm told will work, if apply almost every day. It takes time to build up the color, but I don't have the time or the inclination to do either of those every day, and then maintain it.

So I started researching Henna.  Henna is a plant based dye that's been used probably since the dawn of time when some cave woman realized that her favorite hunter was casting his wayward eyes at some younger and more nubile female gather, who didn't have shots of gray in her rat's nest of hair.

it's totally natural, and it's totally potent.  I settled on a company that seemed to have clear, concise information about their product on their website, and fast shipping, which is always a plus.  www.hennahut.com is a company located in Spring, TX, and if I'm honest, I was sold on them by their testimonials page, in which happy customers showed before and after pics of their lovely locks.

In an effort to maintain readership, I'll keep this post short, and just show you my before and after shots after applying their color called "Red."

Before:

 After:










Yeah, I'm not showing a full face pic, because I have NEON RED hair. Which, if I were in my 20's, I would totally be IN LOVE with this color. But in my 40's? Not so much.

I'm dreading going to work on Monday.

What went wrong, you might ask? Did I pick the wrong color? No, I think I left it on too long. The directions say to leave it on anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour. I rinsed it out somewhere between 30 to 45 minutes. I always had to leave commercial dyes on the fully allotted times their directions called for.

And I should have done a strand test. But really, can any of you honestly say you ever do a strand test when dyeing your hair? I didn't think so.

But all is not lost: according to the directions and the FAQs on the website, it is supposed to calm down after you wash it 18-24 hours later. I'm just about at the 24 hour mark, and I will be jumping into the shower soon to see how much it will settle down. I'm seriously considering even using shampoo, which is something I haven't used in over a month (check out the No-Poo experiment posts in this blog to find out what that's all about).

Do I recommend Henna. Surprisingly, yes, I do.l My hair feels great, the dye itself doesn't smell harsh like commercial dyes, because there is no peroxide or any chemicals in it. You can't go lighter with Henna, just darker or brighter.  My aim is for brighter, and I believe I'll be able to get a better result out of the shoot the next time I use it. It's all a learning experience, right?

Besides, Henna Hut JUST came out with a new tint called, Strawberry Blond, which, had it been available last weekend when I made my purchase, I would have snapped it up like a really hungry turtle. I've always been a strawberry blond, not a neon red.

(Boy you should have heard the bad words come out of my mouth when I saw they were advertising their new color online - as I was getting ready to mix the color I'd already purchased - Wooo Boy! Was I ever ticked off about that.

So if you  see a person with glowing red hair walking down the street, be kind to her, will you? She's just having a bad hair month...

Musings from the Junque Pile - The Great "No-'Poo" Experiment-Part 3.5

I thought I'd go two weeks before asking Vino and JayBeez what their final thoughts are on the No-Poo experiment.  But I had a situation that I thought would be good to share.

I've been out of commission since last Sunday with a back spasm. as a result, I've not been able to shower or wash my hair since them (it's Thursday right now).

I have to say that if I was still using shampoo, my hair would be a greasy, itchy mess, and I would normally be insane to wash it.  But thankfully, I'm not. Getting into a shower or bending over a sink isn't possible for me right now, so I am thankful that the sebum in my scalp is not over producing anymore. I can fully attribute going No-Poo to the fact that I am not scratching my scalp off with my finger nails.

GO NO-POO!

I will be updating the rest of us this weekend.  In the meantime, I could use some good thoughts for my back, please.

Musings from the Junque Pile - The Great "No-'Poo" Experiment-Part 3

So, I asked the girls (Vino & JayBeez) to update me on their 2nd week of No-poo'ing.

If you are just coming into this blog for the first time, and have no idea what I'm talking about, please read these 2 blog posts first:


Musings from the Junque Pile - The Great "No-'Poo" Experiment-Part 1


Musings from the Junque Pile - The Great "No-'Poo" Experiment-Part 2

First up is Ms. Vino:

I've come to the conclusion that for this no 'poo to work on my head, I have to modify it.

As in using real 'poo once every two weeks or so.   I will be using a sulfate-free brand.

The water and BS is just not cutting thru all of the moisturizers I HAVE to use on my hairz.

My frizzy mop requires SOME sort of leave in conditioner.... be it store bought or the mixtures of

olive oil/coconut oil or home made remedies that I've been finding.  More on that in a few.  :)

I do like the BS plan.  It's the ACV rinse I'm not totally sold on.   Maybe I still need to tweak the amount used

or how often I use it.   I WILL still have it incorporated into my routine.  If nothing else, it will make any

'poo and 'ditioners I purchase last much much longer, using them only once or twice a month! 

Speaking of frizz --- Mrs. Junque found a recipe for mashed bananas and avocado.   I tried it Saturday morning.

It called for 1/2 a nana and 1 avocado.  Mash well and apply to hairz.   I covered with a plastic cap and a hot towel.

Left it on for several hours.    When I unwrapped to take a shower, it smelled of fresh banana bread.

Not a bad thing.   LOL

Rinsing took FOREVER.   Lesson learned ------ use food processor or blender to make a smooth paste.   My mash

was still a little lumpy.  Heh.

I finally decided to use a small bead of 'poo to help remove the stubborn bits, and a glob of conditioner to help smooth out the strands, as I could barely rake my fingers thru my mop.  

I air dried, and this time did NOT use my mega wide comb at all.  Finger scrunched and left it alone.  

A light misting of oilve oil on the surface and done.    I was quite happy with the results.

In conclusion, I'm in favor of these natural routines.   I will be using them.

Tune in next time for the search of a decent, more natural way to cover gray roots.  ;-)

*heads off to brew more strong Earl Grey tea and coffee

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And now Jay Beez's, whose detailed reports can be read at her personal blog: The Geeky Momma:

I seem to be in no-‘poo limbo.
I love –LOVE- this process, but I have yet to find the perfect ratios for me.
Yes, I found it for a fleeting second there on Day 3, the thing is that I added water to a mix that I had already been using. So lord knows what those ratios actually were.
After day 4 I decided to see how long I could go without washing my hair. I made it to day 5. My hair was still amazing, but my scalp was driving me batty.
So I went back and mixed up another batch, this time 2 c water to 1 tablespoon BS/ACV respectively.
Still a bit too strong, but I’m getting closer.
What I am noticing is that I will more than likely will have to continue washing my hair every other day. Not for my scalp, my dandruff is amazingly under control ever since I’ve been on this experiment, but for the tips of my hair.
My hair is just insanely long and my natural oils just can’t reach the tips if I wash every day. The ACV mix needs to be weaker since there’s more of a heavy build up rather than a moisturizing effect.
I have added a teeny bit of baby oil to the tips of my wet hair and it is helping tremendously.
I can't wait until I have all of this down and I can just have a normal hair routine again.


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And lastly, me. The Humble Junque:

I'm really trying to not wash my hair every day, as I am trying to get the sebum in my scalp to stop over-producing - which is what causes that greasy looking hair.  I was trying to go for an every other day, with slowing it down to 2-3 days, but man, it's tough! My scalp seems to like being an over-producer. I guess me being a slacker my whole life,  my body has decided that in this one area it was going to be a winner.

Oh well, I'm still on the every other day schedule of washing my hair with BS and water, with a ACV rinse. And I'm probably going to have to keep adjusting the amounts of BS vs. water, because there have been a couple of times when afterwards, my hair still didn't feel clean.  I'm sure it was, but it just didn't feel that way.  it feels thicker, it clumps a little more than it should, and there a lot of poofy-ness on the ends that I'm attributing to the same problem Vino has with over-volume and frizz. And it's quite possible that a haircut might help tame a lot of this, as I haven't gotten one since before Christmas (did I mention I was lazy?). I should probably go for one soon.

I have to say that I'm not 100% sold on the no-poo yet. I've tried water washing, and I do not like how my hair feels.  And I have not gotten rid of my itchy scalp yet, although it is WAY better than it was before.  I've tried using less BS to see if that is my problem (as has been reported by other bloggers who have gone thru this, and I don't believe that it helps. it certainly doesn't make my hair feel clean.  I don't know, many I'm still too tuned into how shampoo makes me feel.  But I will keep plugging on, trying to get it right for me.

And as an aside, tune in later this week, when I will post my own first feeble attempts to dye my hair naturally. Whoooo boy, this is gonna be fun.

Musings from the Junque Pile - The Great "No-'Poo" Experiment-Part 2

In my last blog post, I named the players in the great No-Poo experiment. In this one, we are gonna tell you how week one went.  Jay Bee started a little later in the week than Vino and I did, but it's all still good. 

I should also let you know that Jay Bee is chronicaling her results at her own blog, so if you want more details go to ThaGeekyMomma and enjoy. it's fabulous.

But first a quickie description of what we are using and the amounts:

To wash your hair and scalp: Rule of thumb is 1 tablespoon of Baking Soda (BS) mixed with one cup of warm water. Wet hair, apply and massage into scalp. Let sit a couple of minutes, and rinse well.

To condition your hair: 1 tablespoon of Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) with one cup of warm water. If you have dandruff, don't massage into scalp, concentrate on the length of your hair. Let sit a minute or two and rinse.

That's it. Easy, huh? 
 
Here's a look at how it went:

Jay Bee

Day 1 ‘poo-free

In order to keep this blog from being super uber long I’m just going to link you to my hair stats on my blog (http://thageekymomma.blogspot.com/2012/03/before.html)

Prep

It took 20 minutes from start to finish getting everything together. That’s including taking time out to take pictures (that never loaded on to my pc) every step of the way.

I decided to reuse my shampoo and conditioner bottles since I had conveniently run-out just was we were deciding to give this whole no-poo thing a try. I do have to say that the time it took for me to rinse them out had me thinking that considering the length of my hair there was no way I took this long under water when I rinsed out my hair. And then I got a little grossed out at the idea. 

I mixed

No-Poo: 2 cups of spring water to 2 tablespoons of baking soda

“Conditioning” rinse: 3 cups of spring water to 3 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar.

Dandruff rinse: 1:1 cup ratio of spring water & white vinegar

Steps:

1        Brush out Hair: I need a bristle brush. The plastic bristle brush is not going to cut it for distributing the natural oils to the tips of my hair.

2        Dandruff rinse: Since dandruff is a concern of mine I did a bit of research and found the most recommended rinse. It is to sit for at least 1-2 minutes.  Don’t forget to Open. A. Window!!! Tilt head back when applying and do NOT allow your hair to frame your face while doing this. You will get dizzy if you do not head my warnings.

3        No-poo: I need to get used to not having it suds up. I kept adding rinse to my scalp because it didn’t feel like I was “washing” my hair. It did feel nice on my scalp & face. Use Room Temperature Water. That cold water on the scalp first thing is… yeah it’s a doozy. The ends didn’t feel too dry or tangled at the end. I wasn’t desperate to add conditioner like I usually am.

4        Conditioning Rinse: Use Room Temperature Water. It bares repeating. Cold water. Not fun. There is a light smell, but not unpleasant. Didn’t feel as soft right off like conditioner does. Couldn’t detangle my hair in the shower like I usually do.

5        After Towel Drying: My hair didn’t feel as different as when regularly washed. I was able to braid my hair after detangling it again. I did have to comb it out once again. My hair does seem to require more time and attention after washing, but that could be attributed to my OCD when it comes to my hair or the adjustment to something different.

I was keeping this experiment from The Hubs because he’s always so skeptical about thing and I wanted to at least get t done before he knew about it. When I told him about it the first thing he said (more like whined) was, “Are you going to start smelling like vinegar now?!?”

I picked up my hair. “Smell”

He carefully sniffed. “Ok.”

I had to laugh, but it’s true so far no vinegary smell.

At this point I’m still winging to continue with it. After doing the math I spend about $50-$75 a month on hair care products. If this works out I would be paying $5 for at least 2-3 months of hair care –that’s including the dandruff rinse.

My wallet really wants this to work out. 

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Vino: I had waited 3 days since the last actual shampooing to start this.    Rinsed very well with warm water, used a very wide toothed comb to smooth out.    I think I squirted about a cup of the BS solution slowly into my scalp, massaging every few squirts, concentrating on my front hairline and natural part.   Rinsed well, using the comb again. I then used about 1/2 a cup of the ACV rinse, aiming for mid-shaft and the ends.   Remember, I added the essential orange oil to offset the pickle smell.   I let it sit as I cleaned my body, then did a cool water rinse of my hair.   Towel dried, air dried.     Added NO OTHER product. 

Ended up with clean, soft, EXTREMELY FRIZZY hairz.

 

Day 2.   Skipped the BS, got hairz wet, sprayed ACV on, decided not to rinse out.    Towel and air dried, and used a touch of sulfite free leave in conditioner.    Slightly better frizz control.

Day 3.   Same as above, but worked some olive oil into my hairz.

Day 4.   Another cup of BS wash, similar to day 1 episode.  I'm now leaving the ACV in without rinsing.  Noticeably softer hair, but still frizzy.  Could be the weather contributing....(rainy and humid)

Day 5.   Water rinse, ACV rinse.... now trying Coconut Oil sparingly as a leave in conditioner.   My hair is very fluffy! I need to tame the volume and steer away from Big Texas hair!!

Today is Day 6.   It will be a no BS day.   I'm going with every 3 days there.  I don't have oily scalp or dandruff issues.   I may try some big rollers to tame the frizz.   

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Me (your lovable blog host): I too didn't wash my hair for a couple of days. I could do that because it was the weekend, and I wouldn't gross out my co-workers.  I did my first wash late afternoon on a Sunday, hoping that the oil monster wouldn't attack my hair overnight, so that Monday morning wouldn't see me scrambling to wash it again.

Day 1: Mixed the stuff and used it  much like Vino described.Because there’s no sudsing action, it didn’t feel like I was really getting anything clean, but after I was done, and the hair was dried, it looked and felt pretty darn clean. I noticed that as it dried, it was extremely soft, and way more curlier than normal. I might like this!

Day 2: I wet my head down well, but didn't wash it. The grease monster seems to be at bay for the moment. No itchiness with the scalp, for which I am ever grateful.

Day 3: I was late getting ready for work, but attempted to do the BS and water and rinse under the faucet bathroom sink. I highly recommend that you do NOT do this. Unless you have a very small cranium, which I do not. It was just impossible for me to rinse all the BS out of my scalp, and that led to very itchy issues during the day.

Day 4: Wet head again, and spritzed on some ACV and water. Good to go. I am  noticing the texture of my hair is changing. Not oily per se, but it's like the strands are kind of banding together. It doesn't look or feel bad, just different from what I'm used to.

Day 5: I'm used to washing my hair every day, sometimes every other day. I'm kind of hoping I might be able to go 2-3 days without washing it, because let's face it, it takes a little more time to mix up the BS and water before showering each day. We found an empty squeeze bottle to mix it in, and I'm hoping to maybe get 2-3 uses out of  batch.

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Bonus addition of the not-so-very-talkative Hubster:

He likes it.  A lot.

Ok, so that's a wrap up our initial first week of trying the No-Poo method.  Next week, we'll update how it's going for us all!

From Jay's Blog http:thageekymomma.blogspot.com