My hair has always given me trouble. It's curly, it's thick, and it sheds like a Siberian husky in August. It's also incredibly fickle: in some places it's frizzy and curly, and in others it's oily and limp. As it's typically too crazy to manage or style, I'm very low-maintenance. I shampoo, condition, dry it a bit, throw it in a messy bun overnight, and in the morning I use some mousse and let it do its thing. ("Its thing" is not always attractive…)
So when I began to see articles on natural, alternative hair care springing up all over the internet, I was intrigued. I thought, "Hey! Maybe I don't have to look like Cousin It! Maybe all I need is to try something new and healthy."
So I began reading up on the dangers of shampoo and its icky chemicals — on how unnecessary it was to condition so often with something so closely resembling dish soap.
And that's when I found the much-praised baking soda and apple cider vinegar movement, also known as "No 'Poo" or "No Shampoo."
I decided to give it a shot. I bought a box of Arm & Hammer baking soda, plus a bottle of organic, unfiltered apple cider vinegar — and I got to it! For 10 days I used no store-bought shampoos or conditioners. I also did not use any mousse products.
The results were…well, interesting to say the least…
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Here's what my hair looked like before the "No 'Poo" experiment. Well, what it looked like on a really good day.
Day 1 without shampoo or conditioner! I dissolved 2 Tbsp. of baking soda in 16oz. of water, then rubbed it into my scalp. After rinsing, I poured 1 Tbsp. of apple cider vinegar into 16oz. of water, let it sit for a bit, then rinsed thoroughly.
While washing with the baking soda, I noticed my hair was very squeaky, which I later read is a sign of stripped hair. After rinsing everything out, my hair did feel soft. But the next day, my hair was limp, oily, and weird.
As the days went on, my hair became more and more rebellious. It was immoveable and dry. Whatever shape it took, it remained all day. The shapes were usually bad...
Just like my hair before the experiment, but much more dramatically, my hair was fluffy in some areas and extremely oily in others.
It was exceptionally difficult and painful to brush my hair after my showers. It was terribly dry and it tangled very easily.
My scalp grew more oily and my ends more frizzy as the days went on. The photos don't do the extreme fly-aways justice — but trust me, it was a mess.
On the final day of my experiment, shown here, my curiosity had been satisfied. With my scalp sore, my ends tangled, and my showers never shorter than 15 minutes, I was convinced: "No 'Poo" was not for me.
Ultimately, I've decided to go back to my traditional shampoo and conditioner.
However, I'm definitely more educated on the dangers of harsh chemicals, like sulfate. I've read that sulfate-free shampoo is sold in many stores, so I think I'll give that a shot next!
But for now, my Arm & Hammer will only be used to absorb stinky fridge odors and my apple cider vinegar will be found only on my salads.
Please SHARE if you thought this expHAIRiment was interesting!
