The Hair Diaries | Going No Poo?!
Whats no poo I hear you ask?
And no its nothing to do with going to the loo. No Poo, or No Shampoo is basically saying bye bye to regular chemical filled shampoos and conditioners and hello to more natural alternatives.
Predicted results is the hair you have always dreamed of! So yes I want some of that!
A little bit o'history.
Up until the late 1800's people were recommended to only wash their hair once a month. Decades later when the first synthetic shampoo's were invented, people began washing their hair every two weeks. Sounding gross yet?
In 1970 it became the norm for people to begin washing their hair every day thanks to clever marketing and sales pitches and since then (I don't know the exact statistic) many, many people, including myself (for years till recent) wash their hair every single day. And all these modern day shampoo's that tell us that they can fix dandruff, dryness, etc can in fact be the very thing that is contributing to all your hair and scalp problems. After all shampoo's strip all our natural oils away leaving our hair and scalp dry therefore we must use condtioners to put back a little of what we just washed out.
How do you wash your hair?
The traditional method is using a solution of water and bicarbonate of soda/baking soda as your shampoo. This is called a baking soda rinse. And then using a mix of apple cider vinegar and water as your conditioner. This is the ACV rinse.
So your going no-poo then..
I first heard about the no poo method a while ago and at that time I had been quick to dismiss it thinking how could I possibly not use shampoo? My hair gets so greasy I ain't no hippy! And the thought of putting something as abrasive as bicarbonate of soda on my hair didn't really appeal to me.
But about a month ago I stumbled back across the no-poo method and decided to really research it.
After reading many success stories about how amazing other peoples hair had become, how healthy their hair and scalp were, and how their hair had even begun to grow quicker I finally decided I would do it myself! I'm all for experimenting and not only would waving good bye to chemical laden shampoo's be great for my body but would also be great for the environment. Well, at least I will be contributing my own little bit.
I'm still not sold on using baking soda, so as an alternative I have chosen to use a shampoo bar.(its not cheating I checked) The particular one I have chosen is the J.R Liggett's Virgin Coconut & Argan Oil Shampoo bar which is made with only natural ingredients and sodium hydroxide which is a binder that many soaps use and I will be using a ACV rinse infused with Rosmary Oil to help condition.
So where is my hair at the moment and what is my current routine?
I currently was my hair every other day, so if I wash on a Monday I'll wash it again on Wednesday. I've been using the Body Shop's Rainforest Nutrition Shampoo and Conditioner which is classed as a low-poo shampoo as its free from silicone's, sulfates and parabens, I will do a review on this very soon.
My hair type is mostly fine hair with the odd thick coarse strand through in for fun. My hair is naturally pretty straight with a slight flick at the bottom. It not overly dry and can get very greasy by the end of day 2. I don't think my hair is particularly strong and I do have a lot of split ends due to length and old abuse. I also have a lot of fall out, and my hoover hates me.
My natural colour is dark blond but over the last 4 years I have lightened it with Sun-In which I won't be doing again, time to grow it all out! (I want my natural colour back)
And no its nothing to do with going to the loo. No Poo, or No Shampoo is basically saying bye bye to regular chemical filled shampoos and conditioners and hello to more natural alternatives.
Predicted results is the hair you have always dreamed of! So yes I want some of that!
A little bit o'history.
Up until the late 1800's people were recommended to only wash their hair once a month. Decades later when the first synthetic shampoo's were invented, people began washing their hair every two weeks. Sounding gross yet?
In 1970 it became the norm for people to begin washing their hair every day thanks to clever marketing and sales pitches and since then (I don't know the exact statistic) many, many people, including myself (for years till recent) wash their hair every single day. And all these modern day shampoo's that tell us that they can fix dandruff, dryness, etc can in fact be the very thing that is contributing to all your hair and scalp problems. After all shampoo's strip all our natural oils away leaving our hair and scalp dry therefore we must use condtioners to put back a little of what we just washed out.
How do you wash your hair?
The traditional method is using a solution of water and bicarbonate of soda/baking soda as your shampoo. This is called a baking soda rinse. And then using a mix of apple cider vinegar and water as your conditioner. This is the ACV rinse.
So your going no-poo then..
I first heard about the no poo method a while ago and at that time I had been quick to dismiss it thinking how could I possibly not use shampoo? My hair gets so greasy I ain't no hippy! And the thought of putting something as abrasive as bicarbonate of soda on my hair didn't really appeal to me.
But about a month ago I stumbled back across the no-poo method and decided to really research it.
After reading many success stories about how amazing other peoples hair had become, how healthy their hair and scalp were, and how their hair had even begun to grow quicker I finally decided I would do it myself! I'm all for experimenting and not only would waving good bye to chemical laden shampoo's be great for my body but would also be great for the environment. Well, at least I will be contributing my own little bit.
I'm still not sold on using baking soda, so as an alternative I have chosen to use a shampoo bar.(its not cheating I checked) The particular one I have chosen is the J.R Liggett's Virgin Coconut & Argan Oil Shampoo bar which is made with only natural ingredients and sodium hydroxide which is a binder that many soaps use and I will be using a ACV rinse infused with Rosmary Oil to help condition.
So where is my hair at the moment and what is my current routine?
I currently was my hair every other day, so if I wash on a Monday I'll wash it again on Wednesday. I've been using the Body Shop's Rainforest Nutrition Shampoo and Conditioner which is classed as a low-poo shampoo as its free from silicone's, sulfates and parabens, I will do a review on this very soon.
My hair type is mostly fine hair with the odd thick coarse strand through in for fun. My hair is naturally pretty straight with a slight flick at the bottom. It not overly dry and can get very greasy by the end of day 2. I don't think my hair is particularly strong and I do have a lot of split ends due to length and old abuse. I also have a lot of fall out, and my hoover hates me.
My natural colour is dark blond but over the last 4 years I have lightened it with Sun-In which I won't be doing again, time to grow it all out! (I want my natural colour back)
Here's a close up of my hair at them moment. It actually doesn't look too bad if a little dry at the ends.
Over the coming weeks and months I will be doing updates on my hairs progress. I have to go through a transition stage which can last anywhere from 1 week to a couple of months as my hair gets used to its new regime. I will also stretch my washes out longer now to help speed up the transition period favoring lots of up do's to hide all that grease.
From this moment on I will not touch my hair with anything with a chemical in it. So no more areosole dry shampoo, no hairspray, heat protector or styling products. As I find natural alternatives I will share them.
I am so excited about this no-poo journey!
Have you ever done no-poo? Plan too? Think its just weird? Let me! also follow me on instagram @elfsbeauty to keep up to date with my no poo journey before I blog about it!
Love Jeni x
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