Going Pooless.

I have decided to go Pooless......This is what my roommate, Em, said to me the other day. Now, if you have a mind like mine, the mind of a disgusting eight year old boy, then you probably took the word "poo" and changed it into "poop." That's me, an 8 year old boy, trapped in a 23 year old female body; a fascinating combination between Peter Pan and Jane Eyre. The result is hardly as romantic as it sounds. I'm just clumsy. Back on topic.

To put your minds at ease, Em did not mean poop, but rather shampoo. The No Poo movement has been going on for some time and I have decided to hop on board. The person who really introduced this concept to both me and Em was our friend Kay. She has some of the curliest, most beautiful hair I have ever seen. So naturally I wanted to follow her lead, though my hair is board straight. I figured it was worth a try.

I don't do a lot to my hair. I don't blow dry it, straighten it, curl it, or put any kind of daily product in it. I just wash it about twice a week and brush it. My hair is approximately 35" long and very easy to take care of. This is not a big switch for me, but it is for Kay and Em. So I have done my research and looked into shampoo alternatives.

The first step is to stop washing your hair as much. If you are like me and you only wash your hair twice a week, or even just once a week in the winter, then you are probably fine. If you wash your hair everyday with harsh commercial detergents you could start by diluting your shampoo and opting to rinse daily rather than wash.

The goal is to rinse dirt and sweat out of your hair and allow your hair to balance its own oils. This may take some time. Em's scalp releases lots of oils in response to daily washes that strip the oils from her hair. She is going through a transition period where her hair is a little bit oilier than normal, but she is just letting it sit. After a while, her scalp will stop producing the extra oils and everything will balance out. Remember that oils help keep your hair shiny, protected, thick, and constantly growing. Dry hair falls out and stops growing. I am not really experiencing problems with oils, but then again, this is not a huge transition for me.

The next step for me was to experiment with shampoo and conditioner replacements. Em and I did a little bit of research and found some simple recipes that work.

Shampoo - 1c water to 1tbs baking soda. The more baking soda, the higher the oil stripping properties. I used only one tbs of baking soda and found that it worked just fine for my hair. I made a tincture of lemongrass and chamomile and mixed a little bit into the shampoo. I also used a few drops of tea tree oil. To use the shampoo wet your hair with warm water. Make sure your hair is wet through. Take the shampoo (I use a squirty bottle) and apply it directly to your scalp. Allow it to sit for a few minutes and then begin to massage your scalp. The key is to clean your scalp. The impurities in the rest of your hair will rinse out. I try to let it sit for 3 minutes and massage for 2. Some sites recommend a full 15 minutes, but I find that 5 minutes is more than sufficient. Gently rinse and and follow with a conditioner.

Conditioner - 1 part apple cider vinegar to 3 parts water. I actually did 1 part vinegar, two parts water. My hair is long, so the ends need a little more help sometimes. This time I made a tincture with rosemary and lavender and mixed it in. After washing hair with shampoo, massage the conditioner solution into the ends of the hair. For me, this is the last two feet of my hair. If your hair is shorter, there won't be quite as much to condition. In some cases there is no reason to condition at all. Your hair will restore a natural conditioned balance to your hair in a matter of hours if it is only a few inches long. Gently massage the conditioner in for approximately 2 to 3 minutes and rinse with warm water. I also like to follow with a cold water rinse on my scalp to combat hair loss and promote shine.

I have found that this combination works beautifully. My hair is shiny, soft, clean, and it smells really good. I am looking into a leave in conditioner for the last three inches of my hair, but this is not necessary unless you have really long hair. I would also like to look into environment friendly hair washing methods and ingredients for camping. In the past I have used cornmeal while camping, but nothing feels quite as good as a water wash on the scalp. More pictures and recipes to come.

I promise to post more on the van and the garage sale, but this is the last week before eviction so things are crazy. More posts about the van next week.