Going 'poo Free

Back in January I tested some homemade deodorant. When I clicked on the Pin to get more information about making the deodorant I was taken to a website about going shampoo free.  The website has 3 main reasons for going 'poo free and I was intrigued by them.  So eventually I tried it out.

Shampoo Free
You Will Need:
1 Tbsp Baking Soda
1 Cup Water

Directions:
Mix ingredients together and pour into a squeeze bottle. In the shower, soak your hair with water, then squeeze a bit of the baking soda mixture on your scalp, starting at the crown. Massage it in as you go, squeezing a bit more here and there, concentrating mostly on the scalp. You can include your hair as well, but since most of the oils originate from the scalp itself, the hair will naturally get cleaned once the scalp is clarified. After a few minutes, rinse it out. Those with curly or thicker hair might need a bit more baking soda, and those with thin or fine hair might need less. Experiment, and see what works for you.

The original poster talks about how she uses apple cider vinegar as a conditioner.  Wanting to keep my hair on my head, I refused to do this and decided to continue using my regular conditioner.

She also says that their could be a transition period where your hair produces excess oil.  This transition period could last a few weeks or a few months.

After reading all this information here was my plan;
-even though my hair is really thick, I was going to stick with the original recipe
-since I refuse to use the apple cider vinegar, I would continue to use my regular conditioner but try to use the bare minimum
-I wanted to at least try it through the transition period so I could see how well it worked once my hair got use it.

I do have to confess, I cheated the first week.  I had a hair appointment I had forgotten about so I washed my hair with regular shampoo the day before.  I didn't want to get this reaction from the beautician




The Verdict: I only made it 2 1/2 weeks until I couldn't stand it anymore and gave up.
Oh how I hated it!  Let me count the ways;
1) It didn't get all my products out of my hair.  The original poster said that she no longer needs any hair products but if I don't use some sort of frizz control spray, I will look like this

 2) My roots felt pretty clean, and they never did get extra oily but the rest of my hair felt dirty.  It felt like I had grabbed a hand full of sand, rubbed it all over my hair and went on with my day

3) Because it was basically water, it was not easy trying to massage it into my scalp, especially around the base of my neck.  I would try to flip my head over so gravity would help but then the baking soda water would run up my nose or into my eyes.

4) Even with using regular conditioner my hair started to dry out and break very easily, especially when blow drying it.

5) I got some awesome static cling.

Maybe this was all part of the transition period and I gave up to soon, but I just couldn't endure one more day of dirty gnarled hair sticking to my face.