Hi there. I have wavy/curly, blonde, thick hair (not loads and loads of it though, so it cancels out the thickness) and have been doing no 'poo since January. There is a supposed adjustment period of six weeks average, but can be anything from 4 - 9. This is when your hair will be much more greasy at the roots than you are used to, and you may also have dry ends from where the sebum hasn't yet spread to them. This can be sorted or covered up by adding a little jojoba or coconut oil onto the ends, and putting up your hair. Sometimes if its really bad then I use kaolin clay to absorb some of the grease.

The principal of no 'poo is based on using alkali followed by acid to cancel it out and restore your skins Ph back to acidic (which is normal). There is more theorised science for this on www.communites.livejournal.com/nopoo. The usual method for newbies is 1tbsp baking soda mixed with water to 'open' if you like, the little cuticles of the hair shaft, and therefore wash out the excess oil. People then rinse and follow with a diluted vinegar rinse, acidic, which 'closes' the cuticles and smoothes the hair. I also find that the 'acid' moves some of the oil down to my dryer ends of hair.

This is my past routine:

First week in: I tried CO (conditioner only). This is meant to clump with the oils and wash them out. It lef my hair grungy and I gave up after one week, which wasn't really enough time to test whether it could be good for my hair. Use CO is normally associated with the 'curly girl method' or for people who have quite coarse or dry hair.

Next I tried the typical no 'poo wash: Baking soda rinse, rinsed out, then Apple Cider Vinegar mixed with water (1:8) and poured on my head.

I did this for a good many weeks (maybe about 8?) and then I made a visit to the hairdresser to get my hair cut. I asked for them to not wash it, so she sprayed my hair with plain old water. She combed it out really well, and ick, there was this awful vinegary smell. I decided I needed to mix up my routine a bit... I also had found that BS was making my hair too dry if I used it regularly.

I read on livejournal of using lime juice as the acid rinse. I thought this would be great, I love lime, so I tried it out. Lo and behold, great results - pleasant smell and actually left hair smoother and less greasy looking than ACV. My 'recipe' for this rinse is:

1/2 OR 1 lime
300ml ish boiling water OR 450ml if using a whole lime
Teaspoon honey (to moisturise, I have dry hair sometimes)
1 chamomile tea bag

Steep the bag for about 5-10 mins with the lime and honey. You can also add in:
Fresh aloe vera (really moisturising!), fresh rosemary/basil/thyme/any aromatic herb you like. When its lukewarm, put into a squeezy bottle and pour on hair, get right underneath all of the top layer too so you wash it thoroughly. Comb hair. Then use some more of the rinse and leave on.

Sometimes I do the same kind of recipe (minus the herbs) but with lemon to lighten my hair, but it can be a bit drying.

It has taken me up until now to cease having really bad greasy moments, and STILL I have bad hair days...but I am a bit lax with my routine so that could be why. So that's about 4 months, it would probably have been less if I hadn't dabbled in so many things at once!

THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE YOU START:
- Everyone is different. Some need less concentrated rinses as BS dries out theit hair too much. You own routine is a personal thing and it takes patience to find out what works and what doesn't work.

- No 'poo can be frustrating and leave your hair looking really bad at times. You will have to be strong willed, determined and battle through the greasies!

- ACV/BS is not the only other method of washing hair no 'poo style. Some people use organic shampoos, dilute their shampoo, wash with water, wash with shampoo bars (like soap, but for hair), wash with salt scrubs/rinse, use conditioner only or are 'low 'poo' meaning they wash with shampoo infrequently. Some people just use herbal rinses to keep their hair and scalp fresh. Its all down to your hair type, how much time you have and what you think will work best for you.

- Lime juice...citrus juices - a word of warning. Citrus can cause photosensitivy to the skin, meaning direct sunlight can cause a reaction. I'm still looking for other stuff to use for my acid rinse as the summer is nearly here! :)

- Some people that have previously suffered from dandruff have said that no 'poo has improved their problem. Some say that it induced flaking...I know now that I can't use large amounts of BS as it dries out my scalp and causes dandruff.

-You monitor what you put on your scalp, none of the recommendations by people are tested for safety/reliability etc. so mind what you put on your head!

-Squeezy bottles are great for getting right into the roots.

-A LOT of people who do no 'poo get sebum/dead skin (sorry if that was a bit TMI) residue on their hairbrushes. To clean this off I use my old shampoo.

-If anything causes a bad, painful reaction on your scalp - stop using it immediately. I know it sounds obvious, but I had to say. Some people are even allergic to various no 'poo ingredients.

-Some have reported back that BS has discoloured their hair or bleached it - I also found this when I did ACV/BS that my regrowth was a slightly different shade, it made it a kind of dull, flat colour. Another reason why I don't really like using BS on myself lol.


Good luck :D Any more questions I'll be happy to try and answer.

Hi Lanna, fyi ~ I tried adding baking soda to my shampoo for a few weeks (to fight build up) and my hair turned very dry. I have fine, thin, (usually) healthy hair. Since I started using baking soda I've noticed split ends (which I normally don't get) and straw-like texture :(

ok wow that's a lot of info...think i might try the organic shampoo first. one more question, what about dying your hair when you're no-poo? is that ok? what effects would that have...more greasy/less greasy? i'm planning on dying my hair soon so should i wait to do that until after the detox period or...?

I stumbled on this last night. I think someone else talked about it in another posting, but here it is for those who haven't heard. The reviews (thousands of them) seem really positive. When I get some more money coming in I'm soooo getting the coconut one!

usa.lush.com/cgi-bin/lushdb/catzoom.html

Ok ladies, I need some advice! I started the no 'poo process on Sunday. I have waist length, straight, fine hair that is SUPER SUPER oily. Usually it looks like I haven't washed it in days after only 12 hours (or less) of being shampooed. I've done 2 baking soda washes so far followed by ACV rinse and a lemon/chamomile rinse. Well, it looks pretty clean for the first few hours and then it's right back to looking greasy. I don't want to do a baking soda wash every day, or even every other day, because it's so drying but I'm not sure what else to do! It's so greasy looking I don't know if I can bare to go out in public... and I can't hide in my house for 4 weeks waiting for it to balance out. I've also been brushing it with a wood bristle brush to help distribute the oils and that hasn't really helped either. Any suggestions on how to keep the oil down? How often do you think it's ok to do a baking soda wash? Oh, and my ends are like straw. I put a bit of coconut oil on them but even if I only put a TINY amount on my hair looks super oily. *sigh* HELP?!