Shampoo revisited

I know you're all clinging to every word I have to say about shampooing my hair. I totally feel it...8?

As promised, I am reporting back on how my No 'Poo experience has been so far. I did try the BS/ACV rinse thing -Baking soda, apple cider vinegar, for those of you not in the know. 8D It definitely got my hair good and clean. It didn't leave any real scent other than light clean hair-just fresh. My hair that normally would require tons of conditioner and sometimes detangler combed through very nicely. It was light and bouncy and I was fascinated. When my hair started to dry though, so did my scalp. YOUCH! It burned and itched for 3 days. I finally broke down and used some tea tree shampoo(Giovanni TTT). I wasn't so sure I was willing to try that again(although I eventually did with less BS and still the same burning results), but I searched a few message boards for other solutions. I found some AWESOME Giovanni Triple Treat shampoo. It's organic and rates pretty well over at Skin Deep. So I used it in place of the dreaded pantene and continued the acv rinses. I thought I had found a nice happy medium. I kept reading the no'poo boards though. People were raving and raving about no'poo and even water only cleanses.

I kept using the acv, and tried white vinegar-it's supposed to do something for the scalp. It was okay, but...the next day my hair was visibly lighter. Humpfff...I was totally put off the whole no shampoo thing. I don't want to lighten my hair any. When it's below the waist, any color difference is noticeable near the scalp. Fresh hair would be darker, and the years old hair (at the bottom) would be much lighter. Yuck. No more white vinegar!! I don't recommend it.

I guess I read enough of those no 'poo boards though, because not only did I not go back to using conditioner (okay, well, i did start to use a little of the Giovanni 50/50... i suppose that's cheating to say i don't use it at all.) but i mixed up a bottle of green tea/black tea rinse with a tablespoon of acv thrown in for good measure. It worked! So I've been using it as a rinse after applying a dab(i mean a dab) of conditioner.

Continued reading and a post or two about the lightening affects of vinegar got my little wheels turning. People has success, and gorgeous hair, without using any type of cleanser in their hair. It's called water only. (WO) It was recommended to me as an alternative to avoid the lightening affects. Also, less acv works for some people. hmmm... the worse thing that could happen is that I'd have to jump back in and shampoo right? I tried WO cleanses last week. I had great hair! I had only 1 day where it felt and looked pretty yucky, but a good brushing with a BBB (boars bristle brush) and a braid worn during the day, and the greasies soaked right back into the hair follicle. Amazing. . Silky soft, and good smelling hair using only water , and...maybe this is cheating too...the green tea rinse. I should mention that my hair was probably so heavy because I had actually added some extra oil to it in the shower before "washing" it. It helped with the crunchy ends that white vinegar made. I was home most of the week, so no social pressures to look like a cover page. It still looked nice. Last payday, I buzzed over to the health food store and picked up a bottle of Aubrey organics. I used it for the first time on Friday instead of a WO. I had an event to go to, ( and it was a last minute shower...I didn't want to take any chances on 7+days of WO.) and I was dying to try them. It was nice. Not bubbly like commercial 'poos, but not loaded with all that crap either.

No more pantene for me! The bottle is empty. The Jason natural bottle is empty, too. The only thing left in my shower is Giovanni organic products (no cones, and no SLS's) and my newly acquired bottles of Aubrey Organics. (mmmm...they smell so nice). SO I guess I'm not totally on the no poo wagon. I'm stretching my shampoos out, and using water only in the between times, and I won't be using baking soda any time soon. (BS is not for everyone, ask my firey scalp.) I'm now just a bit more crunchy.

So, tell me. How do you "do" shampoo?