Week 4 - Corn Starch!

I have completed 4 weeks and I'm in week 5. Unlike my husband I cannot go more than a few days without baking soda/vinegar. He has not washed his hair this ENTIRE TIME! His hair looks great too! However, today I'd like to share with you my new discovery. CORN STARCH!

Corn starch is a new weapon that has been brought into my arsenal. I'm sure my mom and my grandmother would be like, "yeah, duh, I coulda told ya that!" So, corn starch soaks up the oil. All you need is a tsp or so and you rub it in to your oily areas and brush it out. VOILA! Last time I washed (BS) was on Saturday and here's a picture of me (with hubby and Lily in background).

hair looks fluffy doesn't it? 

Back to the corn starch. I am on day 3 of water only and its getting oily. I thought by now the oil production would be lessening but maybe I have done more damage to my hair than I thought! So, here are some pictures before I put in the corn starch.

Now, here are the after pictures.

Now, YOU may not be able to tell the difference, but I can! I have no idea if this is a long lasting effect. Will the corn starch work for 20 minutes or 4 hours? I guess I'll have to let you know. I know that baby powder will do the same thing but I didn't want to smell like that. Its a cute smell.....for babies :)
I have less than 2 weeks to go on this journey and I have to say that I am SO GLAD that I discovered this because I have never loved my hair more!

My Hair Is Amazing!

Ok, so I didn't have super high hopes with the no 'poo method. Nothing had worked for me for 35 years, why would this be the miracle cure?

Well, here is day 13 and my hair is full with body and is super soft too! I say that it has body, but you have to keep in mind that my hair is very thin and fine, so you have to judge it for what it is :) I blow dried it on low and used a round brush. Back when I used shampoo and I blow dried without any product I would end up with no bounce and no body within 5 minutes. This didn't happen today! Its really hard to show how great my hair is in this picture, you'll have to take my word for it.

I didn't last until Friday for WO. I didn't exactly see the point. My ultimate plan is to do BS/ACV 2- 3 times a week MAX. Not sure what will happen in the long haul but we'll see. I'm very pleased with my results of no shampoo and if this is how I do my hair for the next 30 years it will be wonderful!

Here's Brandon's no 'poo pic for day 13 as well. He hasn't used BS or ACV for over a week now and his hair looks amazing! He uses coconut oil in the front instead of beeswax. His hair looks like it has product in it and it holds shape very well :)

Just a quick sample of my recipe of my hair
2-3 teaspoons BS
2 cups water (16oz approx)
I didn't use all of this in one wash, its just what I put into my "shampoo" bottle. I probably use about 1/4-1/3 of the bottle per wash. May seem like a lot, but remember, its mostly water.

Today I put this in dry hair (in shower but hadn't wet it down yet) This helped me keep it more on my roots and oily areas vs my drier ends. Kept it on for about a minute and then thoroughly rinsed.

approx 1/4 cup ACV (maybe less)
2 cups water (16 oz)

With the ACV mixture I take a washcloth, dip it in the mixture and wipe it on my ends only (as best I can considering the short length of my hair). I try to avoid my more oily areas (back of hair by neck). Remember, if you decide to try this, everyone has different hair and different oil build up. You have to play around with the recipe a little.

I would totally avoid the ACV part, but I have heard horror stories of people's hair drying up and becoming brittle. Can't skip this part because of the need to close the cuticle of the hair (keep from damaging the hair).

I don't think I ever really had a horrible phase like some people have. Unless I just haven't had it yet. My hair seems to be "normalizing" very quickly, which I am VERY happy with! I think my worst days were probably day 6-10....give or take.

Week 1 done!

Well, I made it 1 week. I don't think any one of us can say the last time they went an entire week without washing their hair, I know I can't! Maybe a camping/hiking trip, but I usually don't camp for an entire week.


I used BS on Thursday and forgot to get my ACV ready ahead of time, so I just opted out. Well, it left my hair sort of dry and weird. So, on Friday I did ACV only. Whoa, that was a MISTAKE! Ok, not that big of a mistake but it left my hair super oily and I was so self conscious! I didn't take a picture because it was a seriously crazy day. Lets just say that one of my friends said, "it doesn't look bad, it just looks wet." My reply to that was, "BUT IT'S NOT WET!!!" 


Went to bed that night knowing that it was only going to get worse. However, when I woke up it was better! It wasn't nearly as oily and after brushing it and it was quite nice :)  Took a WO shower anyway and am fairly pleased with the current results. Still hoping that I will be the exception to the rule of the seriously oily phase of this journey. 

So, As you can see, its looking pretty good! Even the back isn't too bad. However, this was right after the shower. It looks much different as the day has gone on. However, its not unbearable :)

Brandon (hubby) has had a great experience so far! He's even learned to adapt to a new hair styling product......beeswax! It has to be melted down and then applied to the hair. It manages to stay in his hair for about 3 showers. He doesn't even use BS or ACV! His hair is much thicker and has natural curl to it, so its not going through the same oily transition as mine (hate him!)

I have gone no BS or ACV for the last 3 days. Tomorrow (Monday) I get to use some BS and ACV and I'm super excited! I guess after Monday I'll be waiting until Friday for another BS/ACV wash (4 days). Good thing I have no class this week!!! I'm still not quite sure if I should be using BS/ACV every day or every other day or just not at all. I just know that of the posts I've read, some people don't use ANYTHING. That's what I'm working toward.......if for nothing else but to see what happens.

Kids

Today's post I would like to talk about kids. I know many people out there have OCD issues with bathing and soaping up, even with their children. I have been there too. However, I've never been like that with my child. The more I bathe her the more her skin dries up and becomes itchy. At school they have the kids washing their hands so much (and with crappy soap) that she comes home with red, painful, scaly hands. Previously I would try to do every other day or every two days with baths/showers. I didn't even use soap, unless she's visibly gross. Almost all dirt and food are water soluble. That means the water will grab the dirt and food and wash it away. No need for soap to do this. What soap does is grabs the oils. How oily does your kid get? Um, my kid really doesn't produce any oils. If she hits day 3 without a bath her hair has some oils in it. Not disgusting, just something I notice.

So, with that said, Lily will be joining me on this journey. Its all 3 of us no 'poo-ing! I am absolutely positive that Lily's hair will be just as gorgeous if not better without shampoo. She could care less at this age what happens in the shower/bath, as long as it doesn't interfere with her playtime :)

Here's Lily on day 2 of no 'poo. Hair looks as it normally does.

Here she is on day 4. Looks MUCH better than my hair! However, because she is so young she doesn't have the hormones that would produce the sebum that us adults produce.

I know so of you gasp at my bathing routine for my child. But I will have you know that she is amazingly healthy. Rarely gets sick and has no allergies or skin issues. To me this is success!

As I post this I am on day 7 of no 'poo. My hair feels thicker, but its sort of strange. Not used to my hair being like this AT ALL! Some people would go straight back to shampoo at this point, but my curiosity of what it will look like down the road far outweighs my desire to grab the shampoo and lather up.

Here's me and Lily day 6. I look a little wacky (had a melt down over mortgage paperwork). However, our hair looks pretty good :) If you compare to day 1, my hair is much thicker.

5 days!

Watch out Justin Beiber, here comes MY awesome hair!

So, on day one when I posted my no 'poo on facebook my husband decided to join in with me. I know you all will enjoy this! He decided to do this because I was getting so much flack for doing this "no 'poo" experiment. His caption to his picture was, "I followed Natalie's lead by trying baking soda instead of shampoo. I want my shampoo and conditioner back! I'm sorry Proctor and Gamble, I'll never think for myself again." He's so supportive :)

 

On day 2 I woke up assuming I'd be a greasy mess. Short, thin, fine hair, mixed with being a very warm (slightly sweaty) sleeper could not make for a good outcome in the morning. But, I was pleasantly surprised! Now, I don't know if by noon it would be as presentable, but at least I have piece of mind that approx 24 hours and it was ok. So, I'm going to use BS today (Monday) because I have school/work. I am a dental hygiene student and see patients on Monday, Thursday and Friday. No one wants a hygienist who looks as though she can't keep herself clean, so therefore BS in my shower it is. However, Tuesday and Wednesday no patients, so no one to see my oily mop!

Monday night I took a WO (water only) shower and went to bed (with my laptop). As I lay on my pillow I started thinking, "when I stop washing my hair, will my pillowcase be nasty?" I guess we will find out!  If I'm rinsing my hair at least a few times a week I can't imagine there would be anything too horrible hanging out on my head :)

So here are Tuesday's pictures (above). This is day 4 of no 'poo. Not horrible. Scares me a little. Afraid of what tomorrow will be!

Here are Wednesday's pictures (day 5 no 'poo). Took these around 3pm. There is definitely more oil than the last couple days. Again, haven't used BS or ACV. Just using water. 

  

My hair has gotten fuller and a little thicker. It feels different but I'm sure it will change more and more every week! Tomorrow I will be using BS and ACV but will wait until Monday to use any again. Will be WO for 3 days! I have decided that I don't want to just completely quit using BS. I want to do a gradual transition. So, I'll go 2 days WO, then 3, then 4. You get the picture. I have no idea what sort of results this will produce but I will keep you informed and will show pictures through the process.

Day 1 - No Poo

Hair Hell or Hair Heaven. I name it this because there is no way for me to know at this point what the outcome will be. I can tell you this though, my hair has been hair hell for quite some time and I'm hoping for a little slice of heaven through this experiment. 

I am going to attempt to go 6 weeks with no shampoo. The hair activists have called this going no-poo. Not to be confused with constipation, of course. I still do not know if I am doing ZERO hair product. What I can tell you is that I will use it very sparingly but will let you know if I do. Maybe for a date or something. Not sure how this will effect my hair either. I have read post after post, and article after article, and what I have gathered is that EVERYONE IS DIFFERENT! Seriously, what one person struggles with another has no issues.

I will be posting pictures with every post as well. This will hopefully let others see that this could be an awesome revelation. Or this could merely show that shampoo is an amazing necessity that women all over should be unwaveringly grateful for. Only time will tell. 

So, with my first post, on day 1, I have this picture. As you can see, my hair lacks body. However, the greasiness is low to non-existent. I showered and used 2 tsp BS (baking soda) with 1 cup of water. Massaged my scalp and left it on for about a minute. Then followed it up with an ASV (apple cider vinegar) rinse which was 1 tsp with 1 cup water.

My goal: to go more than one day without a shower and feeling greasy. When using regular shampoo, whether cheap or expensive, I cannot last 1 day without my hair looking horribly oily. Its not that I'm lazy, I just feel that we really don't need showers EVERY SINGLE DAY (unless exercising and creating a lot of sweat). 

Stay tuned for Thursday's post (Feb 23). I will go Tuesday and Wednesday with no BS (baking soda). I will shower WO (water only). Let's see what happens!!!