Goodbye Shampoo

I haven't shampooed Eden's hair (or mine for that matter) since November. Before you freak out or report me to child services for neglect, let me explain.

I was getting to a point of frustration with Eden's hair. It was always dry and dull and it seemed that any hair product I used would just dry it out even more. To top that off she has very sensitive skin and I never knew if something I would put in her hair was going to irritate her scalp.   There has been lots of trial and error in the hair department at our house!  Eden has very curly/ frizzy hair. The hair itself is not thick but she has a lot of it. There have been many tears shed over hair washing and hair combing. It would take forever to clear out the tangles.  I had tried ev.ery.thing. Before giving up shampoo, I had starting using coconut oil which was helping to make the hair shiny temporarily but I still found it to be very dry.

bad hair day

I remember the first time I read about someone giving up shampoo... really?  I couldn't imagine that that would work for us.  That is until my friend Marilyn started raving about how she had stopped shampooing her daughters' hair. Her girls have beautiful hair and when I saw it after a few weeks of no shampoo I was a little less skeptical.  I was ready to give it a go.

Giving up shampoo doesn't mean giving up cleaning your hair.  So before I reveal how I am now cleaning our hair I'll let you know the results.


Washing and combing out Eden's hair now takes 10 to 15 minutes as opposed to 45 minutes to an hour.  (yes, 45 minutes... and that did not include styling).  Now I can almost run a comb straight through as soon as I am done washing it.  This means there is less breakage and hair falling out.  Her hair is softer and shinier... .  I still use the coconut oil while her hair is damp but now it absorbs into her hair much better so I use much less.  Also, it may be my imagination, but I think Eden's hair is growing a lot faster.  And an added bonus is there are no more tears!!  As for my hair, it feels much more healthy and I need to use much less product when I style it.

So what is the secret?  Baking soda and apple cider vinegar!  Now wait, before you go and make an explosion in your bathroom trying to wash your hair, you don't mix them!!

The baking soda which is alkaline... a very gentle one that clarifies the hair from chemical buildup.   I mix about 1 to 2 TBS with one cup of water. I pour that over wet hair and massage it in starting at the scalp and then move towards the ends.  After rinsing that out the hair feels squeaky clean and then it is ready for step two, the apple cider vinegar.  The vinegar is acidic... mildly, and it is used to detangle the hair and close the hair shaft, sealing in the natural oils and moisture.  I mix about 2 TBS of vinegar with one cup of water.  I pour that over the hair, concentrating more on the ends than the scalp.  I let that sit for a few seconds and then rinse and voila!  Clean, detangled hair. 

Once a month I treat Eden's hair with a mixture of olive oil and honey.  After leaving that on damp hair for about an hour I use the regime above.  I usually have to do the baking soda step twice to get the oil out but it has really helped restore the softness and shine to Eden's hair.

This article goes into a lot more detail if you want to read more about using baking soda and apple cider vinegar.  I was going to spell it all out here but I figured this blogger wrote it so well, I might as well let you read it there!

Oh and one last benefit... imagine how much money I am saving not buying shampoo and conditioner!!