Saturday, June 13, 2009

The Shampoo-Free Experiment UPDATE

It has been a while since I updated about my shampoo-free experiment. Three months have passed since I stopped using shampoo, and some of you might have wondered how it's going. (If you are new to the blog, you can read my previous posts about it HERE, or click the words "shampoo-free" in the label cloud on the right.)

I'm still washing with baking soda and rinsing with vinegar every five, sometimes six, days. I really like how it treats my hair, and feel good about what I'm putting on my skin. (Not sure what the big deal is about the chemicals you put on your skin? Read this article!)

So, here is how I rate being shampoo-free:

**How my hair feels; manageability: A+
(My hair is soft and shiny, and easily managed. Granted, I put my hair up every day, but I'm talking about when it is loose at home.)

**Greasiness/"ick" factor between washings: A
(This has improved over time. I went through a stage when my hair got oilier than I cared for, but it has balanced out now.)

**General hair health: A+
(My hair has never been healthier. Very few split ends, no dandruff, less hair loss after washings. Perhaps it will even get thicker over time.)

**Time spent caring for hair: B
(It does take longer to wash with baking soda instead of shampoo. But then again, since I don't do it daily, I'm probably saving time in the long run.)

**Cost: A+
(I haven't even calculated the difference in cost. Baking soda and vinegar cost pennies per use, plus I no longer have to use leave-in conditioners, detanglers, or split-end menders. I know, I'm such a cheapskate! ;o)

When my hubby saw that my hair did not rot and fall out, he decided to try it for himself. He has been shampoo-free for a couple weeks now, and just rinses his hair out every day. He reports that his hair is much easier to brush into place, which surprised us both because it can be rather unruly!

As for me, folks, I no longer consider this an experiment. I am officially shampoo-free! I know you were wanting to know that. ;o)

5 comments:

Elizabeth said...

I actually have been wondering about this. I've been trying to stretch the time between washings after reading your shampoo-free posts. I think I'm probably going to try it too.

Yeah, part of it is the cheapskate in me too... :-P

Diane Shiffer said...

although i still use shampoo occasionally, i have gradually lengthened the period of time between uses. i wash my hair with shampoo only a couple of times a month now... every other week i use a conditioner in place of the shampoo. like you i wear my hair up, but when it is down it is so think and healthy and manageable... i wish i had done this when i wore my hair down and before covering! lol

Elizabeth said...

ooo...I have a question that I thought of yesterday. This week I've been working in the garden a lot with temperature outside being between 95 and 98 degrees and not a speck of cloud in the sky. My hair is not oily or nasty feeling, but surely it must stink. I don't want to wash it because it doesn't need it yet. Could I just touch it up with ACV and get rid of any potential odors?

Unknown said...

Diane, me too! :o)

Elizabeth, what I would do between washings is just rinse it out in the shower, massaging the scalp with my fingertips to get out any excess oil, sweat, or dirt. My hair always comes out nice and balanced when I do that - not oily, but not dried out.

Just FYI, one time I wanted my hair to be freshly washed for a certain event, but it had only been three days. I washed it anyway (with baking soda) and I ended up with dandruff for the first time in my life! Fortunately, the problem was fixed as soon as I got back on my five-day schedule.

Johanna said...

Thanks for the great idea! My husband and I are both convinced that this is the way to go when washing our hair. We've only been using this baking soda mode for a couple of weeks now, but its great. I intend to spread the word to all my friends and family!