No 'Poo Update

The no 'poo thing is kinda weird. I guess it really goes back to re-defining normal. Apparently, your hair goes through a detox stage after you stop using detergents to strip your hair and then have to add in other nasty stuff to be able to pull a comb through it again.

The first few days were fine. It was a little strange sprinkling baking soda into my scalp and rubbing it in. It didn't feel like I was cleaning my hair. No lather. And my hair didn't have that squeaky clean feeling. The vinegar rinse really helped de-tangle. I have had quite an issue of late trying to brush my hair at all, let alone when wet.

At about day 4, however things started to change. Most of my hair felt like a pile of straw. It was dry. Dry, dry, dry. Yet, strangely also felt greasy. I have no idea how it could be both dry and greasy at the same time, but there it was and I was not happy.

I used more baking soda. Which helped with the greasiness, but made it even more dry. I tried adding a slight amount of coconut oil to the ends. Now it was just dry but looked even greasier. So, after all else, I get online and look for a solution.

One of the problems with going more natural, is the lack of consistency or recipes. Whether this is with hair or cleaning solutions, it seems to be add a little of this and a little of that and there you go.

From what little I could understand, I was using too much baking soda. (And I possibly have hard water.) So, instead of using a paste, I am mixing a tablespoon of soda with a cup of water and pouring over my head rubbing it into my scalp. I also mixed up a solution of honey, apple cider vinegar and water to use as a rinse.

This worked beautifully! (Or my hair is done with detox and anything would have worked...) I went 3 days between washing and my hair didn't look oily until day 4. I washed it again this morning and it feels soft and is much curlier than normal. Maybe I hit on the right solution. I will keep trying it to see if this will be a long range plan...

One unexpected note however. The baking soda has stripped the dye out of my hair. I had no idea how much gray hair I had!!!