Four months ago I decided to try a radical experiment in natural hair care: I ditched the shampoo. It was a bit like jumping off a cliff (I'm so not a fan of heights) but I decided that there was nothing to lose, so I jumped. And four months later as I look back, I realize that it was one of the best decisions I've ever made. Four months in to No Shampoo (often called "No-Poo" on the web) and my hair is so healthy that I have decided to make my experiment permanent: I will never go back to shampoo.  My hair has more shine than it ever did. It is softer than before, it is cleaner than it was before, and it stays cleaner for a longer time as well. It has so much natural body that I don't have to use any styling products whatsoever! My hair is fine and super-straight, and often had a mind of its own before starting this. In the shampoo and condition days, if I didn't use styling products, it laid there limp and bland--or my cowlicks made it stick up in funny patterns. Not now! I use no products at all, and I now wash my hair every four or five days, depending on what my hair needs. I am working towards a goal of washing it only once a week, which I hope to reach by Spring. You can read my previous blog post about the why and the how of what I did, or read the thread in our message board where I kept a type of hair diary during the first two months. Over the four months I've tried a lot, and learned a lot! My original post on No-Poo has a lot of information on why shampoo is so bad for you, for your hair and for the environment. Surprisingly, the No-Poo post and discussion in the message board has been our hottest topic of the past few months! I still get dozens of emails and comments a week, asking me for more information and updates, so I thought I would share with you some of the things I've tried, and my results. Remember that everyone's hair is different, so you may experience slightly different results than I have.               My hair after twelve weeks of no-shampoo. 

Baking soda wash: The baking soda wash works really well. I use one tablespoon of baking soda in one cup of warm water from the shower. It removes most of the oils from my hair, without stripping it of the natural protecting oils, the sebum. However, I began to experience some issues with an itchy scalp, and after some research found that using the baking soda too often was causing a reaction on my scalp. This doesn't happen for most people, but it did for me. So I moved to using baking soda once a week, instead of every time I wash. Because baking soda is very alkaline, you MUST make sure to follow with an acid wash of some sort--Apple Cider Vinegar or Lemon Juice both work really well. Contrary to what many people think, the acids in the vinegar or lemon juice actually smooth and soften the hair without damaging it. I prefer to use lemon juice on my hair. Do NOT use baking soda on color-treated hair. It will remove coloring on the hair. The other methods listed below are completely safe for color-treated hair. In fact, they will help your color last longer! Natural or Castille Soaps: I bought a bar of Dr Bronner's Castille soap not long after starting No-Poo, and have really liked it. I do find that it does really strip quite a bit of the oils, and used it a good bit during the greasy detox period. Now that the detox period is gone, I have tapered off my use to 1-2 times a month. I love the lather that it provides, giving me just a little of that shampoo feeling, without any of the nasty chemicals or stripping off all the protective oils. I find that when I use castille soap too often that my hair doesn't have the same body, so it is removing quite a bit of the oils. When buying natural soaps for use in your hair, it is important to make sure there are no sulfates in them, and that the lye content is low.  Beer Wash: This is an oldie but a goodie. I washed my hair with beer leftover from the holiday party the weekend before--it had sat open overnight and was now flat. The beer made my hair very soft and shiny, but didn't do a great job of cleansing. However, I will use it again as a great conditioning treatment, especially as my hair grows longer.  Brown Sugar and Honey Hair Scrub: I'd read several people touting a brown sugar and honey scrub for cleansing your scalp and your hair. I tried it but found it didn't really clean my hair all that well. My scalp was certainly clean, but my hair wasn't. The honey rinses out very easily in water, so stickiness wasn't an issue. It just didn't remove any of the dirt or oils that were there to begin with.  Egg Wash: This has quickly become my favorite choice for washing my hair! You can use a whole egg, or just the egg yolk, it doesn't matter. I prefer to use just the egg yolk (let's just say I had a little egg white "cooking" in my hair one time) and find that it leaves my hair fantastically clean and shiny! It infuses my hair and scalp with a good dose of protein, and leaves my hair more 'fluffy' than it was before. To use I simply take one large egg yolk and pierce with a fork, adding a tablespoon of warm water and scrambling slightly. I know, I know. The Ewwww factor is high, right? Wrong! It actually feels a lot like the slipperiness of shampoo. I rub it along my scalp where my hair is dirty, and then out through the ends of my hair. I follow this with the lemon juice rinse. My hair is super-silky after an egg wash! It is possible to have too much protein in your hair, so I use the egg wash a maximum of twice a month.  Conditioner only: Most people don't realize that conditioner has enough cleaners in it that it will wash your hair as well as shampoo, but won't strip your hair of the protective oils. Right now my kids are using a bottle of Trader Joe's conditioner, which is all-natural and only costs $3.50 a bottle. I have used conditioner only a couple of times myself, especially when caught somewhere without my normal supplies. I was travelling recently and wasn't expecting to need to wash my hair, but did. I used the little bottle of Crabtree & Evelyn all natural conditioner that the hotel had in the room, and found it did a great job of cleansing my hair! It left it a little more limp than I would normally like, which meant it did strip some of the natural protective oils. But overall, I've found this a good step. If you are really nervous about the idea of giving up shampoo altogether but still want to try this out, I suggest starting with either the castille soap or the conditioner only method. Really, for most people the baking soda method works wonderfully--but it can be a bit scary for some. It really only took about four weeks for my hair to adjust to the new regimen. Since the end of the first month I haven't really had any greasy haired days. I was sick a couple of weeks ago with strep--it really knocked me for a loop. But even after being in bed for six days straight my hair wasn't bad! It needed a good rinse and styling, but it wasn't greasy or oily by any measure. That was totally new to me!  I've also found through this process that my hair has a natural wave to it--something it has never had before. It is very wavy and almost curly when wet. It holds curls really well now, something it has NEVER done before. I am currently in the process of growing my hair long in the hopes that I will be able to curl it more often. I'm finding that my hair is growing faster than ever before!    So, have you tried no-poo? What did you think? Do you have questions about ditching shampoo? Join us over in the message boards, where we've been having a lively discussion about the no-poo techniques and results over the past couple of months.