… or if you prefer, Going Shampoo-Free Attempt 1 – abandoned!
That’s right – i’m throwing in the towel on my efforts to go shampoo-free after 2 weeks of trying.
OK let’s back up why do i wanna go shampoo-free?
Well, because a few of my friends were trying it with mixed results and because i read this post from Simple Mom and was inspired. It sounded easy enough, switch from using shampoo which is filled with detergents and chemicals to a natural way of cleaning / conditioning your hair with ingredients which you use to cook with. If you can eat it, it can only do good – yes?
Now i wanna say upfront that i was really very happy using commercial shampoo and conditioner and actually love my fine and quite thick Asian hair, which was soft and easy to manage. The only thing that it lacked was volume or body and it doesn’t hold styles very well without tons of product, which i hate and do not use.
i’m the kind of gal who likes to wash and conditioner every other day and leave to air-dry (don’t believe in using the hair-dryer as the name suggests it would dry your hair literally and leave you with split ends – at least i believe so). i was happy with my easy hair-care routine and didn’t really set out wanting to change the ease of it. i wanted to just improve it and have nice shiny hair which has volume and holds styles better, which looks like the one in this post (another poo-free lady).
(You should read this entry to learn more about going shampoo-free, the whys and how-tos before going on to read the rest of my post.)
That leads me to the first reason i am abandoning this attempt. Because it is no longer easy hair-care. i have to think and analyse what is going on with my hair. i had to decide if i was using too much baking soda? too much vinegar? should i skip the vinegar rinse today? Why is my hair so greasy? There were days i could not decide if it was too dry or too greasy. Some dry bits stick out when combed through and other oily bits clump together. The oil seems to stay at the top, leaving my ends dry and hard to manage, which, to me, seems ridiculous for this length of hair.
After a week, i decided to change the formula and method of washing a little, that’s when i got white residue which as i read was a result of too much baking soda, the results of which i am still trying to wash out and correct after a week.
The second reason i’m quitting this after 2 weeks: i have suffered 2 weeks of helmet hair! It has been greasy, which i expected (the transition period those blogs pointed out). But i didn’t expect it to feel like wearing a helmet all day. Styling became difficult. After the first wash, i could not pull my brush through my hair easily, there were tangles at the ends which is uncommon for my previously long hair, let alone my currently short hair.
i am used to wash, brush, air-dry and done for the day. i don’t run a comb or a brush through my hair more than a few times a day before going poo-free. Since starting this experiment, i have had to switch from a brush back to a comb so my hair doesn’t sit in greasy clumps and i have had to comb so much more. Because it is greasy, it tends to get messy and stay messy. Before all i do to smooth out messy hair is run my fingers through my hair.
The third reason? Well, all that greasy hair is giving me pimples! My skin is temperamental at best, a T-zone that seems to never go away. But i have had it under control and was able to be pimple free for at least 2.5 weeks of the month. The other 1.5 weeks i blame the hormones. But now, even during what is supposed to be my clear weeks, i have a huge pimple on my nose bridge (nope, not going to show you a picture of that!) and a few on my forehead and temples!
Now i know i am being impatient and that if i stick to it just a few more weeks, i might, i just might, get poo-free beautiful hair. And i was in two minds about giving up… BUT then i read this blog entry from The Herbwife’s Kitchen.
There was another way to poo-free – without the yucky transition period! Sure it would take longer but no helmet hair, no pimples from greasy hair. A gentler way! i say Yes! to that.
So i’m going to stop my current attempt at going shampoo-free, which was stressing me out (my only vanity is my hair – really! i’m not vain about anything else). And i will attempt the gentler way in a few months.
All that said, please if you have tried and were successful, do share below and good for you! And to others who have not tried this and are interested to, please don’t let me put you off. This is just my experience and everyone’s hair is so different. And in my opinion, the less chemicals you have in your life, the better. Which is why i will certainly attempt this again, just using the ease-into-it method.
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trippingdifferently 