Thursday, January 31, 2013

BS Shampoo

Did that title get your attention?   Apparently, in homesteading circles baking soda and other frequently used items go by their initials.  As in, I've been washing my hair with BS and ACV.  Yep, baking soda and apple cider vinegar. 

You've probably heard of this increasingly popular "No Poo" concept.  The idea is that traditional shampoos strip our hair of their natural oils, requiring heavy-duty conditioners to try to restore needed moisture.  The idea here, is that you don't really wash your hair.  The baking soda absorbs and removes excess oil from the scalp without stripping the hair shaft of its natural oils.  Supposedly, you can go much longer between washes once your hair adjusts to this new process.


According to my research, you should expect a 2-week adjustment period while your hair figures out how much oil it needs to be producing with this new system.  Most users cite frequent ponytails during this period (not an option for this short-haired chica).  Nevertheless, I pressed on for 3 and a half weeks before throwing in the towel. Yep. That's right -- I gave up.

Last night, I washed my hair with actual shampoo and conditioner and now I just can't stop touching it.  It actually feels like hair again instead of the straw I've been wearing around on my head for the better part of a month.

I'm sure that it's a great option for some people, and I may even give it a go again sometime.  But, for now, it's just not worth it.  The good news is that I tried it (at least I didn't just dismiss it without giving it a go) and, in the process, I learned about a great,all-natural deep conditioning techinique (you'll have to check back tomorrow!).

I attribute my BS failure to the following:
1. My hair is color-treated and thus tends to be drier than the average hair.
2.  I run (and sweat) at least every other day.  The sweat adds increased oil and requires me to wash after every run.  Therefore, I was never able to enjoy the supposed prolonged period between washes that so many BS users enjoy and was having to make use of the drying baking soda more frequently than is recommended.
3.  My hair is short.  Perhaps if my hair were longer and I could have swept it up into and out-of-sight-is-out-of-mind ponytail, I might've eventually found a balance and made it out of the weird straw-hair phase.  I don't know.
If the No Poo method sounds intriguing to you, despite reading about my failure with it, check out this blogger that I read to see how she went about it. 

As for me, I plan to take a stroll through the all-natural hair care section of Whole Foods on my next trek to the big city and see if I can't find a better option.  Does anyone else use an all-natural shampoo/conditioner that you'd recommend?

No comments:

Post a Comment