You've all seen that my hair recently became significantly shorter
than it has ever been in my post-womb life (including birth ;) )
And, in addition to this adventure, I've been trying out baking-soda instead of shampoo**.
(°°°Side note: If details of hair-washing and hair care don't interest you, then feel free to leave, since you've already been able to enjoy my baby pics :), and wait for the next travel post.°°°)
Let's try to organize my thoughts:
1. Why?
My sister and dad have been washing their hair with baking soda for years now and I figured, if I were ever to try it, now--in my temporarily hairless state--would be a great time for the transition.
The main idea behind abandoning commercial shampoo is to leave the natural, healthy oils on your hair as opposed to aggressively stripping them + then having to replace them with conditioner. Essentially: leave the good stuff + let your hair do its thing.
2. Supplements? Alternatives?
Recently the importance or helpfulness of a boar bristle brush (alliteration!) was communicated to me by the friend of a friend. That helps distribute the good oils (e.g. sebum, which coats the hair shaft) from the roots to the ends. (Currently not too much of an issue, as my hair is *just* roots at the moment. She recommended brushing before showers so that my curls woudn't frizz from brushing afterwards.)
(I never did end up trying the B^3 (boar bristle brush) AND this person also said to steer away from baking soda since many like it for 6 months and then realize their hair is broken...) If anyone is interested in her suggested alternatives, let me know in the comments.
3. Recipe/Process?
Some transition by not washing with anything but water (!) + communicate the added goal of less hair care in general + less frequent washings specifically. I started with less frequently..but that didn't float my boat. More frequent washings (every 2-3 days, which is what I had been doing before with normal shampoo :) ) worked out better for me.
Originally I read things about pH*** and so had a fairly small amount of baking soda to water + only one washing, but then I transitioned to my sister's recipe.
~a teaspoon of baking soda in a glass jar
+ 1-1 1/2cups hot water from the shower
Lid on, shake, voilà!
Then I poured this on my head, scrubbed, rinsed and repeated (so 2 washes total). That's all.
4. Pros/cons?
Apparently:
Cons for me:
At the beginning super oily (BUT that is just the head transitioning because it is used to having to overproduce oils..so that's normal. It definitely calmed down after several weeks. Most oily for the first 2-3; I changed recipes around 4 weeks and that helped a lot too.)
5. Why stop?Aaanyway, long story (86 days) short(-er), I have now jumped off that bandwagon. I washed with some Head-and-Shoulders 2-in-1 this morning and my head is still feeling tingly :) and now after having washed + applying a little bit of conditioner (remember, my hair is not much more than just roots at this point), I was done.
My hair looked fairly thin after that (it had indeed looked fuller before). It also looked a little naked + dry (sticking like straw in all directions --okay part of that is certainly just that it's still SHORT!), so I applied some more conditioner on my moist hair.
6. Future?
Now, I'm in for the long transition back. Now my scalp needs to get back to overcompensating by producing more oils, because I'll regularly be stripping them. *sigh* I liked the idea of more natural and all, but ah well.
Maybe I'll find something different or a gentler shampoo at some point. (Now, how in the world will I be able to judge that? No idea. Organic? probably not enough. All recognizable ingredients? I don't know the chemical implications of them, whether I can pronounce them or not! I was just using one, very recognizable ingredient and I still didn't really know! :D )
**Often called the No-Poo movement, there are various alternatives to shampoo. Some use baking soda, some use other things.
There are then people who follow that treatment with an acidic (lemon juice or vinegar) rinse.
***And still others are vehemently opposed to following baking soda with an acidic rinse, because then your poor head/hair has to deal with pH whiplash (from very 'basic' (in the chemical sense of the word) with baking soda to very 'acidic').
Chemical sidenote from F: His HS science teacher asked how to neutralize a strong acid. With a strong base? No, that will create an exothermic reaction. Just rinsing it off is generally the best bet.
 |
| me at a few weeks + then a few months |
(°°°Side note: If details of hair-washing and hair care don't interest you, then feel free to leave, since you've already been able to enjoy my baby pics :), and wait for the next travel post.°°°)
Let's try to organize my thoughts:
- Why did I try baking soda?
- What are the alternatives or supplementary things?
- What recipe did I use? What was my process?
- Pros? Cons?
- Why did I stop?
- Any thoughts/plans for the future?
1. Why?
My sister and dad have been washing their hair with baking soda for years now and I figured, if I were ever to try it, now--in my temporarily hairless state--would be a great time for the transition.
The main idea behind abandoning commercial shampoo is to leave the natural, healthy oils on your hair as opposed to aggressively stripping them + then having to replace them with conditioner. Essentially: leave the good stuff + let your hair do its thing.
2. Supplements? Alternatives?
Recently the importance or helpfulness of a boar bristle brush (alliteration!) was communicated to me by the friend of a friend. That helps distribute the good oils (e.g. sebum, which coats the hair shaft) from the roots to the ends. (Currently not too much of an issue, as my hair is *just* roots at the moment. She recommended brushing before showers so that my curls woudn't frizz from brushing afterwards.)
(I never did end up trying the B^3 (boar bristle brush) AND this person also said to steer away from baking soda since many like it for 6 months and then realize their hair is broken...) If anyone is interested in her suggested alternatives, let me know in the comments.
3. Recipe/Process?
Some transition by not washing with anything but water (!) + communicate the added goal of less hair care in general + less frequent washings specifically. I started with less frequently..but that didn't float my boat. More frequent washings (every 2-3 days, which is what I had been doing before with normal shampoo :) ) worked out better for me.
Originally I read things about pH*** and so had a fairly small amount of baking soda to water + only one washing, but then I transitioned to my sister's recipe.
~a teaspoon of baking soda in a glass jar
+ 1-1 1/2cups hot water from the shower
Lid on, shake, voilà!
Then I poured this on my head, scrubbed, rinsed and repeated (so 2 washes total). That's all.
4. Pros/cons?
Apparently:
- more fullness of hair (has never been an issue for me, but this is one of the reasons my dad does it)
- easier to style hair (I didn't manage to wait long enough to see how curls would react...)
 |
| My pillow enjoys styling it for me. In this picture I had been vertical for about 3 minutes.. :D |
At the beginning super oily (BUT that is just the head transitioning because it is used to having to overproduce oils..so that's normal. It definitely calmed down after several weeks. Most oily for the first 2-3; I changed recipes around 4 weeks and that helped a lot too.)
- However, I still felt like there was slighly more oil than I 'd like
- the big downer? dandruff
- + the itchiness was annoying.
Fairly neutrals:
- My hair always seemed to look a bit dusty, slightly coated (maybe that is good and also natural?..ah well)
 |
| fresh off the pillow this morning, pre-shower :) |
5. Why stop?Aaanyway, long story (86 days) short(-er), I have now jumped off that bandwagon. I washed with some Head-and-Shoulders 2-in-1 this morning and my head is still feeling tingly :) and now after having washed + applying a little bit of conditioner (remember, my hair is not much more than just roots at this point), I was done.
 |
| aaaand HAND! haha. Amusing. |
Now, I'm in for the long transition back. Now my scalp needs to get back to overcompensating by producing more oils, because I'll regularly be stripping them. *sigh* I liked the idea of more natural and all, but ah well.
Maybe I'll find something different or a gentler shampoo at some point. (Now, how in the world will I be able to judge that? No idea. Organic? probably not enough. All recognizable ingredients? I don't know the chemical implications of them, whether I can pronounce them or not! I was just using one, very recognizable ingredient and I still didn't really know! :D )
**Often called the No-Poo movement, there are various alternatives to shampoo. Some use baking soda, some use other things.
There are then people who follow that treatment with an acidic (lemon juice or vinegar) rinse.
***And still others are vehemently opposed to following baking soda with an acidic rinse, because then your poor head/hair has to deal with pH whiplash (from very 'basic' (in the chemical sense of the word) with baking soda to very 'acidic').
Chemical sidenote from F: His HS science teacher asked how to neutralize a strong acid. With a strong base? No, that will create an exothermic reaction. Just rinsing it off is generally the best bet.
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