I have a confession to make. I haven’t used shampoo in a month. And I may never use it again in my life. Call me a hippie, I have found that not using shampoo has been much more healthy and beneficial for my hair routine. My hair is cleaner than it ever was when I used shampoo, and I may shortly discontinue using conditioner as well. Instead, I have been using Baking Soda and Apple Cider Vinegar – separately, of course. I don’t want my head to look like a second grade volcano experiment!
I am pretty particular about my hair. If you ask me about my hair routine, I will tell you that I only wash my hair about every 5-7 days; that I try not to use straighteners/curlers on a regular basis (more than once or twice a week); and I swear by deep conditioners and hair masks. This seemed like the perfect experiment to see if it would really improve the health of my hair. After being warned by my husband that my hair would fall out and I would go bald, I took the plunge.
There are many reasons to not use shampoo. I will not go in depth because you can find a million reasons by doing a simple Google search, but here are a few of my favorites:
- It’s cheap, and quality, all-natural organic shampoos are expensive
- It’s toxic-free. Chemicals in shampoo can irritate and dry out your scalp and hair, and can be hazardous to your health.
- Your body produces oil naturally to condition your hair and keep it healthy. These oils protect your hair, keeping it soft and strong. Using shampoo upsets the natural balance and either 1) suppresses your natural oil production, resulting in dry, damaged hair that breaks easily or 2) causes you to produce more oil than necessary to compensate for the imbalance.
- Most shampoos contain mineral oil, which is byproduct when gasoline is distilled from crude oil. It’s added to shampoo (along with hundreds of other products) to thickly coat the strands, giving hair an artificial shine. And since it can’t absorb into skin, like the other ingredients, it acts as a barrier on our scalp, preventing oil from being released — thus requiring more shampoo to strip away the grease. This is why the more shampoo you use, the more you need. In the long run, coating your hair with mineral oil makes it weaker, and more prone to damage.
- It’s a vicious cycle. Because shampoo is harsh enough to strip the natural oils from your hair, you need something to replenish them. So, conditioner was born. You need to wash your hair every day not because it gets dirty, but because the oils from the conditioner don’t last and need to be replenished. And because of shampoo and conditioner breaking down your hair and making it frizzy, you must use more unnatural and chemical products to keep your hair styled, strong and workable. This is especially true for those with naturally curly or coarse hair. There are hundreds of websites that advocate using Baking Soda/Apple Cider Vinegar as a shampoo/conditioner replacement as it makes curly hair much more healthy, and less frizzy.
So, for the last month I have been using baking soda as a shampoo substitute, and apple cider vinegar as a conditioner substitute. Since I am still paranoid about split ends and dry hair, especially in winter, I have been doing a hair mask once a week with Joico K-Pak deep conditioner. However, I have seen hair masks using avocado, honey and olive oil, so I may try that in the near future and report on my results.
Why baking soda? Well, baking soda is the gentlest and weakest alkali of sodium compounds, it would take using a lot to do damage to your skin or hair. It has a lot of useful properties like deodorizing, leavening (for baking), whitening, polishing and clarifying. You only need a little bit, regardless of what you’re using it for. Just like with vinegar, a little goes a long way. Plain water can remove almost all the dirt you can get in your hair, but a little baking soda can not only remove the rest, but also take care of the build-up from hair products, shampoos and anything else you might pick up. Some people find that over time, using baking soda in their hair will lighten the color – although most agree that if this happens you’re using it too much, and perhaps not using enough ACV. Once or twice a week is fine, even less if your hair is in very good condition or easy to manage.
Why apple cider vinegar? Apple cider vinegar is a mild acidic that counteracts the baking soda. The natural pH of your hair, skin and nails is 4.5-5.5 on a scale of 0-14. Shampoos and soaps are more alkaline in nature, falling above the “neutral” 7 marker. The pH of baking soda is also more alkaline, falling around 8.2. This is where the apple cider vinegar comes in. It is more acidic, and has a pH of 4.5, which acts to not only close your cuticle but also detangle your hair follicles and bring your hair back to its natural pH balance. When used on your scalp, it helps promote circulation, acts as a natural antiseptic, and dissolves excessive fatty deposits and reduces scaling or peeling of the skin. As for use on hair, it helps to clarify, detangle, balances hair’s pH level and seals the cuticles. Some people are bothered by the smell, but be assured that the smell should dissipate within a moment or two of rinsing. If it doesn’t, you’re using too much in your solution!
STEP 1: BAKING SODA
- The standard amount is one tablespoon of baking soda to one cup of water. I have been using a couple of tablespoons since I have longer, thick hair and put it in a protein shake bottle, and fill it to the top with water. Those with curly or thicker hair might need a bit more baking soda, and those with thin or fine hair might need less. Experiment, and see what works for you.
- When you get in the shower, fill the rest of the cup with water and stir until the baking soda is dissolved. You should have some cloudy water at this point. If the mixture feels gritty or pasty, either add more water or use less baking soda. Now apply the mixture to your hair.
- In order to stimulate blood flow, clean your pores and get off built up grime, use your fingertips to scrub your scalp. Start by making a circle on the top of your head in the area you’d wear a crown. Focus on the back of this circle to begin with. Next, fill in the circle. This is where your part will be; grease here affects the way your hair looks. Trace while still scrubbing with your fingertips around the bottom edge of the circle. Keep making scrubbing circles underneath each one, drawing lines in circles around your head. Lastly, scrub the back of your skull and your temples/sideburns. This will result in less grease and more growth. After doing this, your scalp will feel alive. Many women swear their hair grows faster after a visit to the salon — it does, and this massage method is why.
- It won’t lather like shampoo, but it does give your hair a distinct “smooth” feeling when it’s properly distributed. Once you’ve rubbed it around a bit, you should be ready to rinse. When you are completely rinsed you are ready to condition.
STEP 2: APPLE CIDER VINEGAR
Next, pour about 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar into a cup and add water. After you rinse the baking soda out, pour the apple cider vinegar over the crown, but focus on the ends of your hair, let it sit for a minute and then rinse it out. That’s all there is to it! Like I said, I still do a hair mask once a week, and this is with a deep conditioner. I may try an all natural one soon, but I am cheap and want to use up what I have before I attempt it!
Here are the changes after just doing the BS/V routine for a month. I have noticed that my hair lays nicer, I don’t have as many flyaways, and it is WAY SHINIER. Even my mom noticed that it was shinier than when she had last seen it. The before picture was taken in July, when I was still using shampoo, straightening my hair and using pomade. The after picture was just this last weekend, after a month of using baking soda/vinegar, straightening my hair and using a little bit of pomade. You can see where my flyaways in the before picture are way better in the after picture. I can also tell that my ends are MUCH healthier. I don’t get a lot of split ends, but recently I have been getting split ends, and after going shampoo-free I am noticing that they are much better.
ANY WEIRD SIDE EFFECTS??
You might have a transition period that lasts from a few weeks to a few months, where your hair reacts with excess oil to the lack of shampoo. This is perfectly normal. It’s used to having its oils stripped, so it might take time for the oil to stop producing so heavily in protest. I haven’t noticed a huge increase in oil, but the good thing is that even if your hair gets really oily, washing it with BS/V will not damage it like overshampooing.
If you find that your hair is too oily (after the transition period), try using less vinegar, or not using it all together. Some people also use lemon juice instead of vinegar as their acidic clarifier.
If your hair feels too dry, use less baking soda, or try using honey instead of vinegar.
I don’t need anything else for my hair. I still use just a little bit of wax pomade on my bangs, but my hair is amazingly pliable, and can hold styles without my needing to do much of anything. I also want to add that during the winter months I struggle with some “snowflakes” here and there, but since using this method I haven’t had any dandruff, and my scalp hasn’t itched a bit!
A Final Note on Curly hair: There are many reasons to eschew typical shampoo if you have naturally curly or wavy hair. As well going shampoo-free can give straight hair back its natural fullness and body, and maybe even a wavy texture that was being shampooed out. Most shampoos contain harsh, drying sulfates that are extremely damaging for curly hair (ammonium laureth sulfate, ammonium lauryl sulfate, sodium laureth sulfate, sodium lauryl sulfate, etc.). They are often foaming agents that make curly hair frizzy and uncooperative. Using conditioner, or another replacement such as baking soda in place of shampoo will cleanse the hair just as effectively without stripping it of moisture.
