My Great Hair Experiment

I've stopped washing my hair.

Ok, not completely. Don't freak out. But, I've decided to go Poo-Free! I originally read about this years ago on BabySlime's LiveJournal when I used to follow her (I should really pick up her journal again...wonder if she is still writing? It was wonderful!). Anyway, I was intrigued, but always afraid. How could it be possible to go without shampoo? Wouldn't my hair be a giant, limp, greasy mess?So I pretty much decided that the poo-free method was best left to the Birkenstock and prairie skirt set, right up there with white chick dreadlocks and patchouli.

But I have discovered after giving birth to Reagan, that this post-partum hair loss has really gone into overdrive. My hair had been looking downright terrible. Not even a good, shorter cut and highlights were doing the trick. The back of my head literally had bald spots showing through. NOT cool. So during a conversation on Thanksgiving with my friend Sarah and her family, I was reminded of what I had read all those years ago, and I decided to give it a try.

I'm currently on day 11. The last time I used shampoo on my hair was Thanksgiving day. I've decided to give it a month and see how it goes, and you, my dear readers, are going to go along for the ride. I might even get organized enough to take some pictures along the way. maybe.

Let me just clarify...I didn't jump right in to the full system. First, I decided to try just washing my hair with conditioner, skipping the shampoo step. That was...OK. My hair looked ok on the first day, but by day two, it was starting to look pretty greasy and heavy. So the next time, I decided to go ahead and use a little baking soda to wash my hair. I just grabbed a couple teaspoons of baking soda and scrubbed and rubbed it into my scalp, then rinsed it through the ends. I was still a little nervous, though, so I followed this scrub with a conditioner rinse.

The results were definitely noticeable...I got several compliments on my hair in the next couple of days. People weren't sure what was different, but several folks asked if I got a new haircut or what was different. I didn't tell them, for fear that they'd think I was weird. :) What I didn't like about this method, however, was that I found my hair had TONS of static. It was sticking to my face all day long, no matter what I tried to do to tame it, and eventually, I had to pull it back into a ponytail.

Finally, yesterday, I decided to make the full switch. I used baking soda to wash, then rinsed it out, and then followed that with a quick dose of apple cider vinegar and a final cool water rinse. Oh my glorious heavens! What a difference! My hair looks amazing! It is softer, and has more bounce and shine than I've seen since I was a kid! I received several compliments on my hair again yesterday at church...it's really so surprising!

Let me add that I've also been brushing my hair with a boar bristle brush a couple times a day, to help distribute the new-found natural oils. They say you should go easy on this, because the boar bristle is so effective, you could find yourself looking a little dirty. So far though, it seems to be helping. It's hard to explain it, but when I run my hands through my hair, it feels "different". I am noticing that it doesn't feel as dry, and it feels a little more "heavy" on my head. But it doesn't look dirty. AT ALL. This, as my other mommy-friends can attest, is a HUGE plus, especially on those days when you just can't fit a shower into the schedule.

My hair has never been anything special. I'm blessed with very dry, very baby-fine hair. It's pretty much stick-straight, with no volume whatsoever. And sans-highlights, it's a lovely shade of dishwater blah. The Poo-Free proponents claim that the first few days or weeks, your hair goes through a bit of a "detox" period when you're coming off of shampoo...and that after that, you may be surprised with a whole new texture or tons more volume or even a slightly lighter hair color. I can't wait to see!