No-Poo?!

I'm interested to know who came up with the No-Poo name. How convincing would it be for me to include "I'm not a dirty hippie" in the name of my blog and then post about how I "No-Pooed" my hair today? Seriously! So for the purposes of my blog, I'm renaming this "the baking soda method" :D


My siblings all tease that my mom must have kidnapped me from someone's cart at the grocery store when I was little because (among other things) unlike ALL four of them who have thick, luxurious hair that they complain takes hours to dry, my superfine hair blow-dries in less than 5 minutes. They used to lecture me about how bad it is for my hair's health to shampoo it everyday. That was before I let them see what happens at the 24 hour mark. Now they leave me alone...or send me large bottles of shampoo for Christmas. My fine blonde hair is prone to oiliness and it doesn't take much to look like a slicked-up grease monkey. Now imagine my hesitation to try a shampooing method where all you use is baking soda.


I first came across this method when I discovered I was allergic to sulfates and had to switch to sulfate-free shampoo. Sulfate-free shampoo's generally cost quite a bit more than the cheap-o brand that I was using and I wanted to see if I could make my own. I tried castile soap shampoo recipe's with no success and I couldn't get my hands on the ingredients I needed for a decyl glucoside shampoo.

I have been using Burt's Bee's Grapefruit & Sugar Beet shampoo for the last several months and I've liked it. But I still wanted the "stick-it-to-the-man" feeling that comes from making my own stuff, so I've finally given in and decided to try the baking soda method. I used way too much baking soda the first few times and ended up with unnatural, straw-like strands. But I think I've finally discovered the trick (at least enough to make it work once, anyway) - yay!

Baking Soda Method for Clean Hair

• 1 Tbs. baking soda


• 1 Cup of water

If you have longer hair, add more water but DO NOT add more baking soda. Mix the baking soda into the water until it is dissolved and there are no clumps. Pour the mixture over your head and LET IT SIT for about a minute. Rinse thoroughly. Ta-da! You're done. I've only been doing this (successfully) for a couple of days, but my hair has not been greasy, it's been manageable, and it's had more volume. I've read that there is an adjustment period for some people where they find their hair is greasier for awhile and then gets better. I haven't seen any of that so far, but it might have helped that I was switching from Burt's Bee's instead of a more drying, less natural shampoo. I'll keep you updated!