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One of the most popular posts I have written is definitely my no ‘poo post in which I explain that I now wash my hair not with shampoo and conditioner but with baking soda and vinegar.
No ‘pooing is quite the craze in the crunchy world and everyone wants to give it a try. Many of you have and many needed help tweaking their routine to get the best results.
I wrote a no ‘poo troubleshooting post just for people who needed that extra help when trying to figure out what they needed to adjust.
However, there are some of you who still have questions. You don’t want to dive in without getting some answers first and that is completely ok.
Today, I’m going to tackle some of the no ‘poo questions I have heard and hopefully many of you will finally get your answers so that you can give no ‘poo a try!
No ‘Poo FAQ
What is No ‘Poo?
No ‘poo is the method of washing your hair with baking soda and vinegar instead of shampoo and conditioner.>
Here is the basic routine:
1 Tab. baking soda in 8oz water. Pour on hair, massage in, let sit one minute, and rinse.
1 Tab. vinegar in 8 oz water. Pour on hair, let sit one minute, and rinse really well.
What is detox?
Detox refers to the time when your hair is adjusting to the new routine and balancing out it’s oil production. Detox should only refer to the days after a no ‘poo, meaning your hair should only look gross days after not right after a no ‘poo.
If your hair does not look amazing right after a no ‘poo then you need to troubleshoot.
How long will detox last?
It really all depends on your no ‘poo routine.
There are basically two types of detox periods you can go through.
The fast but greasy and the slow but less noticeable. With the fast detox you no ‘poo as seldom as possible (think once a week) this means you will notice your hair looking greasy while waiting to no ‘poo again but you will finish the detox period quickly.
The slow detox you will no ‘poo more often (around every 2-3 days to start) and thus you might not notice your hair getting very greasy at all.
However, it means it will take you much longer before you can go for a long period of time (say a week) before your hair gets greasy.
I took the slow detox route and I washed every 3 days. By 6 months, I could finally go every 4-5 days without greasy looking hair. Now at over 2 years in, I can go 1 week with nice looking hair.
Can I no ‘poo with dyed hair?
Yes, you can still no ‘poo even with dyed or highlighted hair. I always tell people that no ‘poo is like washing with “regular” shampoo/conditioner as opposed to the “for color treated” shampoo/conditioner. So it might fade a bit faster.
It’s also important to keep in mind that no ‘pooing removes all the buildup from your hair so your hair might not need as long for hair dye to work.
Can I still use hair products if I no ‘poo?
Yes! No ‘poo is great at removing build up so it will have no problem removing styling products that you use.
It is recommended that you avoid products with ingredients that end in –xane or –cone as these coat your hair and are hard to remove. I personally recommend using homemade products like this hairspray and this hair gel.
Can I blow dry or flat iron my hair if I no ‘poo?
Thank goodness, yes! Many people do find that they can get away with letting their hair air dry when they switch to no ‘poo.
However for those of us who still need a bit of help from the blow dryer or flat iron, it’s good to know that it’s totally fine to keep using these tools if you no ‘poo. I personally need both the blow dryer and the flat iron to keep my hair looking nice.
Can I no ‘poo with permed hair?
Yes! You should have no issues if you no ‘poo and have permed hair.
What about long hair/thick hair/lots of hair? Will no ‘poo still work?
If you happen to be blessed with tons of hair, no ‘poo will still work however I do recommend doubling the recipe. Just as you would need more shampoo/conditioner than most people so you will need more no ‘poo solutions than most people.
What if I’m a swimmer? Can I still no ‘poo?
You can still continue to do laps while no ‘pooing. I don’t recommend no ‘pooing everyday. If you only swim a couple days out of the week then I suggest coordinating your swim days with your no ‘poo days.
If you swim every day then I recommend keeping your usual no ‘poo routine of washing every 3-7 days and then on the days that are not a no ‘poo day, just rinse really well with water or do just the vinegar part.
Another tip is to wet your hair before swimming as that will help your hair cuticles close and protect your hair from the chlorine. There’s also the good old swimming cap!
What do I do if I exercise and need a shower?
If it’s not your usual no ‘poo day and you just worked out then you can just rinse with water. If for some reason you find that you really need something other than water, you can do just the vinegar part of no ‘poo.
Do you get your hair wet on non no ‘poo days?
I do not. If I need to take a shower on a day that is not a no ‘poo day then I wrap my hair up to keep it from getting wet.
The more often you get your hair wet, the more prone to breakage it can get. Therefore, it is best to avoid getting your hair wet in between no ‘poo days.
Can I no ‘poo every day or every other day?
One of the points of no ‘pooing is that you are helping your hair readjust it’s oil levels so that you do not need to wash your hair every day. By no ‘pooing every day or even every other day, you will be hindering your hair’s adjustment.
On top of that no ‘pooing every day (and possibly every other day) can be too harsh for some. Now if you happen to have an important event going on day 2 of no ‘poo and your hair has to be perfect then by all means go ahead and no ‘poo early. No ‘pooing early every once and a while will not ruin things. Just don’t make it a habit.
I’m in the food service and I need to wash my hair or it stinks! How does that work with no ‘poo?
If you need to rinse out the smell of burgers or coffee from your hair on a daily basis, you can still no ‘poo.
I recommend no ‘pooing on your normal days (every 3-7 days) and then on the other days just do a water only wash. Alternatively you can also fill up a spray bottle with water and some essential oil and then use that to mist your hair with.
Can I no ‘poo while pregnant or breastfeeding?
Absolutely! The only reason to worry about no ‘poo and being pregnant or breastfeeding is that sometimes your hair can get out of whack due to hormones.
This means that if you start out no ‘pooing while pregnant or breastfeeding you might have some troubleshooting to do. It also might mean that even if you previously no ‘pooed with success when not pregnant, you might need to readjust things when you are pregnant.
Can my children no ‘poo?
I generally recommend not going the traditional no ‘poo route for young kids. It is doable but it’s nerve wracking! I did it once with my kids and the whole time I was taking extra precautions so they wouldn’t get vinegar in their eyes.
My alternative is lo ‘pooing. The basic idea is you use castile soap for the “shampoo” and water (or for older kids/adults vinegar and water) for the rinse.
I do a diluted version of this. I pour a bit of castile soap into my kids’ tub water. Then I pour the tub water over their hair to wash it. Castile soap used un-diluted can be too drying at times. I find this works great for my kids. (You can also switch out the castile soap for baking soda, vinegar, or epsom salts. Just add either of these to the tub water and use it to wash their hair)
However, if you want to give lo ‘pooing a try for an older kid or an adult, I do recommend using a vinegar rinse as you really should restore your hair’s ph level, which is what the vinegar does.
If you want to use an acidic rinse for your little ones hair, you could go with a juice such as apple juice or cranberry. A juice rinse won’t sting their eyes like vinegar will. You could also try this homemade conditioner instead.
What do you store your no ‘poo solutions in?
You really can use anything you like. I use a small cup for my baking soda solution and a peri bottle/squeeze bottle for my vinegar solution. I keep a jar of baking soda and a jug of vinegar in the bathroom cabinet. Before getting into the shower, I pour each of those ingredients into my cup and bottle.
Does it matter what type of vinegar I use?
No. You really could use any type of vinegar. The two most recommended ones are white distilled vinegar and apple cider vinegar.
I generally recommend white distilled vinegar as it is cheaper and it smells slightly less than ACV. However if you buy the good ACV with the “mother” still in it then it can have potential beneficial properties, which might help your hair or scalp. However the choice is completely up to you.
Is there any way to make the vinegar smell better?
First off, keep in mind that once your hair dries, it will no longer smell like a pickle factory. However, if you can’t stand the smell of vinegar in the shower then you can add essential oils to your vinegar mixture to make it smell a bit better.
You can also infuse the vinegar with herbs like I do in my calming lavender vinegar rinse and strengthening nettle vinegar rinse.
I can’t stand the smell of vinegar at all! Are there any alternatives?
Yes, there are alternatives to vinegar. Juices (lemon, apple, cranberry), most teas, or homemade conditioner can all be used as alternatives.
I have found that it’s best to use the juices completely undiluted, as they do not have quite the acidity that vinegar does.
Teas will obviously be made with water but I do not recommend adding more water to the mixture, just use the tea in the same strength as you would drink it.
You can also infuse the vinegar with herbs (like my lavender infused vinegar, nettle infused vinegar, or hibiscus infused vinegar) and that helps cover up the scent.
I’m going to the salon to get my hair cut. Is there anything I should know?
There are a few things to keep in mind, when getting your hair done. First off, I recommend not using a vinegar alternative the time you no ‘poo before you go to the salon. This is because vinegar will reactivate when it gets wet again meaning you might make the salon smell like a pickle factory.
Secondly, you should be able to have your stylist do just a water only rinse before cutting your hair, however if you need to have a shampoo then know that one shampoo with traditional products isn’t going to ruin your no ‘poo efforts.
Neither will getting products such as hairspray on your hair ruin things. Odds are that the shampoo or hair styling products your stylist uses are not the best for no ‘poo but if it’s a once in a blue moon thing then your hair should be just fine.
Are there any questions that I didn’t talk about? Do you still have questions about no ‘poo? Write a comment (or an email) and let me know!<
Love all the helpful info about doing no 'poo! I need to give this a try again. Didn't have much success my first time around.
I have been 'poo' free for 7 weeks, using a water only method mainly. I have been suffering with greasy dandruff ridden hair most of that time, but recently used a rosemary water rinse which helped. I have stuck with a water only method on my two boys for 7 weeks and their hair looks great!
I do water only now. I did the baking soda/vinigar for a while but it dried my hair out too much.
Can I make a huge batch and just fill my old Shampoo conditioner bottles? Will the baking soda and water mixture get old?
Usually I say that you can premix the vinegar recipe, but the baking soda part is usually best done as needed. I do know people who pre-mix the baking soda and they do just fine so of course, you could give it a try. One downside to doing pre-mixtures is that those mixtures will more than likely be cold…whereas if you mix as needed you can use warm/hot water from your shower and thus have warm mixtures.
Does the No'poo method correct dry scalp? I'd like to try the no'poo method but I'm concerned about dandruff. I've always used a dandruff shampoo but now I'm wondering if that's what actually causes the dandruff. I switched to baby shampoo a week or so ago and my dandruff is worse than ever. So, I'm worried that no'poo will be worse.
I think it really depends…my husband who deals with dandruff has less if he sticks to a strict no 'poo routine. If he is off by a day then it's flakes everywhere. We also use a chlorine shower filter which helps with dry skin/dandruff. However, some fine that the baking soda dries out their scalp, although I think that has to do with them using too much baking soda perhaps.
There's also the point that dandruff is often caused by diet. Sometimes there's not much you can do unless you change things in the diet area.
That being said, I don't think it's a bad thing to give no 'poo a try. It sounds like you haven't had any success with the other shampoos so there's really no harm in trying no 'poo. 🙂
Tea Tree essential oil and Rosemary essential oil are both good for dandruff and you could try adding those to your mixtures.
Hi!
I've been no'poo for about 6 weeks. I'm disheartened because it never gets really clean. It seems more or less (more 'less' than 'more') clean but it's rigid. It seems a helmet! Yesterday I tried egg yolk and it was shinny and perfect again. I'm worried if it doesn't work for me. I've searched and some people give up, but I prefer to think that they gave up before they could see results.
Do you think it has to work in everyone? I thought that if it is a "natural soap" It has to, no matter if after that you get dirty hair too soon… But since yesterday I'm getting discouraged with Bicarbonate
I guess I need hopeful words… *snif *snif
Sonia – Have you read my no 'poo troubleshooting post yet? That should be able to help you pin point what is wrong. Usually hair that doesn't feel clean right after a no 'poo is because of too little baking soda, not letting it sit on your hair long enough, or using too much vinegar. If you haven't read the troubleshooting post, I encourage you to do so. Here's the link: http://www.pistachioproject.com/2010/09/no-poo-troubleshooting.html
I think no 'poo can work for everyone but sometimes there are too many obstacles to make it worth it. Some people get lucky and have it work perfectly on the first try, others have to go through lots of tweaking, and others have hard water and that makes it more difficult. But in theory, I think it could work for everyone.
If you still need more help feel free to ask (either through here or email me directly)
I forgot: I boil filtered water too. If you may thought in this like a solution
Thank you; I read it twice 😀
And I've tried things that you write, and other ones from other blogs: more B, less, B, more ACV, less ACV, change Vinegar for Lemon Juice (same 1tbs/1cup W), change B in 1 cup of water for a "paste" with B and some drops of water; comb it in the ACV vinegar to scrap de dirt of the scalp (UGH! it never ends!!). When brush it in dry hair a lot of grey dust flies away in the room…
The only thing has work, last saturday I made a mask with yogurt and a whole egg for 10 mins and then I shampooed with an egg yolk (perhaps if I had scratched the mask it had work as shampoo, I didn't think it) and it was PERFECT, I mean, light, super clean and all good things you can think. But I think that B has to work. I know so many people goes from B to egg after some months, or because B hasn't work anymore (and that's something I think about too: all this effort for only a while of success). But I want B to work because is more cheap and easy to prepare, since I do not beat the yolk with fork in a boul, I do it with beater machine wich makes a more pleasant texture. In addition, with egg it is necessary to always do it with cold water and in winter…
You can see all I tried…
But thank you for answer. Since I did that with egg I got more energy to wait better results.
P.D.: yesterday Tried again with B and lemon juice instead of vinegar. It was clean! not so light and pleasant like with egg, and the comb didn't get full of dirt. I wonder if it means that it has work (I read of someone who did that to 'reactivate' the B power because it stopped to work on her) or simply my hair wasn't bad enought after egg… I will tell you so if you want.
Thank you again <3
After a no 'poo what does your hair look/feel like? Dry, straw, static, greasy??? Keep in mind it's only supposed to look good right after a no 'poo, the days after are the detox stage and will be greasy till you get out of detox.
no 'poo can last indefinitely. I'm going on 3 years now. THe only thing I've had to change was my vinegar ratio as my hair originally needed a really high vinegar ratio but through the years it's adjusted and doesn't need as much. Some women have to tweak and adjust when pregnant or postpartum do to hormones but it's usually not horrid.
Let me know how your hair looks after a no 'poo and I'll try to help you out.
I have been no-pooing for 3 weeks or so and I noticed that while my ends are very dry feeling, my scalp is still oily! Not only that, my hair looks very dull and dry. please help!
Most people who find they have that problem use the vinegar mixture just on the ends of their hair. You may want to give that a try. Also make sure you aren't using too much vinegar in your ratio (if it's just the 1tb in 1 cup then you are probably fine though) and make sure you leave the baking soda on long enough.
Hi Sonia.
Looked at your pictures and from what I gathered in your post and your comments… you are using only 1 tsp b/s in a cup of water. Is that correct? If so, that is your problem. The correct measurement (generally of course) is 1 TABLESPOON b/s in 1 cup of water. B/S will help get rid of the grease. Also it would be 1 tbs vinegar in 1 cup of water.
I could probably find a translator on the internet to help me translate your blog. 🙂
I've been doing no-poo for a few months now and it's really been great. I've had no issues, but I also did not use a lot of product on my hair in the first place, so the slow detox did not bother me much. I'm sure it's still detoxing, but my hair is in good shape. The only thing…I just am having so much trouble getting past the SMELL in the shower. I just hate the smell of vinegar and it makes me want to vomit. I put up with it because of how good my hair is. I miss the smell of roses that my old shampoo had. Is there any rinse that can smell like roses, because that is my favorite smell and I just realllllly hate the smell of vinegar. I'll still use the vinegar (it seems to work well). I just want it to smell rosy in the shower lol
You could try using tea as a rinse (find a more florally one) but tea may or may not be acidic enough for your hair. It's not for mine. You could also find a nice florally essential oil and add that to the vinegar. I've heard that essential oils don't always smell just like the flowers but it could be worth investigating.
I am having a hard time with this. I have been no 'poo for several months now, but I have been 'washing' my hair every day with the baking soda and ACV. My hair is waist length, blonde, very fine, but there's a lot of it. I never had an adjustment period where my hair was greasy, but it is super dry. It's lost its luster and it is always tangled. Even with traditional shampoo and conditioner, my hair tangles easily, but it's never been this bad. I broke down and ordered some Wen because I don't know what else to do. I don't want to go back to having to pay for shampoo and conditioner, any ideas?
My recommendation is that you do not no 'poo every day. no 'poo is too harsh (mainly the b/s) to do every day and that is why your hair is super dry and tangled. You also never experienced an adjustment period because you never spaced out your washes so your hair continued producing oil at it's normal rate. (basically you just changed shampoos..least that's what your hair thought)
Try going every 3 days between washes and if right after a no 'poo your hair feels dry/tangly then increase the vinegar amount (so instead of 1 tbs in 1 cup try 1/4 cup to 1 cup or even 50/50) tangles = not enough vinegar.
I will try that. Thanks!
You can read my latest post. I Hope it's understable. My English right now it's in Off mode…
miscelaneaecologica.blogspot.com
THANKS! I feel a bit silly now….
I will copy here my latest coment in my blog to Brittany so perhaps some one sees it useful:
Hello Brittany!!
I'm so busy that I haven't wrote anything about my no poo diary lately. And Forgot to write in English last post.. There I said I am pretty happy. It seems that 1 TABLESPOON of B and 4 TABLESPOONS of Vinegar works for me, because less Baking soda doesn't work so well and less vinegar makes it frizzy. I try to wash every 3 days but it't difficult since I work outside with a lot of people. I feel sorry because the comb doesn't get dirty and I think "you should hold another day!", hahaha. But try to hold it every time I can stay at home in the third day. Sooooo I amb so much happy. More since I see that my hubby stays with me unless he has to warm it up every morning he does it in the kitchen, because we have to boil water (I have a bottle of boiled water ready, but we don't use microwave and have to do it in a pot every time). We have realized that it doesn't work so well if we have the mix from days ago in the tub.
Thank you so much again!!!
I wish I had found your troubleshooting article sooner! I am on round 2 of the no poo routine. One thing I hadn't counted on is the way different water can affect the system. As long as I was at home, using my well water, the no poo system worked like a champ. After a week long adjustment my scalp decided it liked this new method and stopped pumping out the excess oils. My hair, which at the time was hip length, had never looked better! Then last December I went on vacation in Florida, and found that the city water made a huge and negative impact. Suddenly my hair was not coming clean no matter how much or little baking soda I used. Discouraged I borrowed shampoo from my fellow vacationer and was clean. Once I got home I held off a while from trying again, but after only one no pooing my hair was happy again! I guess my water is soft, and Tampa's city water was hard, and apparently that can make all the difference. I was just looking for verification of my research findings – and here it was 😉
OMG..I have absorbed myself in reading about the No-pooing..and am exhausted…my beautiful daughter in law started this and her hair looks fantastic..I am on my second time trying it and am at the same place I was when I first tried it..frustrated. I have changed my life in so many ways by taking on a green life slowly..starting with quitting smoking..whole food changes and more..but this no pooing is not what I expected..maybe I am just doing it wrong or totally daft!!
I started out with 1 cup of pure water 1-2 TBSP of Baking Soda…then as for the conditioner I am using the vinegar solution. My hair is so dry and looks terrible. My husband touched it last night and said honey your hair feels just "gross"!! he's right!!! So can you explain to me what I am doing wrong and how I can fix it..I'm not giving up..tonight I just rinsed with Luke warm water..I have never gone a day without shampooing my hair..I have read that you should do the Baking soda one night and wait a couple days then baking soda again..and use the vinegar solution when your hair is feeling like it needs a pick me up..so I see that I was washing every day..stopped that in the last two days..just rinsing..HELP please..thank you..greatly appreciated any advice.
HI Theresa, Sorry you are having a hard time with no 'poo. So your hair is dry when you no 'poo? If it's dry then you need to add more vinegar to your solution (try doing 1 part vinegar 2 parts water…or even 50/50) When I first started no 'pooing my hair needed the high acidity so I had to do 50/50.
I do not recommend doing just the baking soda part as you need the vinegar to restore your hair to it's proper ph levels. Not to mention it is the vinegar that conditions your hair and helps it not feel dry.
You do want to no 'poo every 3 or more days so that your scalp can get the message and slow down on oil production. However, it's not the end of the world if you no 'poo on a day 2, I just don't recommend it becoming the "norm"
Now if your hair feels different other than "dry" we may need to do some other tweaking. But generally dry hair needs more vinegar. If it's greasy or wet looking then let me know and we'll change things for that issue.
I like to use argan oil on damp hair as a leave in conditioner and heat protector. Is that ok with no'poo? Does it take away from the effort of cleansing the hair?
Melissa – No it shouldn't be a problem or make no 'poo not worth it. Many people use coconut oil on their hair and no 'poo so argan oil would be similar to that.
Hey Brittany!
Having a dilemma here. I am a dive instructor and spend 3+ hours a day in salt water 5-7 days a week. I want to try no poo but the salt and sun are doing a number on this hair of mine. As it is I only shampoo my hair two maybe three times a week. I have tried this method 3 times in the last about week and a half and my hair is just greasy and horrible. I am wondering if no poo isn't a good option for me since my job is so detrimental to my strands?
Hi Blair.
It's possible that all the salt water would be too crazy to try no 'poo with… However, what ratios are you using right now? And do you have hard water? It's also likely that you just need to tweak things a bit.
I love this! I tried to get my mom to try it, but she's worried it won't be okay for her botox treated hair? Sorry, I don't know where else to ask!
Hmmm I've no idea. I'd not even heard of botox treated hair till you mentioned it! My guess is it should be ok but I really have no idea. No 'poo works with dyed hair and permed hair so it probably wouldn't' be too much different than that.
I've read that backing soda erases all products applied on hair. So many women use it to erase a dye in hair that don't like them. So perhaps it takes off that treatment. It's more indicated for natural hair (I don't have dyed hair, so I don't have proves…)
? I understand you have to use purified water with the BS, ACV. But can you rinse it out in the shower using regular tap water to get it all out? I don't have a water softener system.
You only need to use purified (or pre-boiled) water with the mixtures if you have hard water. If you don't then regular water works. If you DO have hard water than yes, you need the purified (or pre-boiled) water for the mixtures but you can use the regular shower water to rinse it out.
If you're still seeking a rose-scented rinse, it's the perfect time of year to gather fresh "old-fashioned" rose petals and infuse them in distilled white vinegar. I specifically mention this type of rose since they are known for their aroma. Fill a jar with fresh, fragrant petals, cover with vinegar and allow to steep until the smell is more pleasing to you, then strain out the plant material. Traditionally this would be done from at least the new moon until the full moon, but you can adjust that to suit your schedule and preferences. I'd also recommend playing around with all sorts of fresh herbs and flowers. I'm currently doing my no'poo rinse with a white vinegar infusion of calendula, St. John's wort, lavender and lemon balm – fragrant and emotionally uplifting!
I am thinking about going no 'poo but I am worried that baking soda will dry out my hair. I have read on several blogs and websites that baking soda can ruin your hair and I am wondering if this is true, or if it just applies to certain people. I have hip-length, wavy/curly hair, and it gets damaged easily from ponytails and getting it stuck in car doors and such…not to mention it looks awful without a good flat iron. 😉
I have heard that no 'poo sometimes makes hair look better when it air dries, and makes it stronger too, but I am afraid of the baking soda and vinegar. Is it really as bad as some say?
Anastasia,
I've heard about how some claim that no 'poo is damaging. This can be true however, I feel like it is only damaging if you do it improperly. I think it's probably the people who skip the vinegar part (even occasionally) or do a baking soda paste, etc that have breakage issues.
No 'poo has definitely made my hair look so much better (air dried or blow dried) and I do not deal with split ends and such like I used to.
The key to a successful no 'poo is making sure you are doing both the baking soda and the vinegar with every wash, only no 'pooing every 3-7 days (an occasional day 2 is ok but the more often you no 'poo the more likely it is to be too harsh for your hair) and making sure your ratios are correct (which you would want to as your hair will generally look gross if the ratios are off)
If you are also interested in making your hair stronger, I suggest using only homemade hair styling products. My homemade hair spray and hair gels are both gentle on hair and the hair gel is even beneficial do to the tea tree oil and gelatin. (taking gelatin internally can also strengthen hair.)
I hope this helps. Let me know if you need any help with no 'pooing.
Is ACV better and healthier than white vinegar?? Can I use coconut oil after, as a conditioner or leave in treatment to help my hair be healthier and smell good?? When you do the vinegar part, do you put it on your scalp too or just the ends?? And does the 'no poo' help with hair growth??
Thanks in advance for your response!
Hello Linda,
Yes ACV (if you get the good stuff with the "mother" in it) is healthier and better than white vinegar. However it costs more money and does smell a bit stronger. White vinegar is fine to use and it's my preference. You can use coconut oil after as a leave in (fly away/styling) treatment. Just make sure to use the tiniest bit because otherwise it can make your hair very greasy. I recommend pouring the vinegar on your whole scalp because the top of your head needs to have the ph levels balanced as well. I have not experienced more hair growth with no 'poo but I have heard others mention it. I would imagine it all depends on why you are lacking hair growth. If it's because your follicles are blocked then no 'poo may help as it will help remove all that junk and build up. But if it's nutrient based then I don't think no 'poo will make a difference in hair growth.
I've been no-pooing for about 4 weeks. I've noticed that my hair is always slightly greasy, even right after I wash it. I have medium thick hair. What do you think I might be doing wrong?
Generally if it's greasy after a no 'poo then you either have hard water, too much vinegar or not enough baking soda (although the baking soda is not very common) It's also possible that you aren't leaving it on long enough.
If you let me know what amounts of the mixtures you are using, I can help you troubleshoot things.
I use one tablespoon of baking soda per cup of water and one tablespoon of vinegar per cup of water. To wash, I rinse my hair with water, apply the baking soda water to my scalp and let it sit for one minute. After washing it out, I apply the vinegar to the length of my hair. I let it sit for a minute and then rinse it out.
Hmmm…do you have hard water? Hard water is something that will make hair seem greasy. You can check to see if you have hard water on this map: http://www.h2odistributors.com/water-hardness.asp (note: it technically labels all water as hard but most would classify the first two colors as soft and slightly soft and the last two colors as hard and really hard.
Sorry for the late reply. Yeah, I think I do have hard water. Does that mean I can't use this method anymore? 🙁
You can still no 'poo with hard water. It just requires more effort. Those with hard water, boil water (usually a large batch) and store it in the bathroom. This boiled (but cooled) water is then used in the mixtures. You can rinse your hair out with the normal shower water but the mixtures need the boiled water so that it can react properly with the baking soda and vinegar.
I am glad to have read this post. I had been reading all the hype about no pooing for quite some time and decided to give it a try…finally. 🙂 I thought I needed to apply straight powdered baking soda to my scalp – BAD assumption. This left my hair feeling like I was trying to accomplish dreadlocks. Yikes. I had to use a shampoo the following day to remove the residue from my hair. In a few days I'm planning to try your suggested mixtures. 🙂 I tend to have dry hair and it's naturally curly. I noticed my curls were much less frizzy after my no poo fail, so to speak, I'm wondering if others have the same experience. Brittany – does your hair tend to be more on the dry, normal, or oily side? Or is No 'Pooing supposed to balance it all out? I'm still learning about this process, even though I'm done a fair amount of reading about…it's mostly just been about the varying mixtures people use.
xo
Eleanor
Hello Eleanor,
Yes you do want to use mixtures for the baking soda and vinegar. 🙂
Less frizzy hair is a benefit of no 'poo and that is one reason why those with curly hair love it.
Personally my hair is probably on the normal side of things, possibly a little dry (as my vinegar mixture is higher than "normal" As you mentioned, it is all about tweaking the mixtures for your hair. Generally the baking soda mixture is pretty consistent and it's the vinegar that needs tweaking. Hope that when you give it a try again that it works well and you won't need tweaking. If you need any help figuring things out, feel free to ask!
Hello Again!
As you can see, has passed 9 months since my post requesting your help. I would like to know if you feel your hair clean more days since you began, because I don't, and I'm a bit dissappointed unless my hair feels healthy and okay…but I still remember the freshness of "normal" shampoos, and see difference, hehe.
Hi Sonia,
It can take a while to be able to go longer between washes. When I first started I washed every 3 days and it probably took a year or so before I could go 3-5 days with clean looking hair. I now can go about a week with good looking hair but I've been no 'pooing for over 3 years now!
Hola, tal vez tu no entiendas esto pero es muy gratificante leer tu blog, mira que hasta ahora he comprendido, porque mi pelo luce asi , gracias por explicar todo muy bien y solo me resta decir
I LOVE YOU
I had to use google translate but you are welcome (de nada) 🙂
The thing stopping me from switching is having to mix it up daily. I wish there was a way to mix up a whole batch and not worry about it for a month or so.
Great FAQ – for now I'll stick to my bar shampoo, but the no pooing keeps calling to me. Thanks to your advice, I am not going to try it for our kids who thankfully do not need to bathe every day.
It's not too hard to mix it up each time. I keep the baking soda and vinegar in the bathroom (along with the containers) and just add the stuff right before I get in the shower. Alternatively, my husband uses honey for his shampoo/conditioner and that we can just store in the shower and he doesn't need to mix anything.
How do you research? Do you experiment with all your finds or only the ones tat apply to you and/or your family? I really like all the information you have, but I would like to be able to look up my own topics as the come along in my life. I am a mere college student, so, I have no idea what scenarios life may bring me. Any tips for research would be greatly appreciated.
Hi NatashaTree,
I guess it depends on what you mean by research. For no 'pooing and fingering out what needs to be tweaked and such, I have a group of crunchy women who helped me figure out all the different methods/changes. As for researching different crunchy things to try in general (aka the whole blog), a lot of it comes from reading other blogs and using that as a launching point. From there I experiment my self or research on the internet, read books, etc. Then there are times when I get sick and I just use google. My baking soda cure for UTI's stemmed out of my "how to treat UTI naturally" search on google. lol
Just wanted to say that I no pooed well enough shortly before I got pregnant, all through pregnancy (though I never got that awesome pregnancy hair & nails this time), but post partum hormones have sent my scalp into a tizzy. Itchy & dry & flaky. It's awful, and so far, nothing I do has mattered.
I'm sorry Jena. Yes those postpartum hormones can wreck things sometimes. If nothing seems to be helping then you might want to give it a break for a few more months and then try again when your hormones are back to normal….or you could try washing your hair with just honey. It's a variation of no 'poo and it's what my husband prefers.
Hi, I was wondering if for each time you wash your hair you have to use the whole cup of water and B/S and the whole cup of water and ACV? or can you just use a portion?
Hello! Yes, when I wash my hair I use the full 8oz of each mixture. It's possible I could get away with less (shoulder length or shorter) but I'd rather not use too little and end up with dirty hair. You need to make sure you use enough liquid to thoroughly soak your hair. Otherwise you risk, only getting the "cleaner" on the top of your hair and not the lower layers.
Okay thank you so much!!!
Hi there… I'm a week in. And I just no 'pooed for the second time today. Honestly my hair felt better before I did that. Now it feels like there's something on it… I can slowly get my fingers thru it, but it definitely feels a little weird. Prior to no 'poo I always shampooed daily, and needed to use tones and tones of conditioner. My hair is very thin, tends heavily on dry and tangles like crazy. In winter it's static-y like crazy. I have been using the traditional formula… 1 Tbsp each BS & ACV to 1 cup water. But now, I'm thinking that I should increase the ratio of vinegar to 1/4 or 1/2 cup. Also I put the mixes in spray bottles and just sprayed it on my roots (for the BS) and end (for the ACV). I see that I should use the entire cup of each mix (my hair is midway down my back), and that I can use the ACV over the entire length (yay!) Should I be using the BS over the entire length also? And can I use just the ACV rinse on water only days? One last question… should I expect my hair to generally feel yuk during my initial detox period no matter what I do?
Hi Sandra Dee,
Sorry I am just now getting back to you. Yes, please use both mixtures completely on your hair (not spraying…it won't cover well enough). It does sound like you will need to increase your vinegar mixtures as well.
You can use a vinegar rinse only on the in-between days but it may make your hair look greasy… some people have good luck with that; some do not.
Your hair should feel great on day 1 and probably day 2 of no 'pooing. It's just days 3+ that should feel gross (possibly day 2)….If your hair feels gross on day 1 then you need to do some tweaking. 🙂
I just did this for the first time ever and it. Is. AWESOME!! I recently bleached my hair twice to get the years of black dye out and toned it once to get an ash colour. So needless to say it's BONE DRY and lifeless at the moment. I decided to risk going without the silver shampoo and amazing, expensive chemical mask I've been using, and the vinegar has conditioned it at least as well as the mask would have done! I used a vast amount of vinegar, about 50/50, but i think my hair is so dry that it could have used even more than that, because it's still a little frizzy. I also thought I would pass on the best hair mask I've ever tried: coconut oil (warmed) with 2 or 3 drops of Jasmine essential oil. Massage into scalp, hang upside down off the bed for 5 minutes or so to get the blood to your scalp, gently get the oil through to the ends and make a neat, tight braid. Then put a woolly hat on (and maybe a towel on your pillow if you're a bit of a wild sleeper) and wash it off in the morning. Some Indian girls I know do this every night, I only do it once a week but not sure how you get the oil off the next day, would baking soda do it? I've always used shampoo, and you need to wash twice, sometimes 3 times, eek!
Anyway thanks for your very informative help on how to get the right ratio of baking soda to vinegar, I've never heard anyone speak intelligibly about it before!
I don't think the "detox" think has anything to do with what you use to wash your hair, because I have been using shampoo all my life and have pretty much always had to wash at least every second day. If I let it get super-oily for about 5 days, if I can manage it, it stays clean for about 5 days after that wash. So it probably has little to do with no-pooing and more to do with stimulating the scalp to make more oil by washing too often.
By the way, am I supposed to rinse off the vinegar? I just left it on and dried it that way (I used about 50/50 vinegar to water) and my dry, grassy, bleached hair LOVED it!
Camille
Yes the detox period has more to do with the waiting between washes than what you use to clean your hair.
Yes you are supposed to rinse the vinegar off. However, if your hair loves it then it's probably fine. I'd just be careful to watch for any signs that your hair is not happy with that much acidity. Also keep in mind that over time your hair will likely adjust and need less acidity. For instance, I had to start out with a 50/50 vinegar ratio but now my hair prefers a 1:4 ratio.
Just wanted to share my no-poo method for anyone reading the comments.
I went shampoo free when I started having issues with eczema outbreaks on my face and found that several cosmetic protects that I used to ok with started to bother my face. I got really frustrated with never knowing whether my shampoo was adding to the problem and after trying a few different ones I finally switched to using a few drops of a really mild natural cleanser (diva wash, which is citrus based) in mixed with water and baking soda in a squirt bottle. So i slowly taped off the soap this way over a year or so before I stopped adding the soap all together and my hair was fine with it. (Any time I tried to go totally cleanser free cold turkey I got a nasty residue in my hair and my skin would get bothered by the oils so I had to go with a slow weaning off).
Now, I don't use vinegar. I never was successful at finding a method with the vinegar that worked for me. What I do instead is I have two squeeze bottles from the dollar store and I put two tea bags of pure chamomile tea in a mesauring cup with boiling water and make about 2 cups worth of chamomile tea. Once it cools to a luke warm temperature, I put roughly 1-2 tablespoons of baking soda in one of the bottles and fill it up with chamomile. I shake it together and that's what i use to wash my hair. I fill the second bottle with the rest of the chamomile tea and after I've washed and rinsed my hair from the baking soda solution I do a second rinse with the chamomile.
This is what works well for me. It took me a bit to get used to the different feel of my hair wet when washing this way (you can kinda feel a bit more oil to it when it's still wet after you wash it) but once it dries it feels all nice and clean and soft. I started using the Chamomile because I read that it was good for helping lighten your hair which is what I was trying to do at the time but I found that it was very soothing to my skin and made my skin and hair feel smooth and softer so I adapted with the baking soda and found a combination that works really well with my hair.
So ya. I don't use vinegar at all. I just found that whenever I tried to use vinegar I ended up with just a gross residue feeling to my hair, no idea why, but the baking soda and chamomile mix seems to work great for me. So maybe my hair type just doesn't like vinegar or something.
I haven't tried any styling products on my hair since I went poo-free because with my skin I'm so terrified of anything that might cause a reaction, and because I wasn't sure the baking soda would be enough to clean them out or not. But I find my hair is pretty cooperative the first couple days after it's been washed. (Day 2 is usually the best). Towards the end of the week i'm mostly tying it up cause it gets greasy and usually I haven't had time to wash it because of work. (I've been going about a week at a time cause I was working as a dishwasher and saw no point in washing it until I hit a few days where I wasn't working and was actually going somewhere. Cause for work I was just tying it up anyway and it would just get more icky).
Thank you for your response! Yes some people just do not need as much acidity. Tea has acidity which is why it is listed as an alternative. Baking soda will get everything out. 🙂 I recommend my homemade hairspray or tea tree hair gel for natural products.
I deep condition my hair with coconut oil twice a week. Will baking soda be effective in removing the oil from the scalp and the length of my hair? Thanks in advance 😀
It's possible that you can still use coconut oil and use baking soda to remove it but it might take a wash or two. Coconut oil is notoriously hard to get out of hair no matter what product you decide to use unfortunately.
I would like to begin not using shampoo, but how often do I need to wash my hair if I go the water only method? and what about the other methods, how often would I need to rinse my hair with the other methods? Thanks
It is generally recommended that you go at least every 3 days between washing with any of the methods. The water only method you could do more often if you like since water only will not be as harsh on your hair. That said, the longer you go between washes the faster the detox period will be.