Last week I picked up two little BPA-free plastic water jugs from the dollar store. Saturday, I didn't wash my hair after our first bike ride of the year, just to get those natural oils going strong. Sunday morning, I simmered up the baking soda mixture, and put both mixtures in their respective jugs. I also added some scent to the vinegar mixture.
FYI, I am not doing before/after pictures cuz, really, how can you capture what we're doing here in photographs? I mean, unless my hair is suddenly curly, the changes are going to be subtle but easily describable. I hope :) I hope a photo of my bottles will suffice!
Anyway, I jumped in the shower after dinner on Sunday (and again after my Monday morning work-out!), so here's the scoop...
The baking soda boil? I think I did it wrong. My baking soda got a little crystalized, so I put it back in the pot to reboil. That seemed to do the trick... just heat it up until all the baking soda bits all fizzle out.
The application? Well, it's not thick, so I found that flipping your hair over and splashing the bottle over works pretty well. Since the water is cool compared to the shower, you can really tell if the baking soda is reaching all scalp areas. For the vinegar, I again flip, and splash the hair I cradle in my free hand.
The baking soda wait? I'm so used to letting the conditioner sit that it's hard for me to let step one sit in my hair. So, that didn't really happen. But I'll try to adjust to the change in routine to see if it makes a difference.
That petroleum-slick feeling? You know the one. the conditioner makes your hair feel wet and silky and glossy while you're in the shower. Your hands run through your hair easily. It feels wonderful. Sorry, that's GONE. What you have is wet hair, not the flowing-behind-you-while-you-swim-underwater kind. More like the just-went-swimming-in-the-creek-with-the-fish feeling. I was very worried about my 12 inches of hair being a tangled mess.
A moisture-boost? I use almond oil - post-shower pre-dry-off - so I just ran the residuals from my hands through my hair. I figured it couldn't hurt, and if my hair was too greasy I'd stop doing it.
The air-drying? I don't blow dry. I wrap my head in the towel after I blot any remaining water off my body. I left it wrapped up for a couple minutes, then let it down, rubbed it with the towel a bit, and let it go. (Ok, not really "let it go"; more like "constantly and obsessively touched it"). Turns out, not any more/less tangly than with conditioner!
Overall, I'm pretty pleased so far! More updates as time goes on...
So, who's gonna try this after it's a big success for me??
Much Love,
Able-Bodied Girl
Shampoo. Ok,big difference from what I was expecting. Laura did it for a while,and it worked well.
ReplyDeleteI just read last week that some people use natural aloe as a hair gel. HTH
ReplyDeleteI really want an update on how this is working for you / your hair. I mentioned switching over to shampoo bars I got at the Newark co-op, which I really like (and like your goal here, have ingredients I can pronounce and know what they ARE). And, they've worked really well for a while. No need for conditioner. But, this last week or so, I've found my hair is out of control. Not sure WHY, but there ya have it.
ReplyDeleteDo the baking soda mixture or the vinegar work as a conditioner at all or solely as a wash? Is this (lack of conditioner) why you're using the oil? How did the oil work?
THANKS!