w/mo2h #3: no poo, week one

Well, I talked about going no-poo, and I did eventually start out pretty well! So, what's the state of the hair now? What about those little hiccups I was having?


Baking Soda crystallization: my Girl-Science (a mix of real science and phenomenology-style observation) has decided that the water could not dissolve all that baking soda in the 6:1 ratio. So, I changed my method.

Boil your six parts water (microwave would probably work, but I did it on the stove). Take it off the heat, pour into a heat-safe bowl, and add the 1 part baking soda. Mix around until most/all has dissolved. Then let it sit and cool completely. Some crystallization will occur on the bottom; do not mess with it! Pour off the liquid into your bottle, and then top off with a little extra water. Viola! You've only got as much baking soda as the water will handle.

How often? I washed it Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday last week... overkill! So, here's what happened. Monday, I accidentally-on-purpose (one of those momentary instances of stupidity) put oil in my hair, oily hands to dry hair. Ewwww greasy grossness! So I had to start over on Tuesday. Then I held off until Thursday morning (through 2 morning workouts and a yoga class). I did it again this morning. I haven't found that my hair gets gross in the least from the waiting. So I think I'll stick with my Monday-Thursday schedule, unless circumstance dictates otherwise.

The difference in hair? I found on Tuesday and Thursday mornings that my hair was pretty dry after I let it air-dry (despite that residual oil from my hands during my shower). Like, static the instant I brushed it. Soooo, this morning in the shower I applied a bit of oil (1/2 tsp?) directly to my wet hands and then onto my very wet hair, rubbed it throughout (but not too close to the scalp), and followed that up with a post-shower hair rub with a towel. And that seems to have helped quite a bit today.

Other experiments in technique: To combat the dryness and harshness of the baking soda, I may experiment with vinegar-only for my Monday wash, or adding more water to the bs mixture to dilute it further.

A hurdle to the routine: We head out on a mini-cation on Thursday morning, and I'm not sure how/if to transport my new hair products. I have always found travel bottles to be unreliably leaky.  So I guess I have two days to figure that out. With the possibility of swimming and the salty air (which I hate the feeling of in my hair), I will probably at least want my Monday wash.

Overall, I am very very happy with this switch. Not only for the lack-o-chem in my hair, but the fact that it's really not taking much effort at all. In fact, it takes less time and less money to do this than the traditional way. Go figure!


So, is anyone else contemplating this change?

Much Love,
Able-Bodied Girl