No Poo...

I haven't poo'd for 6 weeks now and I feel great ! 

Now don't get me wrong - no poo is a good thing.  It's actually short for 'No Shampoo'.   oooh !!!  I hear you say with a great sigh of relief.  Thanks good ness for that.  but why?  Why would you not use shampoo, isn't that gross?  Well to be perfectly honest, I had never heard of no poo until 6 weeks and a few days ago.  I stumbled across it completely by accident and somehow it all made sense to me.  I mean, I already knew that shampoo was full of yucky chemicals, but there was no other worthwhile option for me. 

I bought some goats milk soap at the markets - twice - and both times the person selling it to me said "You can even wash your hair with it.  It will make your hair lovely and soft."  Now believe me, I checked out their hair - both people, both times and yes their hair did look lovely and soft, and shiney too.  So I went home, both times and washed my hair with the soap.  First wash was great, felt nice, hair even looked nice afterwards.  Then I washed it a second time and it was horrible - my hair I mean.  Back to shampoo for me.  And then I discovered the whole no poo thing.  And it's a BIG thing - google it and see just how many people around the world don't poo !  It's amazing !  How could I have missed this important information for so long ? 

How to 'no poo'

Ok, let me explain it as best I can.  No poo means you don't wash your hair with shampoo, ever.  Yep. That's right.  EVER.  Instead you rinse your scalp with bicarb soda and water.  The general consensus seems to be 1 Tablespoon of Bicarb mixed with 1 cup of water.  First wet your hair, then  pour the bicarb and water over your head and massage it around your scalp.  Rinse well with water.   Next, mix 1 Tablespoon of Apple cider Vinegar with 1 cup of water, and pour that over the ENDS of your hair - not your scalp.  After doing that you can actually feel how it has softened your hair.  At this point, I can easily comb through my hair, rinse the vinegar out and that's it !  My hair doesn't smell like vinegar, well at least I can't smell it, and nobody has said anything !!   I usually do this routine, every 3 days or so. 

How does it work?

Well, how can it not....seriously, did they even HAVE shampoo a hundred years ago?  Your scalp naturally produces oils - that's a good thing.  BUT, we strip those oils away when we use shampoo.  Shampoos contain chemicals,  harsh detergents like sodium laurel sulphates and sodium laureth suplhates - NOT GOOD.   They rid your hair of natural oils - that's what detergent does right ?  And then your body panics coz there are no oils left, and it produces more - to protect your hair and scalp...and then you strip it away again - it's a viscious circle, and  it's no wonder some people end up with oily hair - oil production has gone into overdrive to compensate the loss.  On the other hand, not having those natural oils, can leave your hair looking dry and dull - hello!  That's me !!

Then there is the lather factor.  We've all seen the ads on TV, beautiful girls shampooing their hair in all that luxurious white foam - I know !  I've been sucked in to that too !  More lather doesn't mean more clean though - sad but true.

So we can do without the chemicals, apparently !  And let our hair do it's thing - naturally.  C'mon !   Have faith in your hair !


What will my hair look like?

Well, don't expect wonders to happen over night.   Your hair will gradually be stripped of all the chemicals that are coating it, and that might come as a bit of a shock to your hair.  Then it will have to get used to being 'naked' in a sense.  In a nutshell, it's going to get worse before it gets better.   It can take up to 4 weeks for hair to 'transition'.  And the defintion of transition is pretty much yucky hair.  (The goats milk soap people forgot to tell me that bit, that's why I gave up !)  Now I said UP to 4 weeks, it took my hair about a week and a half to 'get over it'.  But hang in there - Endure to the end !!  It's a good opportunity to wear your hair up, with a headband, or a scarf maybe !! No seriously, mine didn't get THAT bad.  I wore a headband for a couple of days, but it was no big deal. 

And then ?

And then, congratulate yourself because you are NO LONGER bound to that shampoo bottle.  Your hair is likely to have more body, and less frizz - great news for curly tops like me.  For me, my hair has been easier to manage somehow - I don't use any other hair products, don't have to anymore.  And my curls have been more curly lately.  I still have bad hair days now and then, but not nearly as often as I used to.  And think of all the money I'll be saving - lots...aswell as less landfill...happy days !!

The end note...

I've also got my kids going no poo.  Ruby is 4 and has dead straight hair.  Her hair was dry and dull and I was using (an expensive) leave in conditioner in her hair to make it presentable.  Don't need it anymore though.  Her hair is so shiney and beautiful now !  And my baby, I've never used shampoo in her hair anyway, but I think the addition of porridge and fruit and whatever else she has eaten to her daily hair routine just adds extra bounce and shine!!