Sunday, July 25, 2010

Poo Free

I've been reading a lot about a life free of shampoos and soaps.  Those harsh chemical laiden products we use daily on our skin and hair takes a toll.  With our skin being our largest organ and acting like a giant sponge, I can only imagine the amount of craziness that runs through ones blood stream.  Using shampoos and conditioners is a vicious cycle that we've all been taught/sold in to.  The shampoo we use dries out our hair and scalps which causes our body to overproduce oils to heal the dryness.    In my continuing journey to live a primal lifestyle, I felt my next step would be to forgo the shampoo, conditioner and soaps.

I'm only 5 days in of being 'poo free and don't have much to report other than my hair has gotten REALLY greasy.  My hair is just long enough now that I can put it in a small bun, so this has been my saving grace for attempting this new lifestyle.  Yesterday I tried 1 tablespoon of baking soda diluted in 1 cup of warm water.  After rinsing my greasy hair with warm water, I poured the baking soda solution over my scalp and worked it through to the ends.  After rinsing the solution, I found my slick hair was now quite soft.  Much of the greasy feeling was gone, but I was curious how it might dry.

I decided to not bother with soap and just did a vigorous wash with warm water (although I did use a bit of shaving cream to shave my underarms.  That's an omission for another day).

I let my hair dry naturally, but as I had somewhere to be, decided to put my hair up.  It was 41 C with the humidex that day, so my hair dried with lots of frizzies, but was very soft and odorless (my husband's critique).

One MDA member also mentioned that using an egg yolk and then rinsing with cold water (you don't want to make scrambled eggs) will cut the grease fairly well.  I might try this in a few days to see how it works.

As I have read on MDA and various sites and forums, I have a 2 - 6 week transition period where my hair will transform from this awkward greaseball to magically soft and magnificent.  I'm hoping this transition is sooner rather than later. :)

4 comments:

  1. How is the no-poo going? Did the greasiness even out at all?

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  2. hey k!!!

    i was gonna ask the same thing..... still poo-less?? how's it going??

    i've been poo-less about 6 weeks and i think i'm just out of the transition. i feel like this week has been good hair week. i posted on m.d.a. too. :)

    and, i just friended you on flickr!!!

    happy wednesday!!

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  3. Hello all! I'm just over three weeks in now and it's slowly starting to even out. The baking soda and ACV rinses are working amazing. I do those about every 3-4 days with just water rinses in between.

    I've also abandoned soap entirely and my skin has been amazing. Such a difference and my husband can't tell. :)

    Still a bit of greasiness to work out, but it's an exciting process :)

    @Kat: your posts about this have got me through it so well. You are a fountain of knowledge and I thank you :)

    @coley: thank you so much for following my blog. I still have yet to find some Borax for your homemade soap recipe. I can't find it anywhere!

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  4. in the u.s. borax is pretty easy to find in the detergent aisle. it is sodium borate. is often called a "laundry booster." i guess you could always order it...... kinda stinks though. :)

    glad to hear about the update on ditching soaps/shampoos.

    happy sunday.
    coley

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