Graceful Little Honey Bee

No Shampoo: Week 3 – A Turning Point

by 29 Comments

How I went 7 Weeks Without Shampoo

Well I’ve made it three weeks without shampoo!! You can click to read about weeks one and two if you missed them. So here’s what happened this week, I decided to skip the vinegar which was a huge mistake! My hair turned out dry, course, and frizzy. Then, I bought a boar bristle brush which seemed to really help make my hair softer and more manageable. It also helped to distribute the oils down the length of my hair so it’s wasn’t so dry. I highly recommend using one if your doing this method.

 

I ended up going three days between washes. Here are pictures of my hair on day three:

 

 You can definitely seem some oil here!! *FYI* I wore a hat this day.

 

Then I washed my hair with the same 1 tbsp baking:1 cup water, but I upped the vinegar to 3 tbsp:1 cup water and all of the sudden my hair felt normal again!!! Here are pictures of my hair the day after washing it:

 

I can’t believe it! My hair feels like I used shampoo!! It’s so soft and light and wonderful. I don’t know if it’s because my hair is adjusting or if it was the vinegar, but I’m so happy. My hair feels clean!!!  So here’s what I’ve learned so far about the “no-poo” method:

 

1. You have to play around with the baking soda and vinegar to water ratios to find what works for your hair. (Listen to you hair. It will tell you what to do.)

2. Baking soda absorbs the grease, but dries your hair out so only use it on your roots when needed. It’s also a good idea to leave it in your hair for a few minutes before washing it out.

3. Apple cider vinegar makes your hair soft, shiny, and more manageable, but you should keep it away from your roots because it can add to the oiliness.

4. Boar bristle brushes are fantastic!! They help to distribute the natural oils throughout your hair, making it shiny, moisturized and healthy.

5. Giving your hair a break is a good thing! It helps to restore it to it’s natural state.

 

I’m happy with the no shampoo routine so far. Hopefully it will continue to work for me. I’d love to hear your stories!

 

**UPDATE** After almost seven weeks of no shampoo I decided to use it again. My hair was just never as consistently clean and soft as it was with shampoo. The main differences were that my roots were slightly “heavier,” my hair felt slightly sticky and it was always sooo tangly! I’m glad I went no poo because now I can go longer in between my regular shampoos without feeling dirty. Once I use up my stash of regular shampoo I plan on finding a more natural product to use. Thanks for all the comments and feedback!!

 

No Shampoo Week 1

No Shampoo Week 2

 

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  2. Elisabeth says

    Your hair looks great! I went no shampoo about 6 months ago. For the first week, I used baking soda and apple cider vinegar about every 3 days. The second week, I just rinsed with apple cider vinegar aobut every 3 days. The second week was my worst, seemed oily. But, by the third week, it was much better and I stopped using anything but water every 3 days. I now only use water every 4 days and my hair looks good. I am very happy I made the switch.
    Reply

  3. Verna says

    Your hair looks great! I might have to give this another try. FYI, you might have to do some more adjusting after the baby comes. My hair always gets super dry when I'm pregnant and I always have some gross days after the baby is born while my hormones are adjusting.
    Reply

  5. Missy says

    Kelly - Thanks!

    Elisabeth - That's awesome! I'm not brave enough to do just water quite yet, but maybe one day I will!

    Verna - I've wondered if I would have to change some things after the baby. It'll be interesting to see.

    Mandy - I don't notice a smell at all, not even when my hair is drying. To me it just smells like hair. Some people are really sensitive to the smell of vinegar though so they put essential oil in with the rinse.
    Reply

  7. Jenn says

    Impressive. Your hair looks great!
    I remember my grandmother rinsing my hair with vinegar. Not my favorite part of a bath at her house...
    Reply

  10. Michelle says

    Your hair looks great! I did a 6 week no-shampoo challenge in November and December and absolutely loved it! (Trial and error, though, definitely). My hair is a lot curlier than yours, but it worked out great.

    http://wanderingstill.blogspot.com/search/label/Hair%20Challenge
    Reply

  12. Kelly says

    Your hair is beautiful! You have inspired me to give it a try. Where did you get your hair brush? I did a quick internet search and there seems to be a lot of different boar hair brushes and a huge price range.

    Thanks
    Kelly
    http://mysimplewalk.com
    Reply

  13. Missy says

    Kelly - I bought my brush from Sally's beauty supply for $6.99. It's 100% boar bristle. They had "reinforced" boar bristle which was sturdier and would go through your hair better, but the bristles seemed to be falling out from all of them.
    Reply

  14. Courtney says

    Wow - I've always wanted to try this. Thanks for sharing your experience. One question - does your hair smell like apple cider vinegar when you are done? That is something I've wondered about because I think that would bother me.
    Reply

  15. Missy says

    Courtney - I don't smell the vinegar at all, but it bothers some people more than others. I've heard of people putting essential oils in with the vinegar wash or using lemon juice instead because it's also an acid.
    Reply

  16. Sharon says

    I tried it for a week at a time and would break down to use shampoo. My hair would get so oily after just a few hours. When I used shampoo, I had to start all over again. I plan to try this again. My hair is very oily and fine, but when I used the baking soda and vinegar, my hair felt fuller, but it would get so oily so fast. I was using 1 tbs baking soda and 1 tbs vinegar. I tried using more baking soda and less vinegar, but I still do not have the ratios correct.
    Reply

  19. Natural Mothers Network says

    Wow! I am inspired to try this at last although to be honest never quite believed I could get the results until today! Thanks for sharing this great post! . I host a linky and would love it if you popped over and linked this post! It would be great to introduce your blog to my readership! Seasonal Celebration Linky http://naturalmothersnetwork.com/seasonal-celebration-sunday/seasonal-celebration/ Thank you :-)
    Reply

  20. Heather's Blog-o-rama says

    When you're ready to use natural shampoos again, let me know. I can recommend some good brands that are also SLS free. I like two...one from Aubrey organics...an the other from a company called Alaffia. That second one is a gluten free shampoo :) :) Love and hugs from the ocean shores of California, Heather :)
    Reply

  21. Hilary says

    I have tried the no 'poo and never could get completely happy with the results. I've been using a sls, paraben, etc. free shampoo and conditioner--which still has a few chemicals in it--and was still getting itchy and having my back break out. So, I slathered coconut oil on my tangly ends (some people leave it on for a few hours before washing), and then washed my hair with my olive oil soap (which I've done before fairly successfully), and rinsed the ends with the acv/water. My hair still feels different when it's wet, but it is great when it's dry, and even a teensy bit of coconut oil on the ends helps with tangles. I've noticed too that if I get too much coconut oil on the ends so that it looks a little sleek, it is super soft and not at all oily by the next day. So interesting!
    Reply

  24. Christina @ A Beautiful Mess says

    Really random post from a lurker as I just stumbled on your blog (ironically via a Tumblr account on Ryan Gosling haha). I am a devout no-poo-er who just gave up shampoo completely about a month ago (before I would shampoo once a week and baking soda/apple cider vinegar the other 1-2 times I washed) and I finally found that my trick was to really scrub a dub my roots. I probably massaged my scalp for a good 2 minutes or so and then let it sit a minute before scrubbing it as I rinsed. It seemed a little harsh at first but my hair is just as soft and clean as when I used to use shampoo and bonus! It stays cleaner longer now. Just a thought if you ever decide to give no-poo a chance again :)

    I was turned onto the no-poo movement by Crunchy Betty (www.crunchybetty.com) and I think she has some recipes for some sorta-poo shampoos :) Looking forward to reading some more of your posts!
    Reply

  25. Jen Kunkel says

    Oh please don't go back to regular shampoo at all! Ditch that bottle. And you don't need to buy "natural" shampoo. Many of those aren't much better than the rest. I've been shampoo free for over 2 years! You CAN do this! It could take up to 6 months for your hair to adjust (don't worry, it's not horrible the whole time). First, you need to stop using other products on your hair also (not sure if you've done that). I now use only water & scrub my scalp really well. With longer hair, doing this in the bath & submerging your scalp so your hair floats away from it can make this easier too. I found it worked better when I stopped using the baking soda pastes (I tried all kinds of combos). Now I "wash" with water only & rinse about every 2 weeks with 50/50 apple cider vinegar & water. I do my scalp massage, then pour the rinse carefully onto my scalp, massage that in & let it stay on (like conditioner) while I'm finishing my shower. Then I rinse at the end. I've found using a cooler temperature of water for my hair works better too. Good job & keep it up! You really can do this :)
    Reply

  27. Heidi Kestrel says

    Hi. I just found this post after an internet search. My little boy has very sensitive skin. He gets it from me. About a year ago, I stopped buying all body products altogether and have been making my own since. Yes, lots of trial and error but I like knowing exactly what I'm putting on my skin. I only occasionally use soap (and then it's home made) on my hair. Thanks for your post.
    Reply

  28. Kim says

    When you went three weeks without using shampoo did u notice if your hair seem to grow quicker? I would like to try this method as my scalp is very sensitive to most shampoo. Right now I am using expensive shampoo and it sucks. Any tips?
    Reply

    • Missy Rakes says

      Kim, I did not notice my hair growing any faster with the no-poo method. Give it a try and see what you think. If it doesn't work for you then you may want to try an all natural shampoo bar or diluted castile soap instead of traditional shampoo.
      Reply