No Poo

As I wait for Sarah to finish her mid-term exam on her university campus, I decide to start typing my blog post for the weekend.  Yes, I’m excited to be spending the weekend with Sarah and even more excited that she’s coming home with me on Sunday for reading week! 

I guess that sitting in an educational institution and being infused with learning energy have me feeling inspired (oh to be a university student again!) because I’ve decided to start my blog post with a quiz :)

How do you define "no poo"?

a)     Constipation

b)    Bullshit free

c)     Shampoo free

d)    Winnie-the-Pooh free

Last Saturday, BFF sent me a text asking me to Google “no poo”.   I didn’t know that five letters had the potential to change my life. 

So what is no poo?   To go no poo is to ...wait for it...  stop using shampoo.  Crazy, I know!

Why go no poo?   Quite simply, there are chemicals in shampoo that are toxic, hazardous to your health, and can irritate and dry out your scalp and hair.  What I’ve learned while researching “no poo” is that our body produces oil to naturally condition our hair and keep it healthy.  Using shampoo daily upsets the natural balance and causes us to produce more oil than necessary to compensate.  As someone who produces a lot of oil (yes, I’m sweaty and oily…just lovely!), I guess I have nothing to lose (right?).  I can’t help but wonder when shampoo was invented and why (to support consumerism?) especially since our body was no doubt designed to be able to keep our hair healthy.   All I know is that the less toxins we use, the better!

While perusing a number of blogs and websites dedicated to the no poo method, I was reminded of all of the chemicals found in shampoos:

Alcohol, isopropyl (SD-40) is a very drying and irritating solvent and dehydrator that strips your skin’s moisture and natural immune barrier, making you more vulnerable to bacteria, molds and viruses. It is made from propylene, a petroleum derivative, and is found in many skin and hair products, fragrances, antibacterial hand washes as well as shellac and antifreeze. It can act as a “carrier,” accelerating the penetration of other harmful chemicals into your skin.  It may promote brown spots and premature aging of skin.  A Consumer’s Dictionary of Cosmetic Ingredients says isopropyl alcohol may cause headaches, flushing, dizziness, mental depression, nausea, vomiting, narcosis, anesthesia and coma. A fatal ingested dose is one ounce or less.

FD&C color pigments are synthetic colors made from coal tar, containing heavy metal salts that deposit toxins onto the skin, causing skin sensitivity and irritation. Absorption of certain colors can cause depletion of oxygen in the body and death. Animal studies have shown almost all of them to be carcinogenic.

Mineral oil is a petroleum by-product that coats the skin like plastic, clogging the pores. It interferes with skin’s ability to eliminate toxins, promoting acne and other disorders.

Propylene glycol (PG) and butylene glycol are petroleum plastics which act as surfactants (wetting agents and solvents). They easily penetrate the skin and can weaken protein and cellular structure. Commonly used to make extracts from herbs, PG is strong enough to remove barnacles from boats!

Sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) and sodium laureth sulfate (SLES) are detergents and surfactants that may pose serious health threats. They are used in car washes, garage floor cleaners and engine degreasers — and in 90 percent of personal care products that foam. Animals exposed to SLS experienced eye damage, depression, labored breathing, diarrhea, severe skin irritation and even death.

(thanks to Nature Moms  for reminding me of the chemicals and their effects on the human body!)

It's important to note that many shampoos and conditioners are tested on animals so if you decide that going no poo isn't for you, be sure to buy products that are non-toxic and that haven't been tested on animals.  Don't even get me started on what they do to these "test-animals"!!!

Surprisingly, even though I had switched to a “natural” shampoo, there was still a lot of shit in it.   Make sure to check the ingredients on your products.  If you are unsure, you can research the specifics of each ingredient online.  

I consider myself to be pretty conscious when it comes to the products I use whether it's being environmentally-conscious, socially-conscious, ethically-conscious or health-conscious.  I'm conscious of what I put into my body (food, drink, vitamins, medicine, toothpaste), of the chemicals that I breathe in my house (detergents, household cleaners, air fresheners, candles), and to some extent, what I put on my skin (lotions, soaps, fabrics) but I guess I haven’t been as diligent in researching what would be best for my hair. 

After letting my grey hair reign supreme for 4 months last year, I was able to transition to natural hair dye for my greys.  That was a huge victory for me in limiting my exposure to chemicals (do you know what’s in your hair dye?).  I’m also proud that I don’t use gels or mousses or hair sprays on my hair, hence the reason why I’m still single! Even though I purchased “natural” shampoo, I’ll admit that I hadn’t done my research in ensuring that it was truly “natural”.   I’m the first person to raise the red flag regarding “green”, “all natural”, “organic” and any other type of products that advertisers try to sell to the "conscious-minded" but I didn’t realize how gullible even I could be about brand-washing.

So when BFF introduced me to no poo, I was in!  Yes, that probably still makes me gullible :P  

From the website “instructables”, here’s an easy step-by-step on how to go no poo:

(I love it when instructions start with a disclaimer!)  When you stop using shampoo, you will probably experience a transitional period while your body gradually adjusts to produce just enough oil to keep your hair healthy.  During this time, which can range from a few days to a few months, you'll probably have some extra oil and grease that you may want to take care of to look presentable.  The cheapest and most effective way to handle this is to use baking soda. The method involves a plastic cup, some baking soda, and a shower. You may also want to condition your hair after using the baking soda mixture, as sometimes it can leave your hair a bit dry.  There are lots of different ways to do this including apple cider vinegar.  

Cleaning

Put 1-2 tbsp of baking soda into a cup.  When you get in the shower, fill the rest of the cup with water and stir until the baking soda is dissolved.  You should have some cloudy water at this point.  If the mixture feels gritty or pasty, either add more water or use less baking soda.   Apply the mixture to your hair.   Ideally, you should aim to get most of it around your roots and work it in with your fingers, gradually distributing it throughout the rest of your hair. It won't lather like shampoo, but it does give your hair a distinct "smooth" feeling when it's properly distributed.  Once you've rubbed it around a bit, you should be ready to rinse. When you are completely rinsed you are ready to condition.

Conditioning

The simplest way to condition is to use apple cider vinegar, in about the same way as you used baking soda: 1 tbsp of the vinegar per 1 cup of water. If you like, you can add a few drops of your favorite essential oil, some honey, or some lemon juice. When you've mixed up your conditioner, pour it on and work it in just like you did the baking soda. When you're satisfied, rinse thoroughly.

I also checked out the instructions on One Green Generation (check out her blog – great tips!): 

The Simple Method Diluted

1.  Use an old shampoo bottle or a squeeze bottle of some variety.  Mix 1 part baking soda to 6 parts water.  Each time you use this solution, shake well to mix.

2.  Squeeze the baking soda solution onto your dry scalp then massage your scalp for several seconds. (You just need to saturate your scalp, not the rest of your hair.)

3.  Leave in for 1-3 minutes, and rinse completely.

4.  In an old shampoo bottle or a squeeze bottle, mix 1 part organic white vinegar to 8 parts water. You can add essential oils or herbs if you like – I add 1 cinnamon stick (which lasts through several bottles of mixture) and 1/2 tsp vanilla.  This masks the vinegar smell, and leaves your hair with a faint scent of spices.

5.  Leave on hair for several seconds, then rinse completely.

I also noticed that another blogger suggested adding tea tree oil and/or lavender essential oil to the vinegar in order to mask the vinegar smell a bit.

Now you’re probably curious to know whether or not I decided to try out the no poo method.  Well, I did and I’m now on day 7 of no poo!  That's no poo :P

First of all, you should know that I have thin, oily hair so I wasn’t sure if I could be seen in public without washing my hair for more than 24 hours.  After 7 days of no poo, I’m happy to say that I'm still interacting with the public and I think that most are okay with it.   For those who aren't okay with it, I'm guessing that it has nothing to do with my hair :P

Here's my daily regime:  after wetting my hair, I add 2 tablespoons of baking soda to a jar then add a cup or so of warm water, and shake.   I pour the mixture into my hair and let it sit for a minute or two then rinse (I hope that one day I'm not writing about the toxicity of baking soda!).    

On day 2, my hair felt heavy with grease but BFF assured me that it didn’t look greasy/oily.   The trick is not to run my fingers through my hair as I normally do (a nervous tic?) to avoid spreading the oil from my fingers to my hair (great tip from BFF and I'm so thankful that she pointed out that I also have oily fingers!).   

On day 4, the ends of my hair started to flip out (in a good way!) which is something I normally have to use the hair straightener to accomplish.  

So far, BFF, Reb and I have jumped on the no poo bandwagon.  BFF probably has the best no-poo hair because her hair now has the most beautiful no poo curls (so. not. fair!).   Under normal circumstances, Reb has the most beautiful hair but her beautifully thick and curly hair is struggling with dryness as a result of the no poo.  I'm ill-equipped to say this but my guess is that Reb's no poo hair will be even more beautiful than before (if that's even possible?!?).  


If you're having issues with no poo, check out this website which seems to provide solutions to many no poo challenges using a discussion board:  http://no-poo.livejournal.com/

While staying at Sarah’s this weekend, she reminded me of the book I bought for her called “Ecobeauty” by Lauren and Janice Cox.  In the book, there are numerous recipes for homemade beauty products from scrubs to cleaners to toners to bath bombs to hair masks.   Here are two hair rinses and a hair conditioner (could be a movie title?!?) that I’m going to try, and will recommend to BFF and Reb:

Under the Sea Hair Rinse (for shinier and smoother hair - bonus: kelp helps promote growth!)

½ cup water

½ cup apple cider vinegar

¼ cup lemon juice

2 tablespoons powdered kelp

Stir until well mixed.  Coat hair with mixture.  Wrap hair with towel and leave treatment on for 20 minutes then rinse. 

Refreshing Mint Hair Rinse (pick-me-up for dull, limp locks)

½ cup boiling water

1 to 2 mint tea bags

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

Pour boiling water over tea bags and steep until cool.   Remove tea bags (give them a good squeeze) then stir in vinegar.  Apply mixture to your hair.  Massage it into your scalp and work it through your hair.  Don’t rinse out. 

Go Bananas Hair Conditioner (for conditioning hair deeply and moisturizing the scalp)

½ rip banana

¼ cup warm water

2 tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon coconut oil

Mash banana then add to blender with other ingredients until smooth.  Apply mixture and massage hair and scalp.  Wrap warm towel around head and leave on for 30 minutes then rinse. 

Finally, I should note that if you’re interested in trying the no poo method, you might want to keep it a secret.  This morning, after informing Sarah that I was officially no poo, the following conversation ensued: 

Sarah:   Are you still taking showers?
Sarah:  Are you going to be taking a shower here?

Sarah:   Do you still use soap to wash your body?

Me:       Wow, you’re so concerned about my personal hygiene!

Sarah:  Well, you’re sleeping on my sheets!

Me:      (burst out laughing)

Sarah:  Wow, you must not be around people much.

I'm still not sure if that last comment was directed at me for my laughter (I was really LOL'ing!) or for being no poo :)  

So to those of you interested in the no poo method, you’ve been warned :P