Natural Hair Care

If you've read my first article on here then you know that I've gone "No Poo."  I've almost made it a month and I'm very happy with the results.  I think my hair seems thicker, I have less fall out, and it also seems to be growing!

In case you haven't read the article and are wondering what in the world "No Poo" is I'll be happy to give you a brief explanation.  This method is basically "washing" the hair without the use of commercial shampoos/conditioners.  Often people choose to use things like Baking Soda Wash and Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) rinse, or a rye wash, applesauce masks, ACV only, and some make it to the realm of WO or Water Only.  Water Only seems to be the holy grail of "No Poo."

My hair is crazy curly/wavy and long (past my shoulders).  It tends to get dry but still remains soft.  My scalp tends to get oily fast and the rest of my hair remains dry.  I've noticed brushing my hair with a Boar Bristle Brush really helps distribute the oils.  I also tried Plopping (see video below).  Funny name, right? 

Plopping is great for naturally curly hair.  You basically comb/brush and style your hair and then plop your hair in the middle of the cotton T-shirt and then wrap the shirt around your head.  I've never seen my hair so wavy and curly. 

Sometimes it can be difficult to know what your hair needs. One way to understand what it needs best is to test the porosity of your hair.  There are 2 tests the float test and the slip and slide test.  For the float test you pull a few strands and place them in a dish of water. Let the hair sit in the water for 2-4 minutes.  If your hair is still floating it has low porosity and if it sinks you have high porosity.  The slip and slide test simply involves running your fingers up a shaft of hair.  If you feel little bumps as you move up the shaft then you have high porosity hair and the cuticle is lifted and if you are able to glide smoothly the hair is low porosity.

You want to strive for low porosity hair.  This type of hair repels moisture.  It's the healthiest hair type and is often very shiny. It is however prone to build up of products.  This is another reason why "No Poo" is a great idea!  The best kinds of moisturizers for this type of hair include jojoba oil, shea butter, coconut oil, and mineral oil.

Medium porosity hair is the most manageable.  The cuticle isn't as smooth as the low porosity hair, it is slightly lifted.  This type of hair holds styles well however over processing can easily lead to damage.

High porosity hair is often very damaged due to processing.  In this type of hair there are actually gaps in the cuticles.  These holes allow too much moisture in and cause your hair to be frizzy. On this type of hair you want to use anti-humectant products and leave-in conditioners.

I've used 2 different oil masks on my hair to assist with the dryness.  Most recently I just used a little coconut oil and left it on over-night then did by BS/ACV cleanse.  In the past I've used a concoction I made from Extra Virgin Olive Oil, African Hair Oil, Tea Tree Oil, and a few drops of mint and left on overnight.  Both make my hair very shiny and manageable.

Resources:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_poo
• http://www.naturallycurly.com/texture-typing/hair-porosity

Stop Washing Your Hair!

Stop washing your hair!

I know it sounds crazy, right? 
I thought it was crazy too until I tried it.  I have long curly/wavy hair that tends to get oily very easy.
The thought of not washing my hair and not using conditioner sounded absolutely crazy and I thought there was no possible way I could ever do it.

I used to be a person that washed their hair every day because if I didn't it would be an oily mess the next day.  I still really wanted to try this method I heard of called the "No Poo" method.  I know the name sounds crazy too and I don't completely understand why they choose it, lol.

The "No Poo" method basically means you cease using commercial shampoos and conditioners and opt for an alternative method.  The two most common methods are using water only or using baking soda to wash and vinegar to rinse your hair.

I was afraid to just jump into not washing my hair so I started by washing my hair every other day.  I did this for about 2 months and whenever I could I'd try to go a couple of days without washing my hair.

I finally got brave and jumped in.  I'm still in the process of getting my hair completely converted but I wanted to share now so I can keep you updated on the progress. I should have taken pictures at every stage but I didn't take one until today.

If you are unfamiliar with the "No Poo" method please see the links below for more information.

• http://www.nopoomethod.com/
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_poo
• http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Go-No-Poo/
• http://www.treehugger.com/organic-beauty/no-shampoo-experiment-six-months-later.html

I also found a great group on Facebook for this No Poo Journey: https://www.facebook.com/groups/nopoo/?fref=nf

My Progress

• 1/5/15 - Regular wash/condition+ leave-in conditioner.
• Hair felt normal but scalp was dry.
• 1/6/15 - Nothing
• Itchy and dry scalp, minimal oil.
• 1/7/15 - Dry shampoo scalp using baby powder in my hair overnight in pony tail.
• Not oily but scalp was still dry.
• 1/8/15 - Nothing
• Little oily and itchy but front of scalp still dry.
• 1/9/15 - Baking Soda/ Regular conditioner
• Worked great for removing excess oil from scalp, front still dry but the regular conditioner made my hair oily.
• 1/10/15 - Nothing
• Hair is oily and itchy scalp, dry in front
• 1/11/15 - Baking Soda/ White Vinegar
• Removed excess oil from scalp, a little excess oil in length of hair but looked good. Scalp dry in front.
• 1/12/15 - Nothing
• A little oily around scalp but not itchy.
• 1/13/15 -Nothing

So sadly somehow my data from the 13th until a few days ago has all been lost.  I'm going to start from here and keep tracking.
I've moved to about 3-4 days between washing and to using baking soda/Apple cider vinegar.

• 1/26/15 - BS/ACV and Plopping (see video and picture below).
• 1/27/15 - Nothing
• 1/28/15 - Nothing
• 1/29/15 - Nothing
• 1/30/15 - BS/ACV and plopping
• 1/31/15 - Clarifying conditioner only.
• I accidentally got my hair wet in the shower and if I didn't add the conditioner I wouldn't have been able to get my hands through it.
• 2/1/15 - Nothing
• 2/2/15 - BS/ACV and plopping
• 2/3/15 - Nothing
• 2/4/15 - Nothing
• 2/5/15 - Baby Powder near the roots to soak up oil.
• 2/6/15 - Nothing
• 2/7/15 - Apple Cider Vinegar only and plopping.
• Looks kind of oily but really curly.
• 2/8/15 - Nothing
• 2/9/15 - Nothing
• 2/10/15 - Baking Soda/ACV - plopping
• 2/11/15 -  Braid at night, BBB, light misting
• 2/12/15 - Braid at night, BBB, light misting
• 2/13/15 - Nothing
• 2/14/15 - Nothing
• 2/15/15 - Nothing
• 2/16/15 - Very oily and not smelling very pretty
• 2/17/15 - Baking Soda and this Shea Butter Co-wash I found + plopping
• 2/18/15 - Nothing
• 2/19/15 - Nothing
• 2/20/15 - Shea Butter Co-wash only
• 2/21/15 - Nothing - hair's getting pretty oily and itchy
• 2/22/15 - My hair is really bad today.  I will be washing it.  I feel like trying something new.  The Baking soda was great for a while and is great to remove excess sebum from my hair but my scalp isn't getting any better.  It's actually maybe a little worse.
• I'm going to try rinsing with this tea that is hibiscus, black currants, and elderberries mixed with some honey.  It was good for drinking now let's see about hair :)   Maybe an ACV rinse after.  All I know is my hair is horrible right now.  I can't even go out in public it's so bad and itchy.   Today's wash may end up like a bad science experiment....(eyes bottle of aloe gel on desk....).
• So I washed gently with Baking Soda and then combined my tea with a little apple cider vinegar and used that as a rinse. Now I smell like a pixie stick!
• 2/23/15 - Nothing
• 2/24/15 - Cocoa powder
• 2/25/15 - Scritch and Preen and aloe on dry parts of scalp
• 2/26/15 - Nothing
• 2/27/15 - Nothing
• 2/28/15 - Nothing
• 3/1/15 - Baking Soda/ACV/Elderberry, Black Currant, Hibiscus Tea Rinse
• 3/2/15 - Nothing
• 3/3/15 - Nothing
• 3/4/15 - Nothing
• 3/5/15 - Nothing
• 3/6/15 - Baking Soda/ACV
• 3/7/15 - Nothing
• 3/8/15- Nothing
• 3/9/15- Nothing
• 3/10/15 - Nothing
• 3/11/15 - BS-Wash - Mask with banana, aloe vera, coconut milk and an egg, ACV - rinse
• 3/12/15  -  Nothing
• 3/13/15 - Nothing - Braided
• 3/14/15 - Added oil to ends
• 3/15/15 - Mask - banana, aloe vera, coconut milk, and egg - Rinse - ACV
• 3/16/15 - Nothing
• 3/17/15 - Added oil to ends
• 3/18/15 -  Nothing
• 3/19/15 - Nothing
• 3/20/15 - Nothing
• 3/21/15 - Nothing
• 3/22/15 - Water Only Wash - I preened and scratched really good before washing and sort of preened and detangled during the wash.  I was amazed because I'm sure I have hard water and sulfur in the water as well.
• 3/23/15 - Nothing - Preened and detangled by hand.
• 3/24/15 - Nothing - Preened and detangled by hand
• 3/25/15 - Nothing - Preened and detangled by hand
• 3/26/15 - Nothing - Brushed
• 3/27/15 - Nothing - Brushed

I'm going to start posting my hair diary in another article.  Click Here

**Keep coming back for more postings!


1/11/15 - Top

1/10/15 - Front

1/11/15 - BS/White Vinegar



Showing length so far

1/30/15  - BS/ACV+Plopping