From Natural Shampoo to No Shampoo

During the summer, I made the switch to natural shampoo.  It took a bit of trial and error to find one that worked well with my hair, but when I found it, I was very happy with the result.  The one I ended up choosing was Aubrey’s Blue Camomile Shampoo and Conditioner.

Right after I settled on this great option, I started reading about the “no poo” movement.  I was intrigued and of course, decided to try it out.

So, I made myself a baking soda rinse.  I used it for the first time over a month ago.  After the first time, my hair still felt a bit dirty, so I made myself an apple cider vinegar rinse for the next time.  Sure enough, using the vinegar rinse helped get that clean feeling in my hair.

Over the past month, I have experimented with the amount of time between “washes”.  I definitely have to “wash” my hair more often than when I was using actual shampoo.  If I rinse my hair every other day or every two days, it looks and feels pretty good.

As a backup, I have used a dry shampoo from time to time to help absorb some of the oil when I don’t have time to do a full wash.  All in all, I’m very satisfied with myself.  I loved the natural shampoo and have it on hand in case I feel the need for a good lather in my hair. And of course, I will still work on formulating my own shampoo.  In the meantime, I’ve found a gentle way to keep my hair clean and have reduced the number of chemicals in my daily routine!

How do you bring balance to your day?

I have a busy day job.  It’s dynamic and challenging and I love it.  I also find it exhausting at times, due to the demand on my time and energy.

Experimenting with skin care products is a great relief for me.  I get to be creative and try out different things.  I get to experiment with scents, textures and viscosity.  It’s very different from my day job and it provides me with the right balance.  I also love sharing my creations with my family and friends and finding out what they like and don’t like about each one.

As a side benefit, I’m learning lots of tidbits about adding balance to my day.  I recently started brushing my skin in the morning again.  I found out I love it!  It’s a great way to start my day and knowing that I get to do this helps me drag myself out of bed each morning.

I’ve also cut a lot of unnecessary chemicals out of my life.  By making a simple change to a natural soap, I realized that I didn’t need my store bought moisturizer anymore.  And by using dry shampoo a couple of times a week, I’ve cut the times that I have to wash my hair in half each week.  That means I have more time to spend on other things.

How do you bring balance to your day?

What is Dry Shampoo?

If you read my last post, you’ll see that I stumbled upon the use of dry shampoos.  I have never heard of a dry shampoo until very recently.  So, I decided to do some research to learn what I could about dry shampoos.  If you’re in the same boat as me, please read on!

Regular shampooing, with water, can cause hair follicle damage.  For those with dry hair, the whole process can be hard on your locks, making them even harder to nourish and manage.  Daily shampooing can actually dry out your natural oils, causing your glands to overcompensate and produce even more oils, making your hair oilier than before!  Of course, the next step would be to shampoo it again, thus restarting the cycle.

Dry shampoo can be used in between regular washings.  It works to absorb excess oils in order to give you the look of clean hair.  It will help your hair look fuller and will add volume to your hair.  Dry shampoos are made with a variety of ingredients.  Whether you use cornstarch or clay, they all have the ability to absorb the excess oils in your hair.

It should take far less time to do a dry shampoo treatment on your hair, as compared to a regular shampoo.  The process is simple.  You take the product and massage it into your hair, ensuring that you’re getting to the roots and oily spots.  You can let that sit for a few minutes.  Then, simply brush out your hair.  It’s a messy process, so it’s best to do this over a sink or tub, or be prepared to sweep the floor right after you’re done.

A dry shampoo is a great option when you don’t have time for a regular shampoo, don’t have access to water to wash your hair, or want to give your hair a break from the shampoo and conditioners that you use.   I wouldn’t go so far as to suggest that it would replace regular shampoo.  However, using it could certainly save you some hair washing time and help your shampoo last a bit longer.

How often do you wash your hair?

As I’ve been researching the topic of natural hair care, I’ve found a few articles that talk about how often you really need to wash your hair.  Some people wash their hair every day and others wash their once or twice a month.  Why such a difference?

All on its own, your body’s sebaceous glands produce sebum.  Sebum waterproofs and moisturizes your hair.  When left unwashed, sebum can accumulate in your hair and you can get that look of unwashed and oily hair.  This causes us to shampoo our hair to get rid of the excess oil.  However,some shampoo gets rid of so much of our natural oils that we have to then condition our hair and replace the oil we just removed.  That sounds a bit redundant to me.

The fact is, until recently, frequent hair washing was not common. It wasn’t long ago that women used to go to the hairdresser once a week to have their hair washed and styled for the entire week!  Over the last sixty years, that trend has changed in North America.  Now, it is largely unacceptable allow your hair to get too oily.  Now, we largely choose to strip the oils out and promptly put them back in with a conditioning product.

As redundant as hair washing sounds, the fact is that when I don’t wash my hair every other day, it gets very oily.  It doesn’t feel great and it looks worse!  Some have turned to dry shampoo.   This product is formulated to absorb excess oils and remove the need for excess washing.   They’ve been used for many years and are seeing a bit more popularity right now.  There are a variety of ways to make them and they are certainly for sale in regular stores.  Can you guess what I’m going to try making next?