Updates! (And My No 'Poo Method)

So I took a break from writing for a bit, saw a shrink, saw a doctor, got on some meds, and I think I'm doing a bit better now. I desperately wanted to tell Comprehensive Mental Health to suck a big one. I went in there to get some help and because I am uninsured they basically told me that without $85 in my hand they couldn't help me. Then the woman told me in the most condescending way possible that I could go to what amounts to the mental health ER (which would cost a ridiculously large amount) or I could go to the local sliding scale clinic but she didn't know if they even took psychiatric walk-ins or what their hours are. I went to the clinic and they were fantastic! They helped me even though I was dirt broke and treated me like a human being the entire time. Here is their website in case any of you are ever in the Yakima area and need help, they're awesome.

I'm feeling a bit better although my new antidepressant kind of makes me feel like I've got a caffeine drip in vein. Thank you to everyone who reached out to me; your support meant so much to me. Now I'm ready to get back to business and thus:

No 'Poo (Going Shampoo Free)

So I was not at all expecting this to work as well as it does! I figured my hair wouldn't feel clean like it does with store bought shampoo or as soft as it does with store bought conditioner and in a way I was right. My hair feels cleaner with my homemade baking soda treatment and softer with the apple cider vinegar (ACV) than any commercial product I have ever used!

Every other blog I have read about going no 'poo has warned about a 2-6 week adjustment period where your scalp kind of re-calibrates itself to only producing the amount of oil your hair needs to be healthy. That may be true for some people but I never had an issue with it. In fact this was my hair at the end of the first week.

Obviously  in need of a trim but not greasy!

And by the end of week three this is where I'm at.

The weird bump is where I had my hair in a ponytail all day.

It's not the best picture. I didn't have my wonderful sister available to help take this one. But you can see how shiny and healthy my hair is. I've never had hair like this in my entire life.

This is what I do to wash and condition my hair without buying shampoo and conditioner at the store:

Every three days I "wash" my hair with a solution of 1 tbsp baking soda to 1 cup water focusing on the roots. Just pour the solution in a little bit at a time to focus on different parts of the scalp and scrub. Because my ends get really dry I "condition" my hair every day with a solution of 1 tbsp ACV to 1 cup water. Pour the solution on like you're rinsing your hair focusing on the ends. If your hair is normally pretty oily I would do the ACV every 2-3 days and avoid putting it on your scalp at all. You can also add a few drops of essential oil to these solutions to make it smell nice although I have noticed that my hair doesn't ever smell like vinegar after I get out of the shower. Rinsing it out under the water seems to get rid of the smell.

I didn't want to mix up my shampoo and conditioner every time I wanted to wash my hair so I thoroughly rinsed out a couple of old shampoo bottles and just pre-mixed a bunch of my solutions. A quick shake in the shower and they're ready to go!

Going no 'poo can also have some unexpected benefits. I have dealt with an itchy scalp that is prone to dandruff all my life and I haven't had a problem with it once since starting this regimen. Also, my hair is much more manageable! I have very thin, fine, curly hair that tangles into impossible rats nests withing minutes of brushing and usually takes 20 min or so just to get all the tangles out. Since I went no 'poo I can brush my hair out in 5-10 min and it doesn't tangle nearly as easily.

Have you gone no 'poo? Are you planning on it? Please share your pics and stories!