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My Hair Diaries: The No-Poo Journey Week 6

If you haven't heard of going "no-poo" before, look it up. I don't have any links for you because I have done a bit of digging and didn't really save my research, but I can say go to a facebook group called "No Poo(no shampoo & Loo poo) https://www.facebook.com/groups/nopoo/ and they have so much info in the link section.

Using this non-tradtional method has many benefits and they really sucked me in. I have seen first hand from a friend of mine that it truly works!

No-poo is basically ditching your shampoo and even conditioner which can be full of sulfates(product that coats your hair and will build up over time) and parabens(toxins that are known for various issues).

You can go many routes with this journey such as only washing with water, washing with a tea rinse, washing with a baking soda mixture, apple cider vinegar as conditioner, castile soap or many other methods.

Personally I tried the baking soda and ASV route, but I do not think that worked very well for me. My hair didn't feel right or look right. However it may have been because I was/still am transitioning.
You will go through a detox period called "the transition" and you will experience many frustrations and up do's. My hair was very very greasy, especially at the crown of my head, and my hair was waxy, sticky to the touch and looked straw like and greasy at the same time. It is an odd combination and the texture was just a whole lot of things. I am mad at myself for not taking any pictures( I have one during my first week of no poo but you can't really see very well, but it does show the grease).

As you can see, my hair looks flat and greasy on top and slightly straw like/dry on the ends. If you saw the back of my head, you would be amazed I kept my hair down. This was after a wash and I was hopeful it would dry nicely.

Since the first week I tried using BS and ASV every 4 days or so and I didn't like the way my hair felt or looked. It did get a little better texture wise, but still had this greasy feeling. So I wrote out my frustrations on the facebook page was suggested castile soap and I bought Dr. Woods Tea Tree Castile Soap(about two weeks ago). I LOVED the first rinse and it smells so good. It doesn't lather, but it does clean your hair. When my hair dried, it felt silky and smooth. It wasn't super greasy and even could run my fingers through my hair without a fuss, even when my hair was dry.

However, after about 2 days my hair would be greasy. I would wait about 5 days to use the soap and probably only 1 water only wash in between. The water only seemed to help slightly. Then about three days ago(week five) I wanted to try the baking soda rinse again to see if that would help with the oil cause I heard it can. I used paste instead(just add some powder and water in palm of hand to make a paste and massage into scalp instead of 1 tablespoon of BS to 1 cup of water). However, my hair went crazy and got super oily and hard to brush(just like week 1). It got sticky and straw like, AGAIN! I tried washing it out the best I could.

Moral of the story, BS may not be for me. I used cold water, so maybe that was my problem. It is all about trail and error, which can be so discouraging! But the girls on the Facebook page said it is so worth the wait and your hair will be amazing! I may still be in transition, so I will wait it out.

As you see above, my hair looks so dry! However, when you feel the scalp area, it is a little oily, especially the back. The odd thing is is that it feels soft. My hair looks so much better with the Dr. Woods soap. I may need to dilute the soap and then use hot water rinse so it doesn't get greasy. I will keep you updated on my journey.

Thanks for reading my hair ramblings and comment below and tips or questions!

-Kristina