No 'Poo Experience after 7 months

It has been an interesting 3 months since my last blog update about my experience. I did change up somethings since July, so I am going to combine 3 months worth into one post.

After the 5 month, I ran out of both the baking soda cleanser and the vinegar. I was happy to get back to the ACV rinse. This time, I didn't add the honey into the ACV, but I did put in tea tree and lavender essential oils. I could feel the tingling of the tea tree after the first use of the new ACV rinse, but after that, I guess my scalp healed up enough to where I didn't feel the tingling anymore.

I ran out of the baking soda cleanser twice within the last 3 months. The first time I remade it, I boiled some water then let some chamomile leaves and tea leaves brew for about 5 hours. I didn't create too strong of a smell from the chamomile, but I was getting tired of just plain old filtered water. Needless to say, my bath tub was very brown from using that mixture for a month!

The second batch of baking soda cleanser, i just added tea tree and lavender into plain, old, filter water. I made about 32 oz of this which I would have finished by the end of November, but I have since stopped using it for reason I will talk about in my next post.

I did start washing the ACV rinse out with cold water. Yes, that is right, cold water! Now, you are probably thinking I am crazy for doing this, especially with the colder weather coming, but trust me, it is well worth it! If you haven't guessed, the cold water helps to close the cuticles in your hair strands to keep the moisture "locked in," so if you have dry hair (like I do), this will help out a lot! I did start combing my hair in the shower, using a wide tooth comb, after I squirt the ACV rinse on my hair (still using the same method as I mentioned in my last post "No 'Poo Experience after 5 months"). I researched that people with my hair type (wavy/curly) should comb their hairs in the shower, especially after the conditioner is added in, and that's it. Our hair does not like a comb when it is dry! You will get breakage and split ends like no tomorrow. It's no fun and you hair will hate you for it, believe me!

I did purchase a boar bristle brush as a last minute resort when I couldn't find my regular brush. One of my children hid my brush in a drawer in the school room right before vacation time. It's a Conair brand and it doesn't work. At. All. My hair started to get static in it and it wasn't even getting the tangles out. I had to use my girl's brush to get the tangles out. I do not recommend the Conair boar bristle brush. It does work great of fine baby hair, though, our pirate prince really enjoys it when I brush his hair in the morning. :-)

No 'Poo Experience after 3 months

Sorry I did not get a chance to put this up back in June. My body has been going through crazy changes trying to get back to normal after having Pirate Prince. Now you get to enjoy two posts this month! -:P

Right after I posted my last blog, I tried just using the ACV rinse on my hair. It turned out being just as greasy, if not more greasy, as if you were to just use the baking soda cleanser. Needless to say I took a shower the next morning using both the BS cleanser and ACV rinse. 

I did a little more experimenting with my herbal castile soap shampoo that I had left and the last bit of the baking soda rinse I had.

I was pretty much down to about a third of the herbal shampoo and was just about to run out of the baking soda cleanser so I put both together in one bottle and to try it out. When I was doing the research on 'no poo-ing,' I did come across a tea shampoo recipe that used both baking soda and castile soap. Let me just say that I fell in love with it! It had more lather to the shampoo then it originally did by just using castile soap, and the benefits of getting your scalp rubbed clean from the baking soda. It was refreshing to use and it left my scalp feeling great! I was able to go at least 4 days without washing my hair with the "new and improved" herbal shampoo. I wish I would have combined the two earlier so I could enjoy it more, though. :-(

I keep forgetting to mention how I dry my hair after a shower, so now that I am thinking about it, I'll put it in this post. :-)

If anybody has done research on "how to take care of curly and/or wavy hair" has come to find out that bath towels are evil for our hair types! There are many ways you can dry your hair without getting too many split ends, making it frizzy, or have a rats nest to comb/brush through after your shower.

For the longest time, I used to never brush my hair before I took a shower. Don't get me wrong, I would brush my hair before I would go to school, but I never really thought about brushing before bed time or taking a shower. It wasn't until after I graduated high school and spent the entire summer with my aunt and uncle, when my aunt had asked me, while I was combing my hair after a shower, if I ever brushed my hair before I took one. So I tried it out to see if there was a difference when it came to combing my hair after it had been washed. And well, what do you know, it was A LOT easier to comb through after a shower! That was the first change to my routine.

A few years into my college years, I found out that I should scrunch my hair with a towel vs. rubbing the towel over my hair to dry the excess water off. I also use a wide tooth comb through my hair, but I have been doing that since high school. You can also use a natural boar bristle brush on your hair once it has dried. I haven't been able to buy a natural boar bristle brush just yet, it's on my wishlist after we get out of debt. :) I do remember using something similar while I was a kid and it did make my hair feel very soft, I just never realized that it was a boar bristle brush!

After doing these two changes, my hair seemed to be doing a lot better at keeping the split ends to a minimum and when I thought I was doing an awesome job, I find out there are more things to do to make my hair even better!

I found that people with my hair type should not use a towel, but a cotton t-shirt or a microfiber towel. Again, only scrunching your hair, not rubbing your hair with it. Also, people with tight curly hair do something called plopping. I do it a little different then the video. You basically lay out an old t-shirt (a large long sleeve is preferred, but I use one of my husband's short sleeve) to where the neck line and sleeves are closets to your body, flip your head over to where your hair is laying on the shirt, then fold a little bit of the shirt, where your hair ends, over the tips of your hair, then fold the rest of the shirt over toward your neck to cover the back of your head and tuck it under your forehead. If you are using a long sleeve t-shirt, take the sleeves and cross them over the back of your head then bring them to the front of your head and tie a knot. If you are using a short sleeve, just bring the sleeves to the back and tie a knot. You want to make the knot tight, but not too tight where you are not comfortable. You can leave shirt on as long as you like or as little as you like, it all depends on what your day is like. I usually take my showers at night, when all the children are sleeping, so I usually leave it in while I brush my teeth, put on the witch hazel, and face moisturizer to finish off my routine of washing my face, then take it out before I go to bed; about 10-15 minutes. If I get a shower in early enough at night, I leave it in while I watch some Stargate episodes with my husband then take the shirt off before we go to bed; close to a hour.

I haven't used any kind of hair products since switching to a no poo shampoo, but the plopping is most effective when you do use them, especially if you want the scrunch look for your waves. I like plopping without hair products just fine, it gives my waves a more natural look to them.

I hope some of these tips on how to manage your hair after a shower will help you out and make your no poo experience a great one!

Happy Shampooing!