Shampooless

In November last year I was forced for health reasons, see this post, to stop using my shampoo and conditioner.  I had to come up with an alternative.  After searching in all the shops in my local town I was unable to find one that contained ingredients that I could tolerate.  Not wanting to be in a situation where I would have to drive miles or having to order on the internet each time I ran out, I thought about making my own.  After much searching it seemed there were recipes to make shampoo and conditioner which involved lots of ingredients and you ended up with a shampoo and or conditioner not unlike one which you would buy, except that you have total control over the ingredients.  The alternative was much simpler, bicarbonate of soda and vinegar.  I was really sceptical that this combination could leave my hair feeling and looking clean but my hair desperately needed a clean and in the absence of anything else, I gave it a go.

I started off with a mix of 1teaspoon of bicarb in a pint of hot water which I poured over my scalp and hair, I massaged my scalp and rinsed this off.  I followed this with 2 teaspoons of cider vinegar in the same quantity of water which I again rinsed off.  I found this combination made my hair very dry so I reduced the amount of vinegar to 1 teaspoon to a pint of hot water.  This seemed to be alright but after a month or so my hair still seemed to be fairly dry.  So I tried a different method with the bicarb.  First I tried making a paste with a teaspoon of bicarb and a little amount of water.  I rubbed this paste gently into my scalp.  I have fairly long hair which is quite thick so found this method difficult to apply.  I made the paste a bit runnier the next time and applied to my scalp and this is the perfect combination for my hair.  I have also reduced the amount of vinegar slightly.  I have been using this combination for about three months and my hair is definitely less dry.

I am now washing my hair every 5 to 6 days and my scalp is far less itchy than it used to be.  I live in a soft water area.  Before trying this method my hair would be greasy after about 2 to 3 days.  Most shampoos strip your hair and scalp of the natural oils that you produce.  Your body tries adjusts to having the oil stripped by going into overdrive and producing loads, therefore your hair will look greasy.  When you stop using shampoo you will probably go through a detox period when you hair will look really greasy.  You body is still in overdrive.  If you are patient then it is worth the wait.