So, have any of you gone "no 'poo" yet? Given it a try? I am still at it, nearly 6 months in now! It takes some definite adjustment time but boy, is it working. I even managed to go on a mini-vacation and remain shampoo free in a hotel room! (I premeasured backing soda and vinegar into little containers, planning to wash my hair every other day like I do at home.) I still have a few "kinks" to figure out. Like my scalp tends to be a little itchy, which I think means I need to cut back a little more on the baking soda or add a little tea tree oil into the mix. Maybe in the final rinse? I don't know. But I'm pleased with it! My scalp feels clean, my hair is nice and soft on wash days and not gross and greasy on the days between. I've even been able to go (on days I don't exercised and sweat) for three days between washings without having a major grease ball head! I don't know if my hair has stopped thinning, but it seems to be thinning...less than before. It's hard to say though, it's so thin already and I still pull quite a bit of hair out of my brush. Still....I know I'm not putting a bunch of garbage into my hair, so that's good!
So, still need a little incentive to give it a try yourself? Well, let's look at it from a different angle, shall we? Yes, it's a natural way to keep your hair clean. Yes it reduces the amount of "grey water" in the environment and pulls a lot of detergents out of the system. But have you thought about the cost? I mean really broken it down? I have, just for you!
So, you go to the store and buy a box of baking soda. Let's say you're feeling REALLY cheap that day and you buy a box of Walmart Brand. (I don't know how you feel about Walmart, where I live, it's really hard to get away from shopping there since it has effectively driven out local business.) You pay between $1 and $.50 a box for it here. So let's assume you pay $1. For that you get 1 lb of baking soda. If you use that soda for nothing else, you will get over 100 hair washes out of it. More if you use less than 1 tbsp per wash (less if you use more..). So, are you doing this math with me? 100 hair washes for $1 comes out to under a penny per wash. So, now we need to condition, so we go and buy a big ol' jug of apple cider vinegar or white distilled vinegar (*I used the distilled because it helps significantly with my extra oily hair. Others use Cider vinegar with good results). For a 1 gallon jug of apple cider vinegar you pay around $3. If all you do is condition your hair with this, you'll get 256 hair washings. That also comes out to about one penny per wash.
Which means if you go the basic route, you are spending two cents a hair wash. Washing every other day, that box of baking soda will last you for over three months. Three months of hair washing for under just about a dollar. So you shouldn't feel guilty for adding to your routine a little honey (for moisture) or a little tea tree oil (for growth and soothing) or rosemary (for growth). You'll still be saving a TON of money over washing with shampoo. And you will be putting less gunk onto your body and into the environment.
Think again about giving it a try, huh?
So very cool...
ReplyDelete