The No-'Poo Challenge (Part TWO)

Since so many of you have asked for MORE DETAILS! for The No-'Poo Challenge, I thought I'd post a separate post about the nitty gritty (um... no pun intended?). If I had time I'd put together a whole Tutorial Tuesday-ish post on this but since I need to be packing (going CAMPING this weekend!! YAY!!) I will have to make it text-only and short.

Baking soda: I keep a small container in the shower of baking soda. I usually use about a tablespoon or so in the palm of my hand and mix just enough water to make a paste. Then I smooth it on the crown of my head, and sometimes let it sit for a bit before I rinse. The amount is hard to get exactly right; you have to play with it until it's not soo much that it dries out your hair and not too little so that it's ineffective. But I think better to err on the too little side when you're figuring it out.

Vinegar: OK. First, be sure to use apple cider vinegar. Second, dilute it a lot. I put about a tablespoon or so into a squirt bottle and fill the rest up with water. If you use too much the smell won't wear off! It's not terrible but it's definitely vinegar-y!

Friction: Scrub, scrub, scrub your scalp. Bryan has a scalp massager thing that he bought at the barber shop and I sometimes use it. The point is to stimulate your scalp, and also to make sure you're rinsing well all the way to the base of the hair.

One final sell: I've heard (from a few different sources) that people with thick, curly hair can really benefit from this. I don't understand either of those adjectives as they relate to hair so I cannot attest, but I've heard that it can make curly hair more manageable. Not sure why. Just reporting.

Everything else is normal: You should still blow dry, straighten, etc. as usual (though, as I mentioned before, I don't use product in my hair anymore, primarily because I don't have to). My point here is that everything else about your hair routine should be just the same, though in the early days it might get a little dicey. Trust me, it gets better. (And yes, Mrs. Douglas, you can keep shaving. In fact, please do. :))

GOOD LUCK! Let me know how it goes!