But, I’m not ready yet. Last night I was catching up on all the blogs I read and I came across a post about not using shampoo. Well, it was a link to simplemom.net in a post by already pretty’s Sally McGraw.
Commercial shampoos and conditioners have all sorts of chemicals in them. Chemicals that really shouldn’t be near your skin. They also may have “natural” extracts and molecules which may not be good for you. During the conference I learned that some even have gluten, to which many are sensitive. In simplemom’s blog article she writes about going shampoo (and conditioner) free after reading about it several times.
Why stop shampooing? Shampoo is a detergent and it strips the oils from your hair. Simplemom goes on to explain “Most shampoos also contain mineral oil, which is a byproduct when gasoline is distilled from crude oil. It’s added to shampoo (along with hundreds of other products) to thickly coat the strands, giving hair an artificial shine. And since it can’t absorb into skin, like the other ingredients, it acts as a barrier on our scalp, preventing oil from being released — thus requiring more shampoo to strip away the grease. This is why the more shampoo you use, the more you need.”How does one clean hair without shampoo? It sounds like you can pretty much make up your own recipe depending on your needs but the simple version is baking soda and apple cider vinegar. (Separately, can you imagine the chemical reaction if you used both at the same time?) Now you don’t have to imagine it, see it on youtube!
First, mix one tablespoon baking soda with a cup of water. You can even reuse your old empty shampoo bottle for this. In another container mix one tablespoon apple cider vinegar in a cup of water. Then, wet your hair thoroughly. Apply the baking soda water to your scalp, starting at the crown and mainly focusing on the scalp. You shouldn’t use the whole amount unless you have a lot of hair. After a few minutes, just rinse. Then apply the apple cider vinegar water to areas of your hair that are dry, usually the ends, wait a few minutes and rinse it out.
When I told Mr. Inappropriate about this, he said something about “crunchy granola blah blah blah” and the guys at work laughing at him. But the more he thought about it, the more he was willing to experiment with it. Think of the savings on shampoo and conditioner if it works! So we will try the no shampoo experiment next week. I’ll let you know how it goes!
