Imagine eliminating shampoo and conditioner from your shower routine…permanently. This is what writer Katherine Martinko and fellow writer Margaret Badore decided to try for a month and documented in their post: “The No Shampoo Experiment“. Six months later, Martinko has replaced her once shower staples with items from her kitchen: baking soda and apple cider vinegar. She experienced incredible results and loves her healthier (eco-friendly!) locks. She describes herself as a “staunch convert to the ‘no poo’ method with no intentions of going back.” Worried about an adjustment period beginning the routine? According to Martinko, she didn’t experience any negative changes to her hair. She has found that her hair is consistently getting healthier and more manageable. Avoiding shampoo has provided a longer wait time between washes (4-5 days), and hair that is less greasy, softer, shinier and less frizzy than before. She describes the biggest hurdle as psychological and overcoming the smell of “salad dressing” in the shower. The odor, she notes, dissipates quickly. Martinko has also added another kitchen staple to her haircare routine: coconut oil. She finds that rubbing just a bit of coconut oil into her damp hair will provide natural, loose curls. When she used shampoo while traveling, she found that her hair was drier, frizzier and looked greasy within two days. She also found that her scalp was itchier. Some shampoos seem to strip natural oils away, which vinegar and soda do not. Another huge advantage to trying soda and vinegar: it’s much friendlier to the earth – and extremely cost effective. Rather than using multiple plastic shampoo, conditioner, gel or hairspray bottles, all that’s needed is a cardboard box of soda and a glass vinegar bottle. In six months, Martinko reported using one box of soda and half of a bottle of apple cider vinegar. While this method might not work for everyone, or every hair type, it seems to be worth a try! I might test it out tonight…while keeping my shampoo bottle handy just in case! Here’s the recipe from Martinko: “Measure 2 tbsp baking soda into a 500 mL/1 pint glass jar. Wet hair. Fill jar with water and stir to dissolve baking soda. Pour over head and scrub into hair. Rinse. Measure 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar into same jar. Add water, pour over head, and rinse almost immediately. (These amounts are for long hair. If yours is short to medium length, use 1 tbsp of baking soda and vinegar in 1 cup of water. If your hair doesn’t seem clean enough once it’s dried, use a bit more soda next time.)” source
