No 'Poo Experiment

Why? WHY would I stop shampooing my hair?

Just for kicks, really!

This past winter, I washed my hair about once a week. I have REALLY long hair. So washing it requires time to dry it, and air circulation, and since my default hairstyle is a quick bun I would often find it still very damp at the end of the day. I found myself washing on the weekend and letting it dry around the house or while driving for weekend plans, then tying it up again come Monday.

I started thinking about why I keep it so long if I hardly ever wear it down or visible in any way. My hair is pretty, a dark blonde/light brown, wavy, and startlingly long to most people, including myself. It's also annoying, getting stuck on velcro, wool, fleece, and outside the car when I shut the door on a windy day.

But I LIKE it long. I just don't like having to mess with it much. So I figured I had nothing to lose by trying out the No 'Poo system. And here's what I've found:
Day 1: The baking soda rinse feels slippery, which is good since it's pH is basic (alkaline) and should be slippery (soap is basic too.) I wonder if I'm wasting too much of the rinse trying to get it on my hairline. Using a half pint mason jar- it's the right size, but I have visions of broken glass in my shower! The vinegar rinse made my wet hair feel so smooth!
Dry, it's soft. And thick feeling. And it didn't get as knotty as usual!
Many others online have reported that this is common the first time, but the next time felt really dry. We'll see.

Day 2, 3: Ponytail, ponytail! And it looks nice! There's wave that's holding together, not getting frizzy or wild even against fleece, not as many loose strands falling all over the place, and the best part is I can brush it really easily at the end of the day. It's definitely smoother and less knotty.

Day 4: No 'Pooed again this morning, then I twisted it up in a half bun with the other half hanging down over the bun. It dried almost curly, and stayed like that all day. The ends weren't dry and it stayed smooth. I wonder if the brushing helps- I have a wood-bristle brush and a 'no-tangle' brush that I use depending on my mood, but because there's so much hair I tend to brush a lot. Not quite the 100 strokes recommended by old-timers, but probably more than the average girl.

Day 5: All bun today, for convenience, but it was a windy day and I didn't get the 'fringe' around my face of temple- to ear-length strands that usually pull out and fly around.

Day 6: Garden day. I went with the ponytail to challenge the smoothness, and wow. The hair is now a little more dry than I like, but it was just so easy to brush at the end of the day!

Day 7: Another "wash", after working outside yesterday. I'm really loving this. My hair dries so nice! I can leave it down and it stayed pretty all night. I braided it to sleep last night, and before my shower this morning it didn't stay kinked after I brushed it- it's definitely less stiff. I tried a little light conditioner to combat the drying sun and that seemed to be a good interim step, until the natural oils work their way all the way down.