Going “No Poo”

You know how as soon as you buy a motorcycle all you see are motorcycles? Or you get pregnant and suddenly everyone is pregnant? I’ve been trying to figure out how to reduce my dependence upon plastic and suddenly I find lots of web sites devoted to this very issue. There is even some sort of “no poo” movement of people who have stopped using shampoo. Who knew?

I haven’t found many solutions that I hadn’t already considered, but I did find lots of details on how to change my usage. Here is a site that has been devoted to reducing plastic use since 2007 and has some great ideas, including 100 steps to a plastic free life.

The first thing I’m going to try is baking soda as deodorant. I’m skeptical because it isn’t that I just don’t want to smell. I don’t want to sweat. I know, I know, it’s natural, blah, blah, blah. I don’t like it and since I’m trying to make changes that I think the average reader might be willing to make I’m going to stick with the goal of complete dryness. It’s definitely worth a try though. I will report back.

I’m going no poo too. There are numerous claims out there that baking soda and apple cider vinegar can replace shampoo entirely and they come in cardboard and glass, respectively. I’ve been slathering my hair with toxic chemicals for years and then adding insult to injury by washing it daily with commercial shampoo. The gentleman who lightened it up recently suggested I scale back to washing it every few days instead. This was difficult. My hair felt dirty. I felt dirty. Once I adjusted though, I loved it. It is so much easier to style a day or two after being washed. I am now much more amenable to the idea of not washing it at all, at least not with commercial shampoo. So, I am going to be making my own shampoo, it just won’t have any poo.

The basic recipe is to premix 1 tablespoon baking soda with 1 cup water or just mix up a paste in the shower with a tablespoon or less of baking soda and apply to really wet hair. Let it sit for a minute, then rinse. The rinse is 1-2 tablespoons of Apple Cider Vinegar per cup of water. Apply to wet hair, massage into scalp and rinse off with cold water. I did read a warning somewhere though that the baking soda has to be completely rinsed from your hair before introducing vinegar to the scene. Beware.

For those not ready to give up shampoo entirely, I found this at Whole Foods.

It cost $5.99, which frankly is more than I normally spend on poo and I have my doubts about how long the bar will last, but I’m going to get a friend to try it. We will report our findings.