Friday, August 17, 2012

Lets Talk About Hair | Back to Using Baking Soda


Remember when I posted that super long post about taking care of your hair? Well, I am back to using baking soda again. I used baking soda as the main way of cleaning my scalp for about 5 months. One day I found an old bottle of Garnier Sleek & Shine Shampoo and desperately wanted to use it so I decided to give up baking soda (stupid mistake!). Well, I've been using that for about two months now and my scalp is not doing well. I think I am allergic to shampoo...no joke. In desperation I have gone back to my baking soda cleanse and so far it is doing just as well as I remembered. (I'm still not using vinegar right now, but I'll probably start that back up soon as well.)


What Happened when I went back to Shampoo:

~My hair is less 'clean' feeling. I was used to all the natural oils being in my hair, but with regular shampoo that feeling was gone. I really missed that the most.
~I had to use more oil and conditioner than before. My hair felt so dry all the time! :( I used olive oil hair treatments, a ton of conditioner in the shower, deep conditioner (also in the shower), and then after I had washed my hair I would put a leave in conditioner and almond oil in my hair. This just kept my hair at a normal level instead of feeling soft and silky like before when I used baking soda to clean my hair.
~My hair didn't smell any better with regular shampoo. I thought that my hair smelled odd (even without the vinegar rinse!) so I thought that going back to a regular, scented shampoo would solve this problem. Well, it didn't! My hair smelled 'worse' in my opinion (to clarify: my hair has never smelled bad, but in my opinion it has never smelled great until recently).
~I had a lot more knots in my hair. When I used bobby pins, hair bands, etc. I would end up with a lot more knots in my hair which I had to work out. I never had this problem when I was using baking soda because all the natural oil's helped keep my hair from getting tangled as easily. Yes I used other products, but nothing beats natural oil's!
~I had a ton of buildup. Gross I know, but definitely true. I could scratch my head and a whole bunch of stuff would be under my nails (sorry, I know that might be TMI~too much info~but that's the best way I can say how bad it was). I was getting sick of this because with all the nasty build up my head would get bumps and they would itch so I would scratch them. This is why I think I'm allergic to shampoo. It doesn't clean my scalp right so it leaves all that gunk and it gives me these pimple/zit like sores (I think that's the best way to describe them) which constantly felt like they needed to be scratched. Yuck.

Why I'm back to Baking Soda

~Knowing my hair is clean! Oh thank you Jesus for baking soda! The first day back on it I already felt better about my hair! My hair felt cleaner, and it had a lot less build up than it did before with only shampoo to clean my scalp. Plus my head doesn't have near as many pimple sore things.
~The "scrubbies" in the baking soda. I missed the texture of the baking soda when I used it to clean my hair. I didn't realize how bad I missed it until I went back to using baking soda. Seriously they are amazing. That's also why I think my scalp gets cleaner because it's really scrubbing all that gross stuff off.
~Natural oil's! Although it's only been a few days I know I am ready for those natural oils to kick in! I think I have spoiled myself with the lovely pampering those oils gave my hair.
~It's inexpensive. I had forgotten how much shampoo cost! Wow like 3 bucks for the stuff I have been using the past two months. Baking soda on the other hand is very inexpensive and I think one box would last about 6 months for me. Guess the price? Less than $0.60! How awesome is that?!

So, if you have been wondering whether or not this method is worth it, take it from me: it's worth it all the way! If I can help it I will never use another shampoo for cleaning my hair for as long as I live!

Other People's Stories!

I LOVE finding other bloggers/people who talk about their journey into washing their hair naturally. I want to start collecting those posts so I figured this would be a great place to share them so that if you were interested in reading other people's stories you could have them at your fingertips and not have to search for them! (All links will open in a new window!) If you have your own story and would like to share PLEASE let me know and I'll be happy to add it to the link list!

  1. A Life Unprocessed: How My Family Went Shampoo-Free.
  2. Ashley's Green Life: How To Wash Your Hair With The No-Poo Method
  3. The Earthling's Handbook: Vinegar Hairwashing.
  4. Simple Mom: How To Clean Your Hair Without Shampoo.
  5. Jude and the Walrus: A Whispy Wonderland of Tresses.

4 comments:

  1. Hi Helen!

    Im sorry that the shampoo is not working out for you there are plenty of alternatives.=) Just have to do a lil research. Im going to look to see what options you might have. Have you did research on the baking soda? I heard it can be damaging because of its chemical properties.Stay encouraged! =)

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  2. Thanks! Yes I have done a lot of research on baking soda and, for me, it works really well. I have never had a really good experience with regular store bought shampoos so I'm glad this is working for me.

    Helen

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  3. I've been doing BS/ACV washes for a few months now. My hair at first was lovely and i could go 4 days or more without washing. It made my natural curls come out, it was the best! But now my head itched a lot, and I'm getting dandruff. I'm thinking about going back to shampo, but I'm going to have to fight through! I hope I make it.

    Great post btw.

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    Replies
    1. Hi! Yes I've been back and forth with the baking soda in place of shampoo, but I have to say that I experienced itching and I think it was because I didn't rinse all of the baking soda off my scalp. I also didn't always use ACV. I did use regular conditioner but still kept the baking soda shampoo. To help with dandruff mix a few tablespoons of white sugar, and a few tablespoons of baking soda together. Store in a container and use that on your scalp to help cut down on dandruff. That helped me a lot. My email is mrshelenstafford@yahoo.com. Feel free to email me with any more questions you might have and I'll see if I can help!

      Helen

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