62 days no poo

So it's been 62 days since I gave up shampoo and conditioner for good so I thought it was time for an update. Since going no poo I have tried egg, coffee, Apple cider vinegar, baking soda, soapnuts, distilled white vinegar and tea as shampoos and rinses. Quick run through.

• Egg was beautiful at getting rid of the oil. My hair looked gorgeous the day I washed it but the next day it was absolutely soaked with grease. Not good. 
• Coffee was used as a WO rinse. It was messy and my hair smelled like coffee for about a week. No visible difference between this and water only. 
• Apple cider vinegar is a popular one to be used as a rinse after a wash. I liked it, the smell didn't bother me but my hair was still getting greasy around day 3 so tried DWV instead. 
• Baking soda is a wash. It's great at cleaning hair and is my main wash method that works for me. I wash every 10 days with this. 
• Soapnuts is a wash. It's used as a liquid but for me I found it too good at cleaning. It stripped every last bit of moisture out of my hair and left it brittle and dry. 
• Distilled white vinegar is a rinse alternative to Apple cider vinegar. I use this alongside baking  soda and it doesn't leave my hair greasy. I also use with a water rinse in between washes. 
• Tea is used as an acid rinse but again, no difference between this and water for me. 

So here I am now using BS as a shampoo and DWV as a conditioner around every 10 days and occasionally doing an acid rinse a few times in between. I can honestly say my hair is shinier, healthier and certainly thicker and stronger. If you are reading this considering no poo I suggest you jump in and try it. The worse thing to happen is toy can't stick it out through transition so you go back to poo but for me transition wasn't too bad. Oh yes, here's a picture of my hair today after washing.

The one thing I wasn't expecting was how my hair would actually change the way it feels. It no longer feels soft and smooth but feels kind of thicker and rougher. Not tangly or itchy but just different. It's really hard to describe. The individual hairs actually seem thicker now than they were before.

Have you ever gone no poo? Are you considering it? Any questions? Let me know in comments :)

Home Made Deodorant (that REALLY works!)

Before going no poo I was pretty much a chemical war zone. I estimate I probably used well over 200 chemicals a day on my body and hair including but not limited to:

• shampoo
• conditioner
• face wash
• body wash
• toothpaste
• deodorant (applied twice a day at least)
• face creams
• nail polish
• face masks
• perfumes

God, that list is disgusting. Ever single day I used almost ALL of those products. Come on!

So, since going no poo I have been awakened to the uses of chemicals (good and bad) in the products we use every single day. The word CHEMICAL is overused in the crunchy society as being anything bad so excuse me if I over use it... by chemical we pretty much mean sulfates and parabens and other carcinogens. Pretty much all the nasty stuff you really want to keep away from your body.

In our house we now use soap-nuts on our hair, soap-nuts for laundry, home made MP soap and natural deodorant. On top of that I now no longer use 80% of the products listed above. I do still use toothpaste and perfume but I am looking in to a healthy homemade alternative to that. (I have heard oil pulling is great alongside natural toothpaste so if any of my readers have tried please let me know in the comments.)

So anyway, bla bla bla. On to the deodorant...

I was extremely fortunate to already have all the ingredients for this and I'm sure 99% of people will also as it is so basic but it really really does work. I used to apply deodorant twice a day at minimum and it had to be antiperspirant. This IS NOT an antiperspirant, it doesn't stop you from sweating, what is does do however is make your sweat smell nice. I have had zero B.O since using this. Yes I have had people check... (thanks Pete and Mum...) I also only have to apply this once a day after a shower. It's amazing.

So... the recipe.

• 1/4 cup cornflour (cornstarch) or arrow root powder
• 1/4 cup baking soda (bicarb) 
• 5 TBS of coconut oil
• 4-6 drops of essential oils (I use rose)

Here is how it looks:

And that is literally it, nothing else. There are other little bits you can add to make it more tailored to you, for instance Zinc stops you from sweating so you could add a bit of Zinc powder or something but I really don't need to. Also, aloe gel is antibacterial, that might work... just experiment.

The first thing I noticed when first making it is how easy it is, you just add all the ingredients together and stir until combined. It will quickly turn thick and lovely and it will feel exactly like a cream stick deodorant. 

At this point you can either fill an empty stick applicator or put into a little pot or jar. I usually put in the fridge for an hour to harden up a bit more and then I just take it out and leave it on my dresser.

Not sure about the shelf life but I cant imagine it would go off as none of the ingredients have a short shelf life. I would maybe throw out if not been used in 6 months or so but I reckon it would be well used up by then.

Happy making guys and if you try and love/hate let me know!

*UPDATE*

My Mum used mine and then immediately asked me to make her some which she is now using in place of shop bought deodorants. We have a convert!

Second day hair

OK so I washed my hair with baking soda and apple cider vinegar yesterday. It's been 8 days since I last used shampoo on my hair and I'm sorry to say it my hair looks fucking fabulous.

I washed with an egg 3 days ago and then yesterday used the bs and acv. Normally on day 2 it would be a dry shampoo day to wear my hair down or a bun, but I am proudly wearing my hair down and no product. I am hoping to go a week without washing at this point already! My plan is to wear hair down today, headband Curls tomorrow with a bit of dry shampoo in the form of cocoa powder rubbed into roots tomorrow, and then up in a bun the rest of it.

Now, how does it feel so wash your hair in bs and acv? Well, different. The bs doesn't lather so that's something you have to get used to, also, it feels kind of slippery on your head. You have to put this mixture mainly on the roots and I found it easy to do by using a small bottle and just pouring it on and rubbing it in, really massaging scalp at the same time.

The ACV is quite different too. It's the conditioner part of the routine and it stinks! I literally felt like a salad when I was in the shower. I applied it with a small spray bottle and just sprayed around the lengths. You have to try and not get it on the roots but it's OK if you do apparently it just makes it a bit greasy or heavy. I had no problems.

My hair, as I said, feels incredible, looks incredible and I am feeling very very optimistic. I don't think I will be going back. Anyway, picture. This is the morning of waking up!

Happy no pooing :)

No Poo, Do You?

I have recently been in awe of the ladies out there who call themselves No Poo'ers. Have you heard of them? It is a trend that is gaining many followers out there where it is simple, you no longer wash your hair. By no longer wash it means you don't use Shampoo (hence, no poo) or any harmful chemicals on your hair and the results are all seemingly spectacular! Many of the followers opt for a Baking Soda mixture on their hair as the shampoo and use an Apple Cider Vinegar rinse which acts as the conditioner. I am trying to pluck up the courage myself to use a more extreme version of this trend called WO, which is simply Water Only washing. Just as it says on the tin (or lack of) you just rinse your hair with water. Why on earth would someone do this, I hear you ask. Well it's simple. The chemicals in the Shampoos and Conditioners most of us use everyday are crazy harmful to your hair and skin and the lack of rules and regulations in the cosmetic industry make it extremely easy for these companies to get away with it, not to mention those who use animals for testing.

Now here is the difficult part of the movement: Transitioning. Because your hair and scalp are so used to you using these harsh chemicals to strip away the oils, they go into a crazy supply and demand cycle. You wash away, they replace with more. So not only do you have greasy hair all over again the next day but its just going to be replaced the next time you wash it out! So, transitioning can take anything from a few weeks, to a few months of greasy and dull hair, which can also accompany a flaky scalp while the scalp tries to unclog the sebum producing glands in the first place.

I am really dying to jump in, and seeings as I wash my hair only once a week these days I am hoping for a quick transitioning period. So what I want to know is, what is your experience with No Poo? Have you tried it? Would you try it? Comments below folks!