Homemade Shampoo (AKA no-poo)

How to No-Poo

No-pooing is a method of washing hair without commercial shampoo. Here's is my understanding and is in no way a professional explanation! Commercial shampoos strip your hair of it's natural oils causing it to dry out which in turn causes your scalp to produce more oil making it greasy and needing to be washed again. Yes, everybody's hair is different, some producing more oil than others, so there is a fine line here of what works for one may not work exactly the same for some one else. 

Let me give a little hair background. Growing up my hair was stick-straight and thicker than thick ... four kids later, still thicker than thick and now curly! I really need to find some pictures to show proof of this. I love to joke around that I needed to have four kids otherwise my hair would be half curly and half straight. The curl (more like waves at the time) started out in the back and worked its way to the front so by #4 I finally got a full head of curls. I often wonder what hormones my children brought into my body to cause the crazy hair change. I fought the wave after #1, then attempted to work with it after #2, tried to embrace it after #3, and then said forget it after #4 ... ever since then I haven't spent too much time taking care of my hair. 

For years I had my hair thinned to actually be able to "style" it, but after a while I just didn't have the time to maintain a trim every 6-8 weeks and I couldn't go without one because I would turn into a frizz mess! So about 4 years ago I quit having it thinned and couldn't be happier, I have really had to embrace the thickness and go with the attitude of working with it rather than against it. Two and half years ago marks when I felt if my hair were long the weight would tame my mop and I decided to grow it out. Ideally, I would love to donate my hair which I have never done and is definitely on my bucket list. However, if I am going to grow my hair out long enough to donate AND still have length so I don't have a poof-ball for a hairstyle, I am going to need some help getting it to grow faster and keeping it healthy. 

I am completely stepping into the unknown here and would love to hear any of your feedback if you have used homemade products. I have read quite a bit about this whole no-pooing concept and really believe is has to be better than what I am currently doing BUT I am definitely timid about the time it's going to take to figure out a new hair regimen that works not only for my time but my hair also. I am pretty sure the procrastination on my posts lately is due to the fact that I start each day with the goal of starting a new hair regimen but then put it off another day and find something else to do. :)

My past regimen has been to wash my hair every three days using the cheapest shampoo I can buy, use conditioner (again the cheap stuff) after, brushing the conditioner through my hair with my head upside down, and then rinsing. I then flip my head up, use my fingers to part and comb through my hair, flip my head back over, and wrap it up in a towel just long enough to hop out of the shower and dry off. To style it I use a mixture of cheap (I told you I had given up on taking care of my hair) gel and conditioner to style and use a t-shirt to scrunch it and remove some of the extra water before I let it air dry the rest of the way ... about 2 hours (yes it's THAT thick). 

Reformation Acres's regimen is what I have decided to try. Here is another link from her that I can see myself embracing for my new hair life-styling change!

Homemade No-Poo

1 quart boiling water

1/4 cup baking soda

Bring water to a boil in a stock pot. Add baking soda. Stir to dissolve. Allow to cool. Pour into squeeze bottle (or old shampoo bottle). Shake before use. Apply liberally to hair. Massage into scalp. Rinse well. Repeat process approximately two times a week. 

Keep in mind this is only part of the regimen, I will be adding the conditioner and styling products over the next few days. 

Today's Question: How often do you wash your hair?

Updated 9/12/15 - So I have been pooing again! HEHEHEEEE, sorry I couldn't resist! The no-pooing was great and I do feel my hair responded positively to this process, but with as much hair as I have plus it being curly, I REALLY need the detangler action from store bought conditioners. Since the no-pooing and apple cider vinegar rinse has not been meeting my needs, I've been eyeing the shredded coconut I have in my cupboard to make a coconut milk conditioner, so hoping this happens sooner rather than later! But for now my focus is to grow my hair long enough and healthy enough to donate.

I'm about one hair trim away from chopping 8 inches off to donate to Pantene's Beautiful Lengths  and I CANNOT WAIT! As much as I love being able to pull my hair up in a cute, messy bun, I have reached that point of just TOO MUCH hair for me! I am sure after the cut I will be wishing I didn't have to style my hair every day, but being able to check this off my bucket list will be worth it. The hard part will be to figure out what style I want ... for those of you that know we well enough, know that a decision like this will take me weeks! Open to suggestions on a hairstyle! :)