A while back I was browsing through the internet and I stumbled upon a Paleo lifestyle blog that encourages people to go back to the roots of living wild and free, diet and hygiene wise (and then somemore,but I didn’t hangout there long enough to discover everything). For all I know these people still have to work to buy food instead of hunting them in the wild, so I wouldn’t pay too much attention to the diet part, plus they eat too much meat and fat to my liking anyway, but the idea of going “no soap” stuck.

So, in a “I have nothing to lose attitude” I decided to try going shampoo-less for a minimum of two weeks and see how I feel. The website says it take at least two weeks to feel normalized, so I take it that it will take two weeks to either: (a) make myself feel comfortable with the gross gunk of hair and oily scalps and develop resistance to the havoc I brought upon mysef or, (b) make my hair feel all fine and dandy, without using commercial products.

I admitted that I did not do much research on this beforehand, because, because, the Paleo website said, just wash with water and you’ll be fine (I should have known better, the website was written by guys who know next to nothing about hair), and I just do what I usually did to my hair, sans the shampoo for like, 3 days before I felt that it doesn’t feel nice at all. Sure, the water did stop from splitting the hair ends, but the roots accumulated oil and it was so hard to wash oil off with water. Day 5 came by and I couldn’t take it anymore, so I cheated with very diluted Asience shampoo, and I couldn’t have felt better.

I suppose to this point you would have thought that I will just call it quit. But no, I didn’t. Instead, I got smarter and ask uncle google what I should do.

So, the mighty uncle google found me solutions, in the form of information written by women, for women with more hair than men who can solve their problem with just water. After sifting through all the information, I came across two plausible recipes that seemed to be fruitful.

Recipe from here

Recipe #1: The Paste Method

1. In a small dish or ramekin, mix 2T of baking soda with a couple of tablespoons of warm water, until it forms a thick paste. Add more water as needed – it should be a bit thinner than toothpaste. (Note: I have medium-length hair, so you may need to adjust the amount of baking soda if you have shorter or longer hair.)

2. Taking the paste into your hand, massage it into your dry scalp. Massage your scalp all over, for at least 30 seconds. (This will probably feel pretty good!)

3. Leave on your hair for a minute or two. Then rinse well.

4. In an old (and well rinsed) shampoo bottle, mix 1 part Apple Cider Vinegar to 4 parts Water. You can add essential oils or herbs if you like.

5. Coat your scalp and hair with the vinegar, and allow to sit for at least 30 seconds.

6. You can either rinse or leave it in your hair. (I rinse.)

Recipe #2: The Simple Method

There are two reasons why I switched to this recipe: 1. The paste idea was a bit messy for my taste, and 2. The apple cider vinegar smelled too strong for me. I’m much happier with this version!

1. Use an old shampoo bottle (well-rinsed) or a squeeze bottle of some variety (I reused one we’d bought from a local kitchen supply store). Mix 1 part aluminum-free baking soda to 3 parts Water. Each time you use this solution, shake well to mix.

2. Squeeze the baking soda solution onto your dry scalp, then massage your scalp for several seconds.

3. Leave in for 1-3 minutes, and rinse completely.

4. In an old shampoo bottle (well-rinsed) or a squeeze bottle, mix 1 part Organic White Vinegar to 4 parts Water. You can add essential oils or herbs if you like – I add 1 cinnamon stick (which lasts through several bottles of mixture) and 1/2 t vanilla. This masks the vinegar smell, and leaves your hair smelling spicy and lovely.

5. Leave on hair for several seconds, then rinse.

Tips for curly hair, here.

So, this is it. THIS IS IT! Baking soda! The solution for my problem!!!

Today is Day 6 and I woke up in time to nick the box of baking soda from my kitchen, went into the bathroom and do what Recipe #1 instructed. Its not so complicated actually, and works like a charm. I massaged them into the scalp and rinsed it off after waiting for a bit and I was shocked.

My hair! My hair! I have never used any products that had the same effect the baking soda gives! *laughs uncontrollably*. The washaway leaves my hair so smooth and oil free, it was amazing (my hair is already soft, so I can’t feel much of the soft factor) and liberating.

I mean, who knows a tablespoonful of baking soda intended for muffins can achieve something an expensive shampoo is incapable of achieving in one try? To think that the expensive shampoo can buy so much baking soda, its really a ripoff.

Looks like I’ll be continuing this little experiment and see how it goes later. Stay tuned!