The No-Wash Challenge: Day 7

Tomorrow (day 8) my boyfriend will be coming home from college in New York to spend the weekend. Thankfully it is also the day when I GET TO WASH MY HAIR!!!! I've decided to try the baking soda 'shampoo' and vinegar rinse. We'll see how it goes :o)
Actually, despite my hair being on the greasy side, I can see how shiny and glossy it is, and this is probably because of the oil. I don't think it looks that bad. I definitely think that by next week, the greasiness will taper off and my hair will just be 'oily' enough to be nicely soft :) This is my hope anyway...

Cheers!
Hanneli

The No-Wash Challenge: Day 6

Sorry I keep getting behind on my posts, guys! :}
Yesterday it was all I could do not to pour a bucket of Herbal Essences on my head and scrub away! But I held fast to the challenge and instead used some of the Suave dry shampoo, which I suppose did something. My hair felt on the greasy side all day, despite repeated brushings with the bristle brush. Oddly enough, the moment when it felt the least oily was after a very sweaty Zumba workout (which, by the way, was a blast!) - see photo.
I know this all sounds pretty gross, but rest assured that I am keeping clean. My hair is in the transition stage, and that's never fun. But think about all the people down through the ages who never had access to shampoo or hairdryers. Their hair turned out fine; it was probably better off! I just have to keep reminding myself that this too shall pass... And I hope it hurries up!! :o)

Cheers!
Hanneli

The No-Wash Challenge: Day 5

Oh dear, I knew I forgot something! Sorry to post so late! But there's really nothing to say... My hair is yucky :o) I'm just hopefully getting good at hiding it! Picture later... Oh dear ;)

Cheers!
Hanneli

The No-Wash Challenge: Day 4

Today I caved and "washed" my hair. Not with shampoo, and not even really with conditioner either. I rinsed my scalp thoroughly with water and then just washed my dry ends with conditioner, leaving some extra on the ends as a leave-in. Although the roots were a little oily, just rinsing made the hair on the scalp pretty soft and shiny. I also used some Suave smoothing cream on the ends and spray gel everywhere else. Unfortunately, my hair feels unruly, but it does make a mean Katniss braid! :D

Cheers!
Hanneli

The No-Wash Challenge: Day 2

Today was the second day after the big brou-ha-ha wash. Usually my roots would be starting to get greasy, but so far they're still pretty soft. I straightened my bangs and pulled up my hair this morning for work at the coffee shop, and when I got home I plaited my hair into a simple braid. In summary, my hair was good today. I used some water, spray gel, and hairspray and so far it's been treating me kindly! Good hair!

Cheers!
Hanneli

The No-Wash Challenge: Day 1

My hair is naturally curly, and for years I've lamented how difficult it is. My hair is moody at best. Some days it's simply awesome, while others leave me screaming in frustration: "Why can't my hair be normal?!!!" One of my friends has the most lovely, fast-growing, thick, glossy, wavy hair. I try not to be too jealous, but it is pretty hard when I'm spending tons of extra time trying to trick, cajole, and pray my hair into a state of anti-frizziness. Last fall I discovered the flatiron, which my hair actually does (with a little help from Suave smoothing creme) respond to well... If I have 30 minutes to straighten it after every wash, which I don't.

So, after a sudden epiphany the other day, I googled "curly hair tips". I was running out of ideas beyond a quick top knot and straightened bangs. I truly do love my curly hair, but I hate feeling like a frizzy ugly duckling. Thankfully I stumbled upon a wealth of information concerning curls and hair in general.

Greasy roots, dry, wispy, afro-ey ends. What is this, 1975?

I mean, I look like Cousin It!

I've done my research, and I've found that one of the best methods for beautiful, soft, natural curly hair is absolutely free. What is it, you ask? 

                                                 ~Not Washing Your Hair~

Immediately all the anti-bacterial loving Americans become nauseous. What? How could you not wash your hair? If you don't wash your hair it gets greasy and smelly and gross! Right?

Wrong. I know it sounds crazy, but I've done my research. And if you think about it, it makes sense.

Bubbly shampoos contain sulfates, which are detergents that can also be found in dish-washing liquid. (Why waste money on Pantene when you could use Palmolive?) These detergents strip the hair of its natural oils and can especially damage fragile, porous curly hair. This causes the scalp to make more oil to compensate, which is why hair gets so greasy after it hasn't been washed. Sure enough, my Aussie "Moist" shampoo that I thought was so good for my parched locks has sulfates:

Aussie you've betrayed me!

Curly-haired people can safely not wash their hair for over a week and it's still fine. In fact, there's a whole movement devoted to people who have sworn off of hair washing. And don't get me wrong; these people aren't a bunch of greasy-headed hippies. Just because you don't wash your hair doesn't mean it isn't clean. Common methods of "No-Poo" (as the movement is interestingly called) are using conditioner only (and that about once a week or so), using baking soda and a vinegar rinse, using dry shampoos, and only rinsing with water. Not washing hair so often allows the hair's natural oils to have their God-given right to condition the hair. Those who've jumped the bandwagon describe softer, more manageable, more natural, beautiful locks, and this seems to be the case especially with the curly heads among us.

So I've decided to try it. I'm going to try a week without a proper wash, and when I do wash it'll be with conditioner, thank you very much. Day 1 of the 7 was Yesterday. I went to Dollar General and invested in these items:

Suave dry shampoo. My biggest problem is greasy roots. Hopefully this'll take care of it.

Aussie Moist Conditioner. The shampoo is a traitor.

Garnier Fructis spray gel. It's pretty nifty stuff. The only downside is that it makes my hair dry. Hopefully once the natural oils get a-workin it won't be so much of an issue.

A reinforced boar-bristle brush. Boar bristles naturally distribute the oils and contribute to the health of the hair.

A wide toothed comb to use in the shower, to detangle as you "wash" (it works really well!)

An old t-shirt to use instead of a towel, which is harder on hair. This shirt was nice but made me look fat, so I demoted it to hair-dryer.

I washed the living daylights out of my hair for a last hurrah and then wrapped it up in the shirt to dry, then spritzed the spray gel over it. The curls that resulted were pretty sweet! Still a little frizzy, but I'll give it some time. :)

And let it be made clear (in case you were worried): No hair washing doesn't mean no shower taking. Trust me, that's a promise! But I will be implementing the "No-Poo" (can they come up with a better name for that??) methods in place of traditional shampoo. I threw away the Aussie stuff. :P 

And while I will, granted, have greasy hair for a few days until the oil-producing glands get back in the rhythm, in the long run this experiment will hopefully be successful! Here's to better hair, and to freedom from the tyranny of buying shampoo!

Cheers!

Hanneli