No poo update

As promised I have an update on my no-pooing adventures. I did get my hair cut and highlighted in late June. My hair stylist was very receptive to the no-pooing, she said my hair felt softer and thicker, she even said she might try it too!
So that was the good news. The bad news, I'm only half way doing it right now. There are 2 reasons, one we went out of town and because i couldn't think of a good way to travel with my no-poo accessories I just took along some trial size shampoo, big mistake, huge (bonus points if you get my pop culture reference there). See, I liked shampooing, I liked the way my hair felt and smelled afterwards. And then I felt dirty, not my hair, that was fresh and clean, but I felt dirty for cheating on my no-pooing promise to myself.


Well turns out that was just the taste I needed to get hooked again. Monsoon season has hit in AZ and for us that means it is super humid. I have still been blow drying my hair because its super thick and takes forever to dry so I do get sone damage from that. So with all the humidity, my frizzies were showing, and guys? It was really bugging me. So I looked longingly at my pantene moisture balance sitting in the bathroom cabinet and thought "just one time. I'll just use it one time to see if it makes a difference, I bet I won't even like it. But I did like it, actually, I loved it. My hair had no frizzies, and was far more cooperative. And so, I became hooked again, I am shampooing with actual shampoo. BUT I am still "conditioning" with the vinegar rinse and still love the results doing that. My hair is soft and managable without frizzies because of the shampoo, but not weighed down because I use the rinse. So there you have it, i have fallen off the wagon with my foot caught on the wheel. My name is Christine, and I am a shampoo addict.

She puts the lime in the coconut... (GIVEAWAY!!)

That's just what pops in my head every time I hear "coconut" mostly because I'm a cheeseball like that :).  Really, this is about coconut oil, as far as I can tell this is like the miracle substance. I recently had the opportunity to sample and review Tropical Traditions Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil

As you may have read in my No-Poo posts, I have been dying to try coconut oil on my ends and I've read a lot about all the things that coconut oil is useful for, so I was really excited to try it out!  First thing I will say is that it arrived safe and sound, the folks at Tropical Traditions have their packaging DOWN, the glass jar arrived safely tucked in with no issues.  Of course because it's currently an INFERNO in Arizona it arrived (and has stayed) in liquid form, but that's perfect, it's ready to use for me :).  I tried it on my ends right away, initially I used WAY too much because I had no idea how powerful this stuff was, so my ends were a bit greasy the first day.  After I corrected though, they were super soft and very nicely conditioned.  So I was completely pleased with the results there.  I also used the coconut oil on Gavin's scalp because we've been dealing with some cradle cap and I tried olive oil, with moderate success and someone told me to try coconut oil.  It worked GREAT, cleared up his cradle cap right away and it hasn't returned!  

Next I decided to venture into food.  I was a little leery of this because the hubs is not a coconut fan.  I'll be straight up with you, this stuff is virgin coconut oil, it has an odor of coconut, not strong, but it's there and it does taste like coconut, again, not strong but it's there.  I decided to use pinterest (shocking, I know) and found a recipe for no-bake, super simple granola bars that used coconut oil, peanut butter, honey, oats, and chocolate chips.  They were freagin DELICIOUS!!  I am a fan of coconut, and there was just enough flavor in there to make the granola bars really tasty :).  And a nice and easy go-to snack for the evenings when I'm feeding G and all of the sudden I get ravenous.


So I'm officially hooked on coconut oil, I'm excited to learn more about it and try using it for other things.  


But wait! There's MORE!  What would a product review be without a giveaway?

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Disclaimer: Tropical Traditions provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose.  Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product. If you order by clicking on any of my links and have never ordered from Tropical Traditions in the past, you will receive a free book on Virgin Coconut Oil, and I will receive a discount coupon for referring you.

No-Poo Part III

 

Week 3 of No-Pooing has been pretty uneventful, in a good way :), I actually stopped noting day-to-day differences because there weren't any. I think my hair has assimilated to this new way of cleaning.

I have been following the same strategy I was using at the end of last week, with very minor tweaks.  I am still using the standard 1 Tbsp baking soda and 1 cup of water mixture for the "shampoo", and the 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar, and 1 cup of water mixture for "conditioner".  I added a few drops (like 2 or 3) of lavender oil to both mixtures.  I added it to the "shampoo" to combat any potential itch, I mentioned I was having previously and for it's antibacterial properties.  I added it to the "conditioner" simply to add a nice scent.  Like I said before, my hair didn't smell like vinegar, it smelled like... nothing, and I was missing that nice scent after cleaning it, so I added some drops, I'm good now :).

I'm still using the Burt's Bees stuff on my wet ends, I really want to try the coconut oil still, but I can never seem to remember (I shower at night before bed, so I'm usually a bit tired).  

Other than that, I can't see anything changing with how I care for my hair.  I'm THRILLED with the results, so I'm calling it.. I'm SOLD.  Officially a no-poo-er over here :).  I most likely won't post a week 4 update because if it's anything like week 3, there's nothing to update you on.  I will update if I ever remember to use the coconut oil, AND pretty soon I'm going to need a hair cut, so I'll update on what my hair stylist thinks of all of this ;).  

No-Poo is a SUCCESS!  Super cheap, better for my hair, and EASY, what's not to like?  Are you ready to "call-it" yet?  What are you doing differently?

Previous No-Poo Diaries:

No-Poo Part I
No-Poo Part II

No-Poo Part II

Week 2 of No-Pooing has had some ups and downs, mostly ups though!  I can say after a rocky start to this week I am even more motivated to keep going.  The No-Poo Diaries will most likely be a weekly update for a month, and then after that I may update on occasion to let you know how it's going, or if something changes.  The intention is just to give real feedback of what I think about transitioning to no-pooing and what I learn and deal with in the process.  I didn't mention last week, but should have, my hair is normally super thick, wavy (but I straighten because it's not a cute wave).  With out further delay, week 2 of "The No-Poo Diaries"...

Week 2
I am still using the standard 1 Tbsp baking soda and 1 cup of water mixture for the "shampoo", and the 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar, and 1 cup of water mixture for "conditioner" .

Day 8:  Starting to feel greasier, still w a cute curl though, did blow dry 1/2 way same as before, put velcro rollers on the crown for body there.  Ended up in a pony tail because I couldn't deal with the grease :p.


Day 9:  Let it dry by itself in braids.  Feeling super greasy today, ended up in a pony tail again, noticing some scalp itch, and still greasy out of the shower, I did do a leave in vinegar rinse though because the ends were feeling dry, maybe that was a mistake?

Day 10:  Did some research, I was not letting the baking soda sit in my hair or massaging it in the scalp enough, adopted new method, added 3 drops of lavender oil to the baking soda mixture to combat the itch.  Let it sit on my head for a couple of minutes, massaged all over my head, vinegar rinse on the ends only, out of the shower feels much cleaner!  Dried 1/2 way with heat protector and rollers on crown, it looks and feels soooo much better, although the ends are super dry today.

Day 11:  Today repeated shower routine from yesterday. Blow dry with heat protector and "Burt's Bees Avocado Butter Pre-shampoo hair treatment" (got it in a grab bag from them last year) on the ends while wet.  Blow dry left hair perfect, can't remember the last time it looked and felt so good.  Hair is soft, ends are soft, it's full of body, awesome!

Day 12: Same routine as yesterday, hair is awesome again, full of manageable body

Day 13:  Same routine again, I think I found a winner!! May try coconut oil on the ends instead of the Burt's Bees stuff next time.

Day 14:  Followed the same routine again, same awesome results.  Still haven't tried coconut butter, but I still want to.  Thinking of adding a couple of drops of lavender oil to the vinegar rinse just so it smells good, currently no issue with smell though, my hair smells like... nothing.

So at the end of two weeks I think I have a routine that works for me.  I'm loving my hair, the way it looks, behaves, and feels is amazing.  I even made my hubs feel my hair so he could see how soft it is, he said "you're not going back are you?"  Nope, I think I'm sold :).

Are you trying the No-Poo method too? What results are you having?

Previous editions of "The No-Poo Diaries", No-Poo Part I

No-Poo Part I

         

 So after much skepticism I decided to take the plunge and go full-on no-poo.  No, I am not withholding bowel movements, although, admittedly that's what got me to read the very first blog post I saw about this method.  No-poo refers to a method for caring for your hair that does not use shampoo or conditioner in the traditional sense.  No Pantene or Herbal Essences for me. I was inspired by this post on Pinterest.  To summarize this is the deal, shampoo is a detergent.  Detergent is BAD for your hair.  It strips your hair of all the natural, healthy, oils your scalp produces, so, to compensate, your scalp goes crazy and produces way more oil than it needs to, leaving you feeling like you need to shampoo again.  Rinse, repeat, literally.  Nevermind all the chemicals and other nonsense that shampoo and conditioner are full of that are bad for your body and mama nature.  AND the cost of shampoo, not a huge expense necessarily, but it adds up!  The No-Poo method replaces your shampoo with a baking soda and water mixture and your conditioner with a vinegar/water rinse.  Your hair/scalp will have to get used to this radical change, but it will be far better for both in the long run, or so the story goes.  I started this method last week, these are the diaries of this adventure...

Week 1:

I am using the standard 1 Tbsp baking soda and 1 cup of water mixture for the "shampoo", and the 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar, and 1 cup of water mixture for "conditioner" .

Day 1:  Using the baking soda mixture was weird.  To be more descriptive I felt like I was pouring cold water on my head and expecting my hair to be clean.  There was no lather, (obviously), and my hair felt really oily and un-clean in the shower.  The vinegar solution, however, made my hair feel GREAT, sooo soft even in the shower, I felt it right away.  No issues with tangles after the shower either, the comb slid right through.  I used a hair dryer without product of any sort.  The result, my hair felt the same as normal, maybe a little softer.

Day 2:  My hair felt a little greasier than normal by the end of the day, but I'm prepared for this, "they" say it could take weeks for the hair to stop feeling greasy, good thing I can put it up and throw on a hat.  Did the same routine with the washing, this time I used heat-protector when blow-drying.  Dealt with a lot of "frizzies" after that, probably existing damage to my hair.

Day 3:  My hair felt even greasier today, I decided to let it air dry after washing.  Maybe I'm not supposed to wash every day?  But I get craz-ay sweaty when I work out, so not an option to skip the shower.  Air drying left my hair with lots of body on the bottom/ends, but greasy near the crown, I threw it in a pony tail.

Day 4:  A little greasier still.  After my shower, I blow dry again with heat protector.  One thing I'm noticing for sure is I can really tell where my hair has breakage from all the damage.  Ends up in a pony tail again today.

Day 5:  This time I get great results, perhaps my scalp is normalizing already?  I blow dry it 1/2 way, so it's not soaking wet and use some velcro rollers at the crown for body there to balance the bottom.  I end up with no grease to speak of and a soft wave.

Day 6:  Since I liked the results so much last time I decide to do the same thing again today.  Blow dry 1/2 way with heat tamer, rollers for the crown.  Lots of body and soft wave, I LOVE my hair today.  It actually feels a touch dry, I may need to cut back on the baking soda.

Day 7:  Repeated the same steps as yesterday and got the same results, this is awesome, I put it in a pony tail and have enough body on the crown for a super cute look.

So far I'm sticking with it, the greasy period hasn't lasted as long as I thought it would and I am really loving the results.  Stay tuned for more of the No-Poo Diaries...