I'm Posting!!

No, I still have not shampooed.

I apologize; I've had a lot going on (A. LOT.) and haven't been able to get pictures of my hair or even just make short posts. I'm on my lunch break at work and am trying to not work through my break for a change... So here goes!

It's been almost two months now and I'm still having bad days and good days. I am baking soda washing/apple cider vinegar rinsing about two times every 7-10 days, though I sometimes do a conditioner-only wash or an apple cider vinegar rinse in between on occasion. I am enjoying my hair for the most part, although the constant rain here lately mixed with the good 'ole Indiana humidity is giving me hair-anxiety. But all is well :)

Here is a picture of my hair yesterday after much ado... I'll explain below.

My mom gave me some hot-rollers, and while part of my intent with the whole no-poo undertaking is to learn to appreciate my curls more I still crave having my hair straight... It just seems simpler (i.e. it doesn't look ridiculous after it's been pulled back, I can sleep on it without screwing it up for the next day, it doesn't look as frizzy... all personal opinions, I suppose). I thought the hot-rollers might be a safe-ish way to give my hair since it's been bugging out with all the humidity lately. Anyway, it didn't really work for me because my hair is extremely thick, is wavy on it's own, and also I have tremors so handling my own hair for very fine things is NOT easy. The result was less than satisfactory so I w/o-washed my hair and didn't take the time to plop or pull it half-back or anything, I just put a tad bit of vitamin E oil in my palms and scrunched a little and jetted. I think it looked great all day and was really pretty frizz-free most of the day. This picture was taken at the very end of a hectic day, so I'm pretty proud.

Anyway, I'm hoping to eventually get my hands on some aloe and coconut oil so I can somewhat style my hair (re: plop) without using product. I feel like those things will make my hair even less frizzy.

It's neat that when I see people I know around town I often am told that people are keeping up with this blog. Awesome! Guess that means I should post more, but I feel like I don't have too much insightful stuff to say.

Hair Cut

I made it past a month! Today is day 34, and I think I will likely stop keeping track of the days. Mentioning the exact day on each post is a pure pain in the ass.

I keep talking about how much I want to get a trim and I finally found the time to do it. I told the chick at Great Clips that I was 'no-pooing' and she had no idea what I was talking about. I felt ridiculous. She tried to sell me some dry shampoo and when she told me about it I just kinda said 'huh.' and left it at that. I'm thinking the trim will make my hair less frizzy. I also had her thin it out with thinning shears. I hate that it is shorter but know this was necessary.

Also, on a completely unrelated note, I had my last class of the semester today, bwahaha! Not that it matters here or that anyone cares...

So, I am making it almost a week between baking soda washes at this point. On Monday I bs/acv-ed for the first time in 6 days, then I did it again today. It feels good to be doing it less and less frequently.

The first pic is a pic of my hair yesterday after water-only washing it, so you can see the length. The second picture is my trimmed hair. I can't wait to see what it looks like after water-only washing it tomorrow and plopping it. Hooray, me for trimming it and for lasting over a month!!

Coming Up On A Month at Day 26

I can't believe I've made it this long... it feels so good to have stuck with it so far.

I keep forgetting to mention that there've been a few instances where I've used a dab of my conditioner on the ends of my hair. I haven't checked to see if the condition is 'cone-free, but after looking at the link below I see that it's not listed as 'cone-free.... 'Cones are basically silicones, and the ingredients that are siliconic (is that even a word??) generally end in -cone, -conol, or -xane. I found a (possibly incomplete) list of 'cone-free conditioners here, and as mentioned, my conditioner isn't on it. Hmmmmm.......

Anyhow, I water-only washed it today and then tried something new. I put a tiny dab of Vitamin-E oil in my hands and rubbed into lightly into the ends of my hair before I plopped. I was actually very pleased with the results! I don't know that it would be good to do it often, but I'm going to look into other ways to keep my curls/waves from separating too much.

Here are two pictures... I hate the first one and almost didn't post, so please don't look at it for too long :)

Day 23

I think I've gotten into the swing of things, sort of. My hair isn't nearly as greasy looking/feeling a few days after my baking soda wash/apple cider vinegar rinse days and I'm a little more confident about it, even when I feel like it isn't looking very good. I actually like telling people about it but then I get embarrassed when people act like they can't get past their disgusting feelings about not washing. I wonder if those people have ever gone a day without washing their hair. I also wonder just how greasy and broken down their hair is. I guess this is my defensiveness poking its ugly head out...

I actually ran out of the box of baking soda that I'd bought for this purpose and had to resort to using the one that I'd been keeping in my refrigerator. Nate bought me a huge box (not sure of the weight, don't have it in front of me) and said it was only a "few bucks." Looking online I see a 4 1/2 lb box for about $8. He also bought me another bottle of apple cider vinegar for a "few bucks." I'm noticing that I don't have to bs/acv as often anymore... I've been doing it about two times a week but think I might slowly wean myself off of it and try doing it just once a week.

Here is picture of my hair before it is completely dry, after water-only washing and plopping with my scarf.

Day 21

So it's been three weeks now, I guess!

I baking soda washed and apple cider vinegar rinsed my hair today after first rubbing some eucalyptus oil into my scalp and letting it set for a few hours, just like I did last weekend. Not sure if it's my imagination but it seems like it is helping :) My hair doesn't seem to be getting as greasy in between washes but it doesn't seem as bouncy and beautiful as I'd like it to be between either. I'm finding that I like the fresh start I get and the look it creates when I wet my hair every morning, but along with that I'm also finding that it is hard to get the water to penetrate my hair and it also takes even longer than it did before for my hair to dry... as in, like, a few hours. I'm sure this is normal but it's frustrating. My hair just looks like a morning-hair blob if I don't wet it because it loses it's curl but also isn't straight.

I have been using my scarf to plop my hair after wetting it and it is nice because I barely notice it's there while I'm getting ready. Actually it makes me miss being able to wear scarves or handkerchiefs on my head when I was younger and didn't have to follow a dress code :)

I actually have been getting some comments on my hair both from friends who know I'm doing this and those who don't as well as from people who don't know anything about me. I'm also astonished by how many people I see only every once in awhile who tell me they've been following this blog. Good, let me know how my hair looks next time you see me!

I'm a little concerned about the smell or lack thereof my hair has... it's just like a hair smell and I don't mind it but I sure do miss the fake floral or fruity scents my shampoo used to give me. But at least I can still smell my 18 month old's hair when I want to re-experience that. I'm wondering what I'll do when I travel in a few months... if it will be easier to just shampoo and condition or if I'll take along a box of baking soda and some vinegar... or if I just won't wash at all, hmmm!

The first photo of my hair today is directly after bs/acv-ing and plopping and it is not quite dry. The second photo is a crappy quality one I took myself just now and it is dry but has been through the wind and pulled back in a pony a few times. Heh.

I really wish I could get better pictures!

Day 16

I haven't been posting as often 1. because I've been pretty busy and 2. because I haven't seen either improvement or much change lately, and most importantly 3. because it's hard for me to remember to corral Nate to take pictures of my hair, plus he gets tired of doing it.

I baking soda/vinegared my hair on Wednesday and on Thursday I beer rinsed and vinegar rinsed it. I left it until Saturday. Saturday I took my newfound bottle of eucalyptus oil and mixed a little with water and massaged it onto my scalp... I let it set that way for about four or five hours (even though Nate said it smelled too strong) and then baking soda/vinegared it out. I actually thought it felt really soft and looked pretty good. Sunday I did nothing to it, and today, Monday, I didn't either... at first. I pulled it halfback and thought it looked decent but then had to walk the dogs in the rain and it frizzed wayyy out at the bottom but looked matted and helmet-ey around my scalp. Ick. So I baking soda/vinegared it once again. I plopped it using a scarf instead of a towel and it made pretty soft curls that I thought looked okay today.

I have been wanting to get a microfiber towel because that's what I've seen suggested for plopping. I have no idea how well it would work. I haven't been able to find one, but I do feel like the towels I've been using are just too heavy and thick.

I just can't wait for my hair to get longer and for me to find the time for a trim. I am starting to feel like my hair looks greasy up top and frizzy around the bottom and I hate how I feel like it looks. It never seems to really look as bad but it certainly doesn't feel soft all the time and I wish it would stay together instead of flyaway-ish. 

Day 10

One step forward one step back... seems like I'm having as many poor hair days as good ones. Before bed last night I went to comb my hair and it was awful. Painful and a tangled heap of... hair. I know it was from the hairspray because my hair still had that hard feeling. I combed as much as I could with a wide tooth comb and a fine tooth comb. I'm embarrassed to say both combs had gunk on them, which I'm sure was mostly hairspray. I went to massage my scalp with my nails and that's how it all started, the tangled mess. I realized it was pretty gnarly. Anyway, I got it combed and brushed out and it felt like hair feels when it's been bombarded with too much hairspray. You have no idea how tempted I was so wash it... but I didn't. I rinsed it under the tub faucet as well as I could and combed it out. This morning I did a water only wash and it still felt just heavy. I cannot wait until tomorrow... even though the baking soda is really tough to work into my hair it always feels cleaner after the vinegar rinse and after it begins to dry. The possibility of it feeling cleaner after tomorrow morning is the only thing keeping me from lathering up right now!

I have no picture today because today was hell. I slept less than two hours last night and am pretty self-conscious about my appearance overall today. Hopefully tomorrow will be a wonderful hair day and a wonderful day in general and I'll have gorgeous pictures to post.

We'll see about that.......