no-poo for me

John Waterhouse, Ophelia

“But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering.”

1 Corinthians 11:15

I read a sweet little blog called feelin' feminine run by a group of young women, teens really. The are wonderful and fresh and advocates for feminine modest. They are having a no-poo challenge, which I thought I would join. I've been no-poo off and on for about three years--I think! You can see a recent picture of me on my sidebar. My hair is not nasty or gunky at all.

I started this, because I was tired of spending $40+ per month on hair products that did not make my hair shiny or silky or manageable or anything but dull and lifeless. I kept doing this to protect my health. I continued this to protect the environment from toxic chemicals. I do this now to stop participating in our plastic throw away culture.

Here's how I do it.

1. Only washing my hair twice a week now is the real benefit of no-poo. When hair is long, washing it is too time consuming to do it everyday. Plus it gets too dry on the ends. Make an infusion of yarrow and/or rosemary (chamomile for blonds) by putting 2 T of each in a quart jar. Pour boiling water over top and put a lid on it. Let it steep from 2-8 hours and strain. Message a portion of this quart of tea into the scalp, leaving it on overnight.

2. Put baking soda in a cheese shaker and shake it into the roots of the hair. Comb through. Put 1/2 c. raw apple cider vinegar in a quart jar, filling the rest of the way with distilled water and a few drops of essential oil. I like juniper, peppermint, sweet orange, lavender, or sage depending on the day.

3.  Dip your pony tail in the vinegar water several times and pour the rest over scalp and message. Rinse in shower.

4.  Dip your pony tail in the infusion several times and pour the rest over scalp and message. Rinse in shower.

5. Wrap a towel around your hair as you dry off.

6. Dip one finger into coconut oil, getting the tiniest bit on your finger and rub it between your palms. Rub this into the very ends of your hair. Gently comb with a wide tooth comb. Let dry naturally or style as you like.

It sounds complicated but only adds three minutes to a normal shower. Adding the yarrow/rosemary has added much needed manageability. Plus, Dr. Christopher claims it will get rid of my gray hair. I don't mind gray, but it is super curly. My other hair is more straight to wavy. I love the way this program has given me fluffy, soft, wavy hair instead of the old oily straight limp mess. It has also tamed the gray frizz a bit, too.