How To Naturally Wash Your Hair
11This guest post is from Alix at Blessed In Homemaking.
How do you wash your hair? Most people use shampoo. Did you know that there is another way?
Except for the rare occasion that I shower away from home, I haven’t used shampoo or conditioner in about 3 years.
I use baking soda for shampoo, and apple cider vinegar for conditioner.
I put the baking soda in a squirt bottle and fill it with water. I use around 2 Tbsp of baking soda.
I use 1/4 C. vinegar in a jar of water. I don’t rinse out the vinegar. You can if you want, but I prefer not to. Vinegar doesn’t smell once it dries.
For extra conditioning I sometimes add an egg yolk to the vinegar (you rinse this out, of course.) Be sure to rinse with cool water, or you may find cooked egg in your hair!
These are the amounts that work for my hair, and they are a good starting place. You may need to tweak it a bit to find what works for you.
It can take your hair 2-4 weeks to detox before it starts feeling and looking good. It took mine about 2 weeks. My hair feels so good using this method, and it’s so much better for your health and your hair’s health. Store bought products are full of toxic and carcinogenic ingredients, even the “organic” or “all natural” ones.
Another plus to using this method is that (for me at least), my hair only needs to be washed every 3-5 days. It just stays so much cleaner, and doesn’t get oily like it did when I washed it with shampoo.
Do you clean your hair naturally? Are you interested in doing so?
My name is Alix. I am a stay at home wife and mother. I am an herbalist and diaper changer, a business owner and a meal maker. I love the Lord and my family. You can find me at my blog and on Facebook.
Guest Blogger
Latest posts by Guest Blogger (see all)
- Healthy Rice Crispy Treats - February 20, 2013
- 10 Unconventional Uses for Honey - February 1, 2013
- How To Naturally Wash Your Hair - January 23, 2013
I really like this! I am so going to give it a go. In fact my hair needs a wash today. haha how would you incorporate maybe some essential oil into this to make the hair smell nice?
Do you have any tips for getting rid of bad dandruff in long curly hair? (my husband has it bad)
I’ve heard of some people adding essential oils to the vinegar mixture, although I haven’t tried that myself. I know that tea tree oil is supposed to be good for dandruff, and have also read that a 50/50 solution of white vinegar and water massaged into the scalp before jumping in the shower can help with dandruff as well. My friend Amanda also has an interesting recipe for an anti-dandruff shampoo that she uses for her husband that I’ve been meaning to try, but haven’t had the chance yet: http://www.naturallivingmamma.com/2012/07/09/home-made-anti-dandruff-shampoo/
I went to find her post on her blog and saw that you also commented on her shampoo post as well!
Nice to e-meet you, Nicolette. Looking forward to following your posts!
I have gone shampoo-free about 3 months ago. Started off with baking soda and ACV, and then phased that out as well. As long as I brush daily with a good bristle brush, and make sure I keep my brush clean, my hair looks very good
Hi Frances, thats a great point you made about keeping your brush clean. That is something that hadn’t crossed my mind before but seems very obviously important. Thanks for the tidbit of information, I will definitely be using it
I have been using the baking soda shampoo and apple cider vinegar rinse for about 9 months and I love it! Before I had to wash my hair at least twice with shampoo to clean it well and then lots of conditioner on the ends every other day. Now I use 1 and a half tablespoons baking soda in a 16 oz spray bottle and then filled with water and 1 to 2 tablespoons ACV in a different 16 oz spray bottle and then filled with water which I do rinse out after about 30 seconds. Those two bottles last 4 to 5 showers worth. I only wash/spray my hair twice a week now so that little amount of baking soda and apple cider vinegar lasts at least 2 weeks. My hair looks and especially feels a lot better and healthier than it ever has. And no more toxic chemicals leaching into my skull!
Are these measurements for one washing? I have become allergic to most shampoos and would love to try this!! Thanks so much for posting
The measurements depend on many factors, including your hair thickness abs length. This amount could last upto 4-5 washes or as little as 3. Just as long as you’re saturating the hair/scalp, you’ll be fine.
I often use ACV diluted with water to rinse my hair however I use shampoo every 3-4 days to wash my hair. I am definitely interested in this and plan to give it a shot! Do you use styling products on your hair? And if so, does the baking soda mixture wash those out?
Thanks
Nare
I really want to try this, but I am a runner and I run almost every day. Any opinions on whether or not this is useful after a strenuous workout? Thank you!
Hi Fran, yes you can absolutely use this even if you workout. Although, the point of using this shampoo method is to slowly lower the number of times you shampoo per week. So what I’ve seen other athletes do is for example, if they use baking soda to wash 2-3 times a week, then on the other days (including workout days) they’ll just wash their hair with warm water. They’ll even scrub their scalp as if they’re shampooing to help clean the scalp of any sweat. Others have also said that in addition to “washing” with water, they’ll also do the vinegar rinse as well.
If you’re just starting this method however, then you’ll want to start out by washing with baking soda as many times as you regularly shampoo and try to slowly work your way down to a number that works for your hair type. Just remember that there is a transition period of a few weeks to over a month where your hair will slowly be cutting back its oil production (since its been trained to overproduce oils by commercial shampoos).
Hope that helps!