I haven't shampoo'd my hair in 2 months...

And it feels pretty good! Let me go ahead and say that yes, I am actually washing my hair. I just haven't used a drop of your typical shampoo or conditioner. About a year ago I became interested in going "no 'poo" for a number of reasons. My hair is down to the top of my butt and I would breeze through a bottle of shampoo/conditioner in no time. Getting to a place that will recycle the bottles is next to impossible since my small county doesn't have a plastics bin, though they do make up for it with other things! The county next door where you go for all your other needs requires you to pay $100/year for a dumping permit that includes access to the recycle yard. Rediculous, huh? We're also on septic and well water systems so we try to be even more concious of what we're pouring down the drain. Then there was the dandruff. Terrible, itchy dandruff. It's been a battle I've been loosing since sometime in my teens, but this year it seems to have gotten even worse. I could wash my hair and within 30 minutes, scalp still wet, the itching would start. I've tried the high dollar, super powerful stuff but even that wouldn't get rid of it! So one day I finally broke down and started the process of returning my hair back to its natural state, forgoing all of the "wonder" products for the straight basics- baking soda and apple cider vinegar.

My timing for this journey probably wasn't the best in the world; smack dab in the middle of the hot, humid Southern Summer. But as long as I had been toying with the idea and had just used the last of my shampoo, it seemed like the perfect place to start. I already had everything I needed in the house to get started.

My hair had been washed with shampoo and conditioner for over 25 years, my natural oils were never left to do the job they're supposed to do. Every morning I washed away my hair's sebum only to replace it with heavy, fake crap. I'd done a good bit of reading on the matter and had some information printed out in my bathroom. I started with the general suggestion: 1 TBSP baking soda to 1 cup of water and the same with the apple cider vinegar. I did double my batches since I have such long hair. The first few weeks weren't nearly as bad as I had anticipated. Your hair has to go through a "detox" period where it can become pretty greasy looking. Mine lasted a couple of weeks and was only bad enough for me to put my hair in a ponytail on the second and third days after, washing twice a week.

I noticed when I applied the apple cider vinegar it felt a little heavy on my hair, but was sure that everything would be fine after the wash. I have pretty heavy water, too, so I chalked up the film feeling to that. Two weeks ago as I was doing more research I noticed that some were using plain old white vinegar so I decided to give it a try. Wow! I could tell a difference as soon as I poured the mixture on my hair! My hair is now softer than ever and combing wet hair is much easier than it was with the ACV.

My hair still seems to be in the trasition stage somewhat, but it's getting better every time I wash it! I still only was every 2-3 days depending on what I've got going on (if I want to wear a ponytail or not) and haven't seen the first bit of dandruff on my head or my shoulders (pun kinda intended). If your brave enough to forgo the "normal" hair washing routine, I'd definitely so go for it!! I'll be updating on my experiences :)

PS.
My hair is board straight and pretty thin, although there's a whole lot of it! I'd like to hear from someone with a different hair type who's using this method and how their experience is/was!