Credit: the Italian voice via Flickr
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We've been talking about how we can avoid the petrochemicals that are found so often in our cosmetics and body care products. Of course, one of the easiest ways to do that is to stop using those products in the first place...
No, I'm not suggesting that we stop bathing altogether! Although there are some people who claim it's totally fine to skip the cleaning part of their daily routine, I'm not convinced.
But some people have switched to a "no 'poo" method, washing their hair with baking soda and rinsing with plain vinegar. Apparently it's gentler on your hair, as well as being better for the environment. This blog post from a woman who's been doing it for years gives lots of detail on how to stop using shampoo.
If that's a bridge too far for you, there's the option of using a dry shampoo in-between your usual washes as a way of reducing the amount of shampoo you use. There are dry shampoos you can buy, but as always, there's a non-commercial option of using baby powder or cornstarch powder instead.
Personally, I'm not against the idea of using a commercial product as long as it's good for the environment and packaged responsibly. But even then we have the opportunity to reduce our usage.
I used to wash my hair every day, believing it to be quite oily. My hairdresser told me that if I didn't wash it so often, it wouldn't produce so much oil! She was right, and after a couple of weeks of cutting back, I now only wash my hair once a week. It's not only less oily, it has a lot more bounce too.
The other tip she gave me is that the directions to "rinse and repeat" are just there to make you use more of the product so you have to buy more of it. Unless you've been rolling in mud or paint, one wash is enough.
Would you go "no 'poo"? I'm a bit skeptical, but after my success with the homemade body scrub and finding out that my hair copes just fine with a weekly wash, maybe I should give it a whirl. What do you think?
Comments
I was a sceptic about the 'no shampoo' method but having been using commercially-prepared natural shampoos for a few years, I thought I'd give it a go. The evening after my brother's wedding - when my hair was chock full of 'product' - I decided it would be the last time I washed my hair with shampoo. That was 4 years ago and I haven't looked back. Yes, there were about 6 weeks of awful, oily, dirty hair....but after that my hair and scalp just balanced themselves. I have quite curly hair and keep it relatively short; it's so quick to style now, the curl forms easily after each wash. Just today a couple of maintenance guys outside my office commented on how lovely my hair is! When I tell people I don't use shampoo, I then encourage them to feel my hair, might sound weird, but I'm hopeful of creating more converts. What's also great is that I can avoid that entire section of the supermarket!
A couple of years ago I gave up washing my hair after a friend who'd done it raved about it, and two separate hairdressers suggested that rinsing rather than washing after being in sea water would be good for my hair. For the first few weeks it was pretty manky (lots of headscarves involved!) but after that it settled into its natural state and looked better than it ever has. It got rid of problems like flakes and oiliness, but there was enough natural oil in it that I no longer needed product to de-frizz or shape my curls. I still used conditioner once a week or when swimming in chlorine or salt, but only washed with water. I only stopped doing it after spending a few weeks camping out in a humid environment and my hair got filthy. It can also be difficult to find a hairdresser who will cut without washing. I will do it again if I ever have a month or so where I don't particularly mind having greasy hair to get through the initial stage (good if travelling or probably fine if you're hair's short and you use product anyway).