hair – Personal Euphoria: Pilates & Fitness Classes in CT

Shampoo Update

If you have been reading my blog for years, you may recall that in October 2008 I stopped using shampoo and started washing my hair with baking soda instead. Well I thought it only fair to mention that about a month ago I started using shampoo again.

I didn’t really miss the suds, but I found that my hair seemed pretty dry and brittle all of a sudden. Until mid Decemeber, I was really happy with how my hair looked. At first when I stopped using shampoo, I thought my hair actually looked nicer, but all of a sudden my locks stopped seeming happy on their baking soda diet. In the past I used to occasionally change shampoos because I felt like my hair got used to a particular shampoo and then didn’t look as good. I feel like that is the case now, except my hair is also really dry.

My favorite thing about using shampoo again: having so many wonderful smelling scents to pick from! And, in one month, my hair does […]

Shampoo UpdateMaggie Downie2017-09-12T19:31:58-04:00

NO SHAMPOO: ONE WHOLE YEAR

As of tomorrow I will have gone one whole year without using shampoo:

Exceptions:

When I traveled to China and my boyfriend was concerned about me traveling overseas with a plastic baggie of baking soda.
When I went to New Orleans to visit my sister for the weekend.
When I went away with my family for a week and forgot baking soda.

So there have been a handful of times where I’ve used it, but I can’t say I miss it at all. And the truth is, my hair is less oily and greasy, so when I do travel, I need to use shampoo rarely–once every three or four days maybe. And I think I only need to use it that frequently because I work out and sweat around my hairline.

They say habits take five years to make permanent, but I’m confident I’ve said my final bye-bye to shampoo suds for the time being. When I think of it what I’ll miss most of all is making funny hairdo and Mohawks with a sudsy head, but, truthfully, I haven’t done that since I […]

NO SHAMPOO: ONE WHOLE YEARMaggie Downie2017-10-25T14:26:05-04:00

Refuse to Use Shampoo

Since I gave up shampoo almost one year ago, I’ve been trying to keep you updated on the status. Well, I love it. It’s cheaper and my hair is nicer. It’s fabulous. It’s good for me, my scalp, and the environment.

I admitted earlier in the summer that I’ve started to use conditioner occasionally. With the humidity in the air, I couldn’t seem to get a pick through my hair. When I stopped using shampoo, I stopped needing conditioner to pick my hair, but this all changed with the summer months.

Last week I was picking (sans conditioner) when one of the bristles on my pick broke. I continued until another one flung itself at my shower drain. My pick was done. I trashed it and started using another “Ouch Less” comb, unable to find a pick. It wasn’t ouch less when it broke in half in my hand.

Needless to say, lately, as the summer tapers off, I’ve been using conditioner more than not.

Refuse to Use ShampooMaggie Downie2017-09-12T19:32:30-04:00

Shampoo Update

Well as some of you know I stopped using shampoo in October 2008–that’s almost a year now, but this is my first summer without the soapy suds. One of the many changes I appreciated with ceasing shampoo use was that I didn’t seem to need conditioner anymore. That all changed with days at the beach and humid weather curling my hair into knots at my scalp. I don’t need to use conditioner every day, but I have needed to use it, on average, about once a week.

It’s no big deal, but I thought it was important to mention since I seem to have become an advocate of less shampoo. Occasionally conditioner is a side effect of a New England summer.

Shampoo UpdateMaggie Downie2014-08-04T18:06:43-04:00

No Shampoo Update

I’m still going strong without shampoo. By the end of the first month I had decided that my hair always looked a little too greasy for my liking. It wasn’t greasy in a way that would make anyone look at me and think I was dirty, but I didn’t like it. I was rinsing my hair every day, but it didn’t seem to be enough.

Then I started washing my hair with baking soda and cider vinegar (as recommended on a no-poo website). The baking soda felt wonderful. After a month, it turns out I really did miss having something clean my scalp. It felt wonderful. I used the vinegar to rinse it off and didn’t even wind up smelling like fish and chips.

I think baking soda and vinegar will do the trick for me. My hair didn’t feel or look the least bit greasy. As always, time will tell. I haven’t figured out how often I will need to wash with baking soda yet, but I think I’m hooked.

No Shampoo UpdateMaggie Downie2014-08-04T18:07:02-04:00