a no 'poo update.

and now for an update on my no 'poo regiment. the last time i used store-purchased shampoo (proctor & gamble owned pantene, i confess) dates back to the 4th of september, a saturday evening. the next night, i skipped shampooing. the following monday, i performed the baking soda rinse and ended it with the apple cider vinegar rinse.

my original experiments began in this no 'poo post.

a respectable and well-rounded summary of this whole process is written by simple mom.

i've read that it can take two weeks to several months until your hair transitions back to its natural way of taking care of itself away from over-oil producing habit of commercialized shampoos and conditioners. but so far, i haven't really experienced anything too frustrating. in fact, the days i don't wash have been less grease-induced than when i would skip a day of no shampoo, when i shampooed. that says a lot, i'd say.

my washery-do days are mondays and thursdays. i admit, i love these days, or evenings rather, as i miss getting extra clean. i love shower power time, especially in the past year.

rosemary essential oil or other scents of essential oil of your particular preference are suggested as something to mix in with your washing time to help give hair a bit of a nasal-plus boost for the better.

so i stopped at a new shop in town, earth reflections @ 12 south reading avenue, to check out the essential oil supply. owner isabel cachiguango helped me to sift through the bottles till i found one i liked. i finally chose what was labeled as verbena, which i believe after some research is probably properly titled lemon verbena.

native to chile and extracted from a deciduous shrub, lemon verbena of course smells lemony but with an additional zip of the sweets.

in terms of therapeutic properties, it is antispasmodic, an aphrodisiac, a digestive aid, as well as an emollient, insecticide, and sedative, according to the south african run esoteric oils.

it is apparently a nudge upward and away from depression, which i could deduce just by smelling it.

i'm also going to test out lemon juice in the future in the place of apple cider vinegar, and possibly honey as well, if i don't spoon the jar's sticky love out myself to devour via the mouth. it happens !

edit:

in recent weeks, i've revised my plan with using the baking soda paste-form effort instead of just a very diluted rinse. this seems to help more thoroughly clean my roots, which may be trickier with my original scheme due to my lengthy hair.

at the suggestion of many other no 'poo types out there, i've also resorted to purchasing a spray bottle which i have filled with water and very modest drips of olive oil and my lemon verbena essential oil to help with furious tangles.

and i switched weeks ago to diluted lemon juice as conditioner instead of apple cider vinegar. i vote for this direction !