No Poo Hair Washing - Days 5 & 6

Well yesterday was my day off and I had nothing to do so...I don't think I even showered. Sometimes I'm gross. But as far as my hair, nothing was abnormal. It was kind of greasy, but not worse or better than usual. 

A huge plus is that I did buy a 100% boar's bristle brush! Ladies, if you don't have one, you should get one. I've wondered for a while now if my brushes were damaging my hair and I'm pretty the answer is yes. But my new brush feels amazing and leaves my hair so soft. Even if you're not doing any kind of hair revolution like I am, it's worth buying. I got mine at a Duane Reade (they're a pharmacy that started in NYC and is now owned by Walgreens, for you non-New Yorkers) for like $7 maybe?

Today I washed my hair with the baking soda and vinegar and voila! it wasn't waxy or anything. It felt very nice all day. One interesting thing I'm noticing is that my bangs haven't gotten greasy by the end of the day like they normally do. Could it be because of the new washing routine??

No Poo Hair Washing - Day 4

Ok yeah, today my hair is kind of gross. I washed it with the baking soda and conditioned it with the vinegar, and for the first time I understood what they meant when they said your hair might feel waxy. My hair definitely felt waxy when I first got out of the shower. I decided not use any product on my hair (I normally use a root spray for volume) and once I gave it a good blow dry it felt a little less waxy, but it still doesn't feel clean exactly. It feels (and looks to me) a little greasy. But then I took pics of it and it didn't seem as noticeable as I thought.

Behold, close up pictures of my scalp.

No Poo Hair Washing - Day 3

This morning I woke up to relatively clean hair! It was sort of in between clean and dirty...it was a little bit oily, but it was at that point where you could probably pull it back in a ponytail or wear a headband and get away with it. Let's not forget that I did dye my hair yesterday, which means it got dried out a little anyway. I'm still reserving judgment a bit. I decided to wait and wash it tomorrow morning before work. Sorry there's not more to report!

No Poo Hair Washing - Day 2

This morning I woke up to normal hair. After letting it air dry just before going to bed last night, it was a little limp as usual (blow drying helps with that extra oomph my hair needs), but there was no weird texture and it wasn't extra oily either. 

Today I decided to go big or go home and proceeded to dye my hair a medium auburn. I have no idea how the no poo washing will affect it and no clue if the baking soda will make it fade. I've read so many articles about the affects of baking soda on dyed hair and everyone says something different, so I figured I'd see for myself. I went ahead and used the conditioner provided in the box, but don't plan to do anything else to my hair today. We'll see how everything looks tomorrow and go from there!

No Poo Hair Washing - Day 1

Earlier today I was mindlessly pinning (as I usually do on my day off) when I came across a pin that linked to an article about washing your hair without shampoo. I was immediately intrigued. You can read the article here, but in a nutshell it talks about how shampoo causes a vicious cycle of needing to wash your hair every day. When you use shampoo, it acts as a detergent and strips your hair and scalp of their natural oils, causing your scalp to overproduce oil out of sheer panic, and in turn causing you to wake up with greasy hair and have to wash all over again.

So how do we break this cycle? The article describes how to make a baking soda solution and a vinegar spray to wash and condition your hair. (There are two ways of doing it, but I'll just be talking about the way I chose.) It sounds weird, but the article also says that your hair will be healthier, shinier, fuller, and you won't have to wash it as often. However, it also warns that your hair will go through a transition period where it basically freaks out and wonders what the hell you're doing to it, so they recommend you be able to just wear it in a ponytail or under a hat for a while. And there is a whole list of recommendations on how to help your hair through the transition.

Since I have a 3-day weekend, I figured what the hell, let's try it, and off I skipped to the dollar store.

Pieces of Crap

Step 1: Prepare your solutions.

At the dollar store I bought a ketchup/mustard bottle for the baking soda solution and a spray bottle for the vinegar spray. This was my first mistake. Those things are pieces of crap. Go to Target or Wal-Mart instead, people. I screwed the lid onto the ketchup bottle and when I went to shake it to mix the solution, it was leaking out of the lid. Annoying. Then the spray bottle would only spray at random times and I never knew if it would be a stream of liquid or a wide spray. Also annoying.

However, the two things mixed well. I used 1 tbs of baking soda for every 1 cup of water. For the spray, I used 2 tbs of vinegar for every 1 cup of water.

Step 2: Apply to your hair and rinse thoroughly.

Ok, so I knew that the baking soda solution wasn't going to lather at all, so I was prepared for that. But the lack of lather makes it difficult to know if you're using the right amount. It's hard to tell if you've covered your whole scalp or not. But I did my best and we'll see what happens.

Step 3: Air dry.

As I type, it's still drying. I'm waiting to see if my hair is going to feel funny or not, but so far I must say that the top of my head (which is already dry) already seems more voluminous than the other times I've air dried it. I'll be interested to see if it's back to being greasy in the morning.

I'll let you know how it's looking tomorrow!

My favorite beauty products.

Growing up we didn't really get into a lot of expensive name brand stuff. We always had the cheapest shampoos or the Wal-Mart brand of face wash. And I didn't care, because hey, my hair and face still got clean. But as I've gotten older I've tried out other products and learned that sometimes it pays to shell out a little extra money to feel and look healthy and pretty. So here's my list of some of my favorite beauty products.

1. Lasting Foundation by Merle Norman - The year I graduated from college, my mom offered to buy me new makeup from Merle Norman (a huge step up from the stuff you can get at Wal-Mart) for my birthday. So I went, got my free facial, and had a consultation to find what worked for me. My skin always feels dry after a shower, but it can get pretty oily throughout the day (especially in the humid south). This particular type of foundation is great for oily skin and I feel like it lasts all day long, plus the coverage is great.

2. Ultra Powder Foundation by Merle Norman - Although it's also a foundation, this powder was recommended to me by my consultant as a way to seal in the liquid foundation. I also sometimes use it by itself on days when I'm feeling lazy or when I'm in a rush and need to speed through the makeup process. It doesn't have quite as much coverage by itself, but it still looks good.

3. Neutrogena Oil-Free Acne Wash Pink Grapefruit Facial Cleanser - I must confess that I bought this because it was pink. I've always loved Neutrogena products and when I first saw the pink grapefruit line I couldn't help myself. I'm an easy sell. But then it turned out to be amazing. It smells good, it feels good, it fights acne, and it has a pump (pumps save time).

4. Clear Volumizing Root Boost Nourishing Shampoo/Conditioner - I'm not sure when this brand came on the scene, but I feel like it's fairly recently. I noticed it one day at Target and decided to try it. Normally, when I go to buy shampoo, I sort of make the rounds and get something different every time. Never again. This stuff is awesome. My hair is very fine (aka flat as pancake) so I've only tried the volumizing version, but it works really well. My hair looks and feels healthier too. When I was in Georgia recently, I used my family's shampoo - I hated the way my hair felt, plus I felt the need to use a whole can of mousse in the hopes of getting at least a little volume. Moral of the story: don't leave your Clear shampoo behind!

5. Alba Botanica Natural Very Emollient Foam Shave - The shaving foam was a huge relief for my sensitive skin. I have always had issues with razor burn until one day I read I could be allergic to a certain something that's in shaving cream. I also read that ORGANIC shaving cream doesn't have that certain something. So I hit up my local organic pharmacy and tried a few of their shaving creams and this one was my favorite. You only need a couple of pumps and it feels great after the shave. Oh and the particular scent I linked to is great because it's Aloe Mint, which aids in the fight against razor burn.

6. Schick Hydro 5 Razor - Splurging on a non-disposable razor was also a huge help when it comes to razor burn. I like this razor in particular because the 5 blades make for a very close and smooth shave. Totally worth the money.

7. Moisture Effective Eye Makeup Remover Lotion by Avon - I was first given this stuff by an Avon representative (shoutout to Kenniane!) when I did some house-sitting for her. At first I wasn't crazy about it because what? You're rubbing lotion on your eyes? That's weird. However, I've since started buying higher end mascara and, let me tell you, that stuff does not come off easily. After floundering with drugstore makeup remover that didn't seem to actually work anymore, I went online and bought 5 bottles of this stuff. It's regular $4 a bottle, but it always seems to be on sale for much less. When I bought my stash, it was for $.99 apiece. And if you don't know an Avon representative you can shop online now, which makes it super easy.

8. Revlon Perfect Heat 3 Barrel Waver - This is a very recent purchase and I've only used it twice, but I love it. It takes a little practice to make sure your hair doesn't end up looking too crimpy, but it can produce a really pretty curl and add a little volume in the process. 

I didn't put my new favorite mascara in the picture because I'm not done trying all the ones I want to try, but I will say that I love the one I'm currently using. It's Big Fatty Mascara by Urban Decay. I got it at Sephora, but I know it's available at other similar stores like Ulta.

Anyone want to share their favorite beauty products with me? I still love trying new stuff.