No Poo – I stopped using shampoo in February, 2013. It is now March, 2015. I have been completely shampoo free for 2 years! Here is an update.
My No Poo Website
No poo and natural hair care has been a very popular topic on my blog, in your comments, and with your questions. So I made a website all about no poo. You can find it at The No Poo Method. I have tons of tips, tricks, testimonials, faq’s, and more. So if you have questions, please check out that site. There are lots of answers there.
My No Poo Ebook
I have done a lot of research with trial and error to find what works, and what doesn’t work. I have compiled all of that information together in an easy-to-follow guide that will answer all of your no poo questions.
This book will empower you to find a natural hair care routine that works for you, at whatever level you want to take it. Are you ready to dive right in and ditch all your commercial hair products? This book will walk you through that process. Or do you just want to learn how to naturally nourish your hair with an occasional deep conditioner or serum? That’s here too. Find the book here.
My One Year Update
Here is my update from last year. I used mainly baking soda and apple cider vinegar during that year. I have a lot of pictures and details of my routine in that update.
My Current Routine
My routine has changed quite a bit since my last update. I did great with baking soda and apple cider vinegar during the 1st year. Then one day, out of nowhere…..it just wasn’t OK anymore. My hair became very dry. So I decided to start experimenting with a lot more no poo methods. I detail a lot of the no poo methods here. It truly is a trial and error approach to find what your hair needs. I get a lot (a whole lot) of emails, comments, and questions asking what method someone should use. I honestly cannot answer that. Everyone’s hair needs are so unique and everyone has different desired results. I had to go through the trial and error testing myself to learn what I needed. So have fun with it! Experiment and get creative!
I have found that my current favorite no poo method is with rye flour. Yep, I said flour! I mix a couple tablespoons of rye flour with enough water to make a paste. I wet my hair, massage the rye flour on my scalp and hair. I leave it for a few minutes and rinse. The trick is to be sure to rinse very, very, very well or else you will have flour bits left in your hair.
Here is an overview of my typical hair routine:
- I wash about once a week.
- I use dry shampoo once or twice in between washes.
- I vary the washes I use. I use rye flour probably 75% of the time. I will occasionally (once every 5 or 6 washes) will wash with baking soda and apple cider vinegar.
- I do a bentonite clay mask about once a month. I mix equal parts bentonite clay with apple cider vinegar and apply to my hair. I leave for about 20 minutes then rinse.
- I use argan oil with essential oils (recipe here) as a hair serum to tame any stray / frizzy hair.
- I let my hair air dry.
- I “scritch and preen” using a boar bristle brush 2-3 times a week. This is basically massaging your hair for about 5 minutes. Then use the boar bristle brush to distribute the natural oils your hair produces down the shaft of your hair.
- I will play around with other methods from this list. I like an occasional egg wash (adds protein which adds body) and an aloe vera rinse. There are lots of options and DIY recipes on this page.
- I do a henna rinse about every 4 months. I choose a color very close to my natural color. I do it mainly for the conditioning, not the color.
- When I curl my hair, I almost always do headband curls.
- I add essential oils to just about everything I do / make for my hair. I only use Young Living therapeutic grade essential oils. Ever and always. Find out more about essential oils and hair here. My personal favorites are rosemary, lavender, and ylang ylang.
You can see more details about my hair routine here on my No Poo Diary calendar.
Hold Up…..And Then…..
I got pregnant! And any mama knows that pregnancy results in lots of hormone changes. And your hair definitely shows it. I felt like I was going through transition all over again (transition is the period of time when you first go no poo. Your hair is detoxing chemicals and there is an adjustment period. Read more here.). It took me a couple months to figure out my new hair. It was just…..different. Here is what I found my hair needed while pregnant (this is what worked for me. Your hair needs while pregnant will probably be different.):
- More boar bristle brushing. Every day.
- I needed to go back to baking soda and apple cider vinegar. I still mix it up and use rye flour but my main wash is baking soda.
- I could go longer in between washes. I’m currently going 7-10 days while pregnant, I was washing every 5-7 before.
Find out more about my pregnancy here:
Picture Time
So am I a smelly, greasy, dirty person? Nope! At least I don’t think so…. Here are some pictures of me over the last year.
For More Info
For more info, be sure to check out my ebook, The No Poo Method.
I’m so excited to find this post with pictures of your gorgeous hair. Actually getting to SEE results is helpful in making the decision to go no shampoo. I went no soap about 2 months ago and have never looked back.
I use Greek yogurt as a replacement and my skin has never been softer and happier. I follow up with coconut oil after drying off.
Shampoo free seems to be the next logical step.
Thank you for posting so much helpful information!
🙂 niki
Thank you! 😉 I love the tip of using Greek yogurt! I’ll have to try that.
I was wondering, could rye flour be replaced with the all-purpose flour as a shampoo?
Hi, I want to first thank you for your blog and tips, they have been encouraging and helpful since going through my no-poo/ low-poo journey. I do have a question though, did you experience any static? I just can’t figure out how to stop all this dang static, it’s driving me crazy. My hair looks and feels fantastic if I don’t touch it! lol. If it’s brushed or touched, watch out! Is this part of the transition period, do I just need to stick it out? have seen that some people suggest adding raw honey to their poo methods and I have tried that as well but hasn’t made that much of a difference. I I will try the scritch and preen method, because I haven’t tried but any other suggestions will be welcome. Thanks again!
No, it can’t. Sorry.
Hi Mag – I did have static during transition. Here is a little about my transition period: http://thenopoomethod.com/start-here/. Hope that helps!
You can also use only water !!!! You massage your scalp, then preen , than brush with your BBB. Than wash your hair with only water !!!! first warm water, finish without cold rinse. Done . Air dry.
With cold water. Sorry
Yep! I briefly discuss the water only method here http://thenopoomethod.com/no-poo-methods/
I had horrible greasy, stinky hair, but found a solution for it. I use plain old white flour to wash my hair and it works wonders. I just dissolve about 2, 3tbls of flour in a gallon of warm water and rub it into my scalp and hair and then rinse. Next, I rinse my hair by adding 2, 3 drops of vinegar to a gallon of warm water and then rinse my hair again with water to get out the vinegar smell. I tried using only water, baking soda, honey washes, but flour works best for me.
Wow! I use rye flour but have always heard white flour doesn’t work well. I’ve never tried it but now I’m curious!
If you’ve ever made a roux when making a sauce, you will know it makes sense that flour absorbs fat, which is essentially what hair oils are! No reason plain white flour shouldn’t work.
I think it’s terrific that you have been able to do this. I don’t believe it would work for color treated hair.
Thanks Joyce! Here is a little bit of info of using the no poo method with color treated hair http://thenopoomethod.com/faqs/. It is tricky, but it is possible.
I’ve been going nopoo for a month now. I think by your description we have the same type of hair so thank you so much for all the nopoo info. I noticed my hair was super waxy and remembered reading about the apple sauce mask. Yesterday I tried it. I rinsed it off them washed with baking soda rinse with acv. I got out and looked in the mirror to see 100s of little bits in my hair. I started to try to comb them out trying nt to curse all this applesauce when I realized it was wax!! 🙁
I didn’t have any more time to deal with it so I pinned up my hair and went about my day . Later I took my hair down and it was super waxy from the middle down where I had smeared the wax. So today I just showered again using extra baking soda mix and extra acv. However in my acv I put some raw honey and an egg white. I’m now waiting for it to dry and hoping this works. Any advice would be amazing. Maybe a hot oil treatment? Smearing those tiny wax balls was almost more than I could take. The only thing that kept me from shampooing was thinking about how I got ofd of tooth paste and deodorant and there was a trying time then and this too shall pass…. or at least I have my fingers crossed while knocking on wood.
Ok so my comment is still waiting moderation. However enough time has passed that I figured it out. Just incase others have this issue. So after the applesause incedent I could not get these tiny wax balls out of my hair. What I tried was using 1/4 cup baking soda in 1 cup cold water. It did not disolve. I used it to scrub my hair for maybe 5 mins. Then rinsed in 1/4cup apple cider vinegar to 1 cup cold watet. Got all the wax out. So I found using only 1 tablespoon of baking soda or acv to water was not enough for my hair. I am washing it every 5 to 6 days this way. I think my hair is going to make it! Also I have thick hair layered to middle of my back no color. Also the individual hairs themself are thick. Also after all the wax came out it was instant static hair!
HI. Just wanted pass on my two cents. I colour my hair. Every month. And I’ve been using the baking soda and apple cider vinegar method for almost 2 years. No issues what so ever. I love it. My sisters are sick of hearing me tell them about this method.
My hair has never looked better and I’ve never felt more beautiful!
That’s awesome!
Sorry for the delay in getting to your comment but I’m glad y ou got it worked out! Thanks for the update!
Oh Great tips for the hair care. All my troubles have been washed out! How wonder.
What do you do when you workout?? I currently work out 4-5 times/week and I sweat a ton….there’s no way I could not wash my hair!! I definitely avoid washing my hair on non-gym days but this still requires about 5 washes/week.
Hi Ariel,
I rinse with water. Sweat is water soluble. I have a little more info on that in the faq’s of my no poo site: http://thenopoomethod.com/faqs/.
Hello Niki 🙂
I just wondered if you had any other tips for somethibg to use other than coconut oil? I have used it in the past and had a bad reaction to it.
Hello ☺
I’ve stumbled upon your website and have been pondering no poo for awhile now. I tried natural skin care and had a bad reaction to a few things so put me off for awhile! But I use very little and my skin is the best its been in yonks! So I’m wanting to try more natural approach with my hair. On the page with info about your no poo book, there are before and after pics. In the four after pics (hair down, in a bun) is that your natural hair colouring or do you dye it? Your hair looks so full and healthy and a beautiful colour. If it is dyed what can you use if you are no pooing? I’m currently being extremely patience and growing out some terrible home ombre! ??