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    My Year of "No Poo"

    September 11, 2015 By Meagan Fikes 4 Comments

    no-poo

    That's no "shampoo" for those of you with the confused look on your face.  Wait, you're probably still confused, aren't you?  Let me explain:

    What the heck is "no poo"?

    No poo is a method of cleaning your hair by removing excess oils with a baking soda solution and conditioning with diluted apple cider vinegar (ACV).  It is supposed to drastically slow down oil production and keep your hair silky and healthy by allowing your natural oils to condition your hair.

    I realized I've been using this method for over a year now and it's been working so well that I haven't really even considered switching back to shampoos and conditioners.  That's not to say I won't ever switch back but what I'm doing right now is working great.  There are a few downsides but I think the benefits greatly outweigh these.  In this post, I'm going to talk about my experience with this method over the past year, including what I do and don't like about it.

    Background

    Just a little bit of background:  I have fairly thick, very coarse hair.  My sister says it feels like plastic doll hair which is scary accurate.  It is also completely untreated, meaning my hair is not dyed, henna'd, permed, chemically straightened, etc.  I also don't use any hairspray, mousse, gel, or dry shampoo.  The only product I use is a hair sunscreen and I use that very rarely - just when I'm going to be out in the sun for a long time because I really don't look good as a blonde! My experience with no poo will likely be different from your experience because we probably have different hair types.  For example, if my hair were thinner but I produced oils at the same rate, I would probably have to clean my hair more frequently.

    No Shampoo?  Why would anyone want to do that???

    There are a few reasons I was interested in trying no poo.  I learned of all the shampoo ingredients that were so bad for the environment and they seemed unavoidable.  I also learned about how shampoos strip too much oil from our hair and we start to overproduce oils to compensate.  I'm not going to lie, I definitely wanted to wash my hair less often too.  I was alternating shampoos and conditioners every few months because using one for too long would make my hair feel dirty like there was some sort of product buildup in it.

    I think the biggest reason I wanted to switch was because I have had bad reactions to seemingly harmless beauty products and cleaning chemicals before.  In particular, I had a bad reaction to a conditioner and it caused a sort of burn on my scalp and my back where my hair touched.  It made my psoriasis flare up real bad and I still have the scalp psoriasis right above my neck over 3 years later.  Later, after I learned I was gluten intolerant, I looked up the product ingredients but it appeared to be gluten free.  I don't know what ingredient was in there that I reacted to but I now spot test everything before using it.  So that was a long way of saying that I'm terrified of almost anything that comes in a bottle.  The fact that I can now make my own "shampoo and conditioner" using inexpensive ingredients from my kitchen means I have two fewer products to stress over.

    The Recipe:

    Let's talk about how I do this no poo thing.  It took me a while to figure out how much baking soda and ACV to use as well as how often I needed to use it.  The recipe I've come to like for my hair is this:

    Clean with 1 ½ tablespoon baking soda plus 1 C water
    Condition with 2 tablespoon ACV plus 1 C water

    Adding more baking soda removes more oil and adding more ACV conditions more.  To make things easy, I just keep these solutions in spray bottles in my shower.  Each batch lasts several uses.

    To use these mixtures, I start by wetting my hair.  Next, I spray the baking soda solution on my scalp and only where my hair feels oily.  I never spray it on the ends because it gets too dry.  I then scrub my scalp while I think about how much I miss feeling shampoo lather up in my hair.  I don't rinse it out until my hair starts to feel somewhat slick, about a minute or two.  I think the slippery feeling must be the excess oils being drawn away from the hair but I really don't know.

    Interesting fact:  The person who does my hair recommended baking soda to strip out the sixteen thousand cans of hairspray applied to my hair for my wedding.  It works and when I first heard about the no poo method, I remembered this and it just made so much sense.

    After rinsing out the baking soda, I spray some of the ACV solution onto only the ends of my hair and use my fingers to work it in.  I don't rinse this out until I'm ready to get out of the shower, meaning I leave it in as long as possible.

    Another interesting fact: The apple cider vinegar is supposed to rebalance the ph of your hair.  I've tested the ph of my baking soda solution and it was high - more than my low range strips could read.  When I tested the ACV solution, it was acidic despite the fact that it was diluted with water.

    I wash my hair at night so the next day, I refer to as "day one".  Before no poo, I washed my hair every other day.  By the end of day two, the oils would begin to surpass socially and hygienically acceptable levels.  Now, I can typically wait until the evening of day 3 or 4 before needing my first rinse.  Meaning, I just rinse my hair with water so I only strip out a little oil.  If I do between one and three rinses, I can typically wait until the evening of days 6 or 7 before doing another full wash.  Otherwise, I just rinse my hair or wear a shower cap.

    My Experience

    It was, admittedly, difficult when I first started this method.  I heard there would be a transition period where my hair would seem really dirty the first week or two but it only lasted a few days for me.  I went from washing my hair every other day to every three days, then every four pretty quickly.  It took quite a bit longer to start making it all the way to days six and seven but I hear some people can go even longer than that!  I wash more or less depending on how I style my hair, how often I'm outside, and how often I exercise.

    My biggest apprehension when starting this process was smells.  Hair tends to hold smells really well so I was worried about my hair smelling like whatever I cooked for dinner the night before.  Fortunately, baking soda is great at deodorizing.  My hair always has a neutral smell to it.  It even seems like when I do my rinses the baking soda gets re-activated and neutralizes any bad smells my hair may have picked up that day.  The only exception is cigarette smoke.  If I'm around that, I start over at day one because it's just too difficult to get that smell out of hair.

    Overall, my hair seems much healthier.  It's both softer and has more volume at the roots.  My hair is also much easier to style now and responds to very low heat settings on my flat iron, which reduces damage to my hair.  It never looks, feels, or smells dirty.  I also love that I don't spend as much time washing and styling my hair and it actually saves me money.

    I have noticed a few downsides too.  It's much harder to run a brush through my hair so I tend to lose more hair in my brush than I used to.  I also never enjoy "Day 1" hair because it's very dry and tangles easily.  I think adjusting my recipes could help fix this.  Which leads me to my next point:

    Do what works for you!

    If you decide to try out the no poo method, take some time to experiment with what works for you.  And if going back to regular shampoo and conditioner is what works for you, that's perfectly fine!  I am constantly experimenting with this and changing my method.  I'm definitely not on any set hair washing schedule and just play it by ear most of the time.  If you're open to recommendations, try this:

    Start with my recipe at the beginning of this post.  Allow at least a week for your body to adjust to this new method.  From there, adjust the recipes to what works best for your hair.

    It's not for everybody :(

    No poo isn't for everybody.  Some people absolutely love it and others can't stand it.  Update:  Since posting this yesterday, I read about some people who have been doing no poo for a long time and possibly damaged their hair from the high ph of the baking soda.  I've always been pretty hard on my hair as far as heat and styling and my hair is near-impossible to damage.  That may be why this method has worked so great for me.  I actually heat damaged my bangs really badly a few years ago and there's still damage present but it has continued to improve over the past year and did not get worse at all.  I will however, keep an eye out for signs of damage in case I'm wrong.  I'm very open to try other methods.  I read about several people using more acidic alternatives to baking soda to prevent damage and cowashing interested me too.  For now though, I love my no poo method!

    Do you no poo?

    I would love to hear what you think!  Have you ever tried the no poo method?  Are you open to trying it?  Is this the first you've heard of no poo and now you think I'm a disgusting weirdo?  Let me know in the comments below!

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Darcie

      September 12, 2015 at 2:34 pm

      I'm still lol at the "plastic doll hair"!! This was very very interesting, I knew a little about this method before, but I feel like I just got schooled in the whole method, and the pros and cons, I really liked this, informative and at the same time, you brought subtle humor into it which I always look forward to when I read any blog post of yours.

      Reply
      • Meagan

        September 12, 2015 at 4:31 pm

        I'm glad I could provide more information and it makes me so happy to hear that you look forward to reading my posts. Thanks Darcie :)

        Reply
    2. AC

      September 13, 2015 at 7:27 pm

      Great info and very well written. I am still laughing at the doll hair comment, too. At least you know Rae will tell it like it is with no holding back.

      I can't wait to read your next blog.

      AC

      Reply
      • Meagan

        September 13, 2015 at 10:56 pm

        Thanks AC! And yeah, she's pretty straightforward lol

        Reply

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    About Meagan

    About Meagan

    I started out with a passion for creating unique recipes and decorating cakes. In June of 2012, I discovered I was not only severely gluten intolerant but also, many of the foods I was eating I simply couldn't include in my diet anymore. Fortunately, my love for trying new recipes, ingredients, and cooking methods made re-learning how to cook seem more like a fun challenge than an unfortunate circumstance. I'm so happy to say that my dietary restrictions haven't stopped me from doing what I love. I hope you enjoy these recipes as much as I do.

    Some links on this site are affiliate links which means that if you make a purchase at one of these links, I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. I only link to products and services I personally recommend and believe will benefit my readers. These links help to cover some of my blogging expenses. I appreciate your support!

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    I was going to write some jokes about logging but I was going to write some jokes about logging but you wooden get them. Because they’re super dumb. Ok, I’ll share anyway.
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How do lumberjacks find a missing exponent?
By using LOGarithms
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What did the lumberjack wear to work on casual Friday?
His favorite Tree-shirt
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When is the most stressful time of year for a tree?
Sept-timber
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I told you they were bad, right? 😅 Cut me some slack, they were for a kids birthday party. Oh, and I have more…
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Why did the logger get a gym membership?
He wanted to get lumber jacked 💪
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Why couldn’t the tree answer the riddle?
He was stumped
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What kind of beer do lumberjacks drink?
Loggers 🍻
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Why did the logger have back pain?
He didn’t have enough lumber support
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Embarrassingly enough, I have a bunch more but I’ll save them for a project in a later blog post. For now, I just have the cake.
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This is a 2 part, absolutely massive blog post on making this logging scene cake from start to finish. The cake is chocolate and vanilla layers with cookies & cream filling. And as always, gluten free and dairy free.
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The recipe is at the link in my profile
👉@eatsomethingdelicious
Thanks for chopping by 👋
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#glutenfree #dairyfree #dessert #foodallergies #celiac #glutenintolerant #eatsomethingdelicious #cakedecorating #foodbloggerpro #cake
    Big news: I cleaned my house the other day 😅 Bu Big news: I cleaned my house the other day 😅 But seriously, it’s amazing how much having a clean space can help. My energy levels are completely uncalled for considering we’re well beyond a month of Erika barely sleeping at night and at least one family member dealing with a cold. I’m so tired of snot 😩 And being responsible for 3 peoples noses. We’re trying to graduate one nose to self-care but apparently the art of nose blowing takes a lot more boxes of tissues to master. We’ll get there.
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Ok enough gross stuff. My finally clean again space has made me so much more focused and motivated to get things done. I’ve burned through most of my work to-do list and made it to the fun stuff that I don’t have to do but just want to. And since I was at that point, I decided to do something for myself by working on my blog. And I went a little overboard by working on 5 blog posts at once. I probably won’t get through them all but I have 3 ready so far.
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This first post is a 30 minute ground beef stroganoff that I made almost 3 years ago. I didn’t do a great job writing down the recipe so I wasn’t able to post it until I figured out what I forgot to write down. Figured it out the other day and it was so good!
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You can get the recipe at the link in my profile
👉@eatsomethingdelicious
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#glutenfree #dairyfree #celiac #eatsomethingdelicious #30minutemeals #foodallergies #foodbloggerpro #glutenintolerant
    Not really a new recipe but I shared my sons 4th b Not really a new recipe but I shared my sons 4th birthday cake on the blog today. Also wrote a recap on everything that’s been going on for the past year since I would normally write about it in my blog posts but haven’t written anything! I don’t know when I’ll be back on there. I’ve only had time for site maintenance and I really miss blogging but I’ll be back on once things slow down. The link to the new post is in my profile!
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#glutenfree #dairyfree #cakedecorating #foodallergies #celiacdisease
    I almost didn’t make this into a casserole becau I almost didn’t make this into a casserole because the sauce and pasta combined made a delicious side dish on their own! @beldolcefood #sponsored my most recent blog post and provided me with their new gluten free fusilli and penne to try out. I used the fusilli in this recipe and the sauce is a creamy, cheesy enchilada sauce made from just 3 ingredients.
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I ended up adding taco meat, fire roasted tomatoes, corn, black beans, and dairy free cheese to make a taco noodle casserole. Then we ate it all and I made it again! This is one of those recipes that will be going in our regular meal rotation.
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This is a pretty versatile recipe. It can be made vegan just by leaving out the meat and it’s just as good. And as I said earlier, the pasta with just the sauce makes a really good side dish. You can also top it with whatever you like such as cilantro, jalapeños, sour cream, scallions, or salsa.
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The recipe and details on @beldolcefood new gluten free pasta is linked in my profile:
@eatsomethingdelicious
Let me know if you try it!
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#glutenfree #dairyfree #glutenfreefacility #pasta #casserole #beldolce #foodallergies #f52grams #foodbloggerpro #celiac #glutenintolerant #eatsomethingdelicious
    I’ll just say it - I’m one of those bloggers t I’ll just say it - I’m one of those bloggers that makes cakes for their blogs “birthdays”. Or uses the blog birthdays as an excuse to make yet another cake recipe....yeah, that’s probably more accurate.
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Definitely felt like I needed a good excuse for this one because it’s my fifth variation of gooey butter cake! However, my site is seven years old so maybe I should have had seven gooey butter cakes ready to go? Guess I’d better get caught up before year eight 😉
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Anyways, I really enjoyed this carrot cake variation of gooey butter cake. The cake layer/crust swaps out the yellow cake mix with spice cake mix and I added in some shredded carrots and raisins. I kept the “gooey” top layer the same except that I topped it with a sprinkle of cinnamon and additional raisins before baking.
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If you want to try the recipe, the link is in my profile: @eatsomethingdelicious
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#gooeybuttercake #foodallergies #glutenfree #dairyfree #foodbloggerpro #baking #celiac #f52grams #f52sweets #glutenintolerant #carrotcake
#glutenfreelife #eatsomethingdelicious
    Here are a few last minute treat ideas! The carame Here are a few last minute treat ideas! The caramel stuffed crispy rice treats recipe is written below. The other recipes (gooey butter cookies, salted caramel turtles, and pumpkin snickerdoodles) can be found at the link in my bio!
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CARAMEL STUFFED CRISPY RICE TREATS
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INGREDIENTS
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• ¼ C dairy free butter, divided
• 4 C mini marshmallows (regular and vegan both work), divided
• 6 C gluten free rice cereal *see notes*
• 1 tsp vanilla extract, divided
• 10-11 oz dairy free chewy caramels
• 11.25 oz can sweetened condensed coconut milk
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DIRECTIONS
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1. Melt 2 tablespoons of the dairy free butter in a medium sauce pan over medium-low heat. Add 2 cups of marshmallows and stir until they are melted with no lumps.
2. Remove from heat and stir in ½ tsp of vanilla then gently fold in 3 cups of cereal until it is well-combined with the marshmallows.
3. Using wet hands, press this mixture evenly into the bottom of a 7x11 inch casserole dish and set aside.
4. Unwrap the caramels and add them along with the sweetened condensed coconut milk to a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir often to avoid burning. Once this has turned to a completely smooth sauce, pour over the cereal layer.
5. Make your top cereal layer by repeating steps 1 and 2. Distribute this evenly over the caramel layer and pat down with wet hands.
6. Once the treats have cooled down, they will firm up and hold their shape when cut. Cut into squares and serve.
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NOTES
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• Potential allergens contained in this recipe may vary due to brands of ingredients used, product reformulations, etc. Please verify that all your ingredients are safe for you to consume and always be mindful of allergen cross contamination while cooking.
• Double check that the cereal you use is gluten free. At least one brand carries 2 different versions of rice cereal and only one is GF.
• Don't make both cereal layers in one large batch then divide it up. The top layer will cool and firm up before you can layer it on which will make the caramel seep out when you press it down.
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