Long Hair

[thothmela]

My hair comes to about mid-back and is pretty curly/thick. I wash it about 4-5 times a week. Even though there is no lice or dandruff, I feel like there is still something on m scalf. Any suggestions and tricks to get a deep wash?


women of ST....

[easjer]

My hair is down to mid-back, very thick and wavy. I only wash it twice a week. If you are really washing it so often, you are probably causing your scalp to overproduce sebum and oil and that is why you frequently feel as if you have something on your scalp. Additionally, washing it that often causes it to dry out and it's very bad for your hair.

I tried the no-shampoo thing for awhile, and washing it only in conditioner, and I didn't love either, though some of my friends do. Washing it frequently really irritated my scalp and caused dandruff.

Now what I do when I wash it is this: rinse with water to get it wet. Rinse with a mixture of half white vinegar and water (white vinegar is good for rinsing away impurities and keeping your scalp balanced). Pour about 8 oz from a bottle containing very, very diluted shampoo (three quirts of shampoo, fill 16 oz bottle with water, shake). I put about a quarter-size dollop of conditioner on the ends and work it up through my hair. If it feels dry, I'll put a touch on my scalp as well. I massage my scalp really well with the pads of my fingers for a couple of minutes. Then I rinse all of that with more of the water/white vinegar mixture (use about 8 oz each time). Then I rinse the vinegar out with water, and do more scalp massage.

As detailed as that sounds - it actually takes less time than my old shampoo and conditioning used to take. And I only do it twice a week. My scalp feels loads better, no more dandruff, and my hair doesn't look greasy or smell funny at all. By the time I wash it, it only looks day after washing lightly greasy (as in, not really at all). I could probably go longer, but I don't like to. And the wave has looked better (more even and pronounced) because I'm not washing away the essential oils.

There are plenty of essential oils and baking soda treatments you can try as well that would help your scalp. . . just google no poo.

[xrayzebra]

Get a haircut.

[thothmela]

easjer thanks


How come vinegar works so well?

[Mr. Peabody]

Get a haircut.

:lol

Classic xray response. All that's missing is the word "hippie."

[easjer]

Oh, I couldn't possibly tell you the real science behind it. But baking soda and vinegar both (but not together, :lol) help clean your hair without stripping it of oil it needs to keep it healthy and from breaking. And if you strip your hair of oil, then your scalp tried to compensate by overproducing oil. Using something like baking soda or vinegar will help it to keep a more natural balance and stop overproducing oil, and help protect it from really harsh chemicals (ever read about what is in shampoos and conditioners? shudder).

Lots of people who do 'no poo' use baking soda and vinegar to keep a healthy pH balance for their scalp. Most people use apple cider vinegar because it's the mildest form - white vinegar is a little more harsh, but for some reason it helps scalp issues. It's worked really well for me. I didn't like just using baking soda mixtures - it felt like my hair wasn't clean enough. The routine I listed above is what worked best for me through trial and error.