Curly Girl Goes No Poo: January 2014

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Beat the Frizz!

From my own curly experience, I found baking soda for washing wayyy too harsh, and recently found that even low poo stripped my hair of the natural sebum I'd brushed through for over 6 months to now have lovely transitioned curly hair.

The moral of my story is I only cleanse my scalp. The length of my hair is lovely, clean and never frizzy anymore for two reasons...

ACV! I use it at a 50/50 ratio mixed with water all over and about 5 drops of EO in my squirt bottle. The ACV lays down the cuticle of the hair. Think of roof shingles laying nicely and the rain rolling off it. When the cuticle of the hair lays flat, the hair is physically smoother and tangles less.

See more at Why Vinegar

Next, curly hair has a structure like Swiss cheese, (click here for more) it's porous so can't keep hydrated without help. The holes mean the water evaporates and leaves it dry but those same holes and structure is exactly why it can curl!!

So sebum... Lovely heavenly sebum. If you're patient enough to brush the sebum through the length if your hair, it fills in those holes and leaves your hair stronger, shiny, and naturally hydrated.

I got sebum to just past my high ponytail in about 4 months and got frustrated because it made my ends look horrible in comparison so I did two things:

First I got a good trim, then I started oiling from the ends to meet my sebum. By focusing on brushing the sebum past my ears since it moved only an inch a month, I knew my hair and one day I took out my old flat iron so I could wear my hair out for a work function and in one week my sebum moved like greese lightning!! Haha! I actually went 21 days with only one WO right before the flat ironing episode!!

When I WO, I still use an ACV rinse, all over, especially on my scalp every time.

Next, I started using a flat iron, I felt guilty because it was such a non natural, non crunchy thing to do, but I was desperate. I also consoled myself by saying I'm so kind to my hair and it's in the best shape it's ever been, one flat iron won't hurt after all the good I'm doing.... And TaDaa!!

Now I'm on a 21 day cycle, this time without the WO wash even. I wash and plop curly, then day 2 half up, day 3, up do, day 4 thick fat bun with waves, then I brush and oil my hair since the sebum comes in for me on day 4. Then I wear it in a bun or French braid for 2 days then on day 7, I flat iron on medium heat just the last 4" that don't get the benefit of being pulled straight into an elastic when in a bun, I can wear my hair out for two weeks after that, occasionally I wear it up, but it looks a little flat on the scalp until about 10am and then gets a little tousled full of volume and looks great by the afternoon.

Update: headband curls give awesome volume!!

No poo beats frizz girls!!! Stick it out, and remember to hydrate with oils and brush twice a day, and to wash less and less! (If you're extra dry, hydrate with aloe vera gel first, then add oil to seal. Remember, less is more - you can add a little more again tomorrow)

I brush really well in ALL directions in the evening before bed and wear it in a loose ponytail, braid or bun. Then I only brush to style in the morning.

Let me know if only cleansing your scalp helps, and using the ACV rinse of course. Please leave comments below :)

Flat Iron Help

I was doing ok after the baby puke and low poo emergency. A week in the side that I washed out the puke with low poo looks a little trashy, but it's recovering with TLC.

I took out the flat iron, and ironed the last 4 inches of my hair. By taming the ends I can wear it all out. It's a nice change since the weather is forcing me to wear hats and causing baaaad hair!!

So I happily continue on my way to my 21 day goal before washing my scalp only with argan oil soap and ACV.

Oh... I got a grapefruit EO, it's nice but not as lovely and yummy as my tangerine was. Ah well, at least the brand looks reputable :).

Sunday, January 26, 2014

Best brush ever!

I've owned a regular BBB for years, great for smoothing my thick hair, then I recently got one with nylon bristles that was great for detangling and moving sebum and then I came across this one - the metal balls feel soooo nice on the scalp, rather than scratchy (which I didn't mind, and didn't hurt at all) and feels so lovely!!! Highly recommended if you have thicker hair!!

Click here or the brush pic to go to the website.

BBB = boar bristle brush.

No need to dish out the bucks for this baby...

I also use the Tangle Tamer for detangling in the shower with ACV while wet.

Monday, January 20, 2014

Baby puke - yuck!!!

My 16 month old baby puked cows milk and dinner in my hair. Ya. Nowhere near wash day, on a Monday morning, in the winter at -5 degrees outside. May the hair Gods spare me any surprises after this...

This is what I use on my daughter. So I took enough to cover my baby fingertip, added water, shook it up and cleansed my scalp only, as usual, and the darned puke spot... Did I mention he's 16 months old, had lasagna for dinner, and refused to be burped last night because he was so tired. Ya. My fault. Grrr......

So I'm washed, I've finger curled my hair in sections in case I need to diffuse it dry before heading out in the cold (instead of plopping to dry). I can't put it up because the ACV needs to air dry. Man oh man.... Good thing he's cute!

Not the best start to me week let's just say.

Jan 24th update - day 4:

My scalp is crazy oily after using low poo. It's day 4, right on schedule and it's 2am and I've been up scratching and then brushing for 7 minutes and I still feel oily. Interestingly enough I had the opposite problem after just washing, I had all kinds of flyaways and a dry feeling scalp that I haven't seem in months and had to use aloe to tame them. Perhaps aloe so early after a scalp wash contributed to the oiliness, and perhaps the argan oil and whatever else was in it was too much for my already transitioned hair.

I'm annoyed that I had such a great thing going, only recently transitioned and in the dead of winter with -27 degree temps before windchill, and my previously dry hair was happy & healthy and at the point where I barely added any oil except to my untrimmed ends.

So, low poo... Feels like a fail, glad I got to try it due to the desperate circumstances, I'm really not interested though. I'll stick to my SoapNuts, egg and Castille soap bar options for cleansing since they're working.

Sunday, January 19, 2014

Hair Treatments

Click here for some really great hair treatments and how to info.

Thursday, January 16, 2014

Water Only Wash

Ya. It thought maybe I could create an acronym -WOW - but no. It wasn't so wow.

We started here about 2 weeks after my last soap on the scalp wash. My hair felt fabulous, my scalp too, but I wanted to experiment a little since I haven't seen my curls for quite some time!

I did a WO wash, used my ACV rinse and added nothing. Then plopped to dry. Voila!

Fabulous voluminous curls, not crunchy or dry, just great hair, curled onto itself ends which always signify healthy ends to me. Happy, right?

No! It was a windy day and with no commercial product to keep the curls and ringlets together I ended up looking like quite a pouff ball!

So.. I do need aloe vera gel not only for moisture but to help the curls keep definition.

I'll keep you updated, but for now, this pouff ball is going up into a bushy ponytail!

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Brushing Advice

I've been using my BBB (brush) twice a day. I brush in small sections (like 14) upside down, to the left and to the right. I add jojoba oil to my ends with EOs for a scent to keep my ends hydrated and here's what happens....

The oil, the naturally produced sebum moves down the length of my hair, slowly but surely, like an inch every two weeks, maybe more. As it glides down the length of my naturally dry hair, it fills in the pores and makes it soft and shiny - slightly heavier overall too.

I can see the transitioned hair with sebum and the old hair because the transitioned hair is soft and silky and the bottom part is slightly lighter in colour and weight and is more frizzy looking overall.

When I WO, I scritch my scalp all over, like a gentle nail scratch massage, then I brush as above to get any skin cells or stuff out of my hair. Then I use warrrrrrrmmmm water and since oil liquifies when warm, I think it helps move the sebum. I do use a wide comb in the shower. And I always do an ACV (Apple cider vinegar) rinse all over with EOs (essential oils) when I WO (wash with water only). I may be imagining it but I feel like it hydrates and cleanses my scalp just a little, enough to refresh me to go on.

I remember earlier I'd get pimples or something on my scalp, they came and went pretty quickly but what was worse was when I kept my hair in a ponytail or bun, when is take it out, my scalp would huuurrttt from keeping my hai in one position. I think when I pulled my hair into a ponytail it was leaving a bit of the follicle open to debris. Because my scalp skin wasn't used to being hydrated, and certainly not with sebum, I think the follicles were getting filled in and when the hair was moved ins different direction it got confused, and it hurt. That's when I started brushing in every direction. Most importantly, I stopped brushing from the forehead back since the top of my scalp started getting sensitive since that's the thinnest part of my hair. I only brush forehead back when styling now.

Now - happy scalp. Happy hair. Happy me. No smell after I brush. 21 days between cleanses and rare WOs.

Hope that helps.

And now.... Re growth! My hairline is filling in - yay!!!

Sunday, January 5, 2014

Washing, I'm not so sure....

Okay, it's back to work tomorrow and I figured if I wanted all of my hair to transition, I should just wash my scalp with the argan oil soap bar, flat iron it straight again and keep going to try to transition the ends of my hair. I've set my flat iron at about 3/4 the heat I used to use no - poo and as this is the second time I'm flat ironing it all I did notice my hair was not as cooperative as it was the first time. Specifically then ends... time for a trim ;)

When I wet my hair for the first time in 14 days, it did smell a little oily, but not for long. I lathered the soap on my fingertips and massaged the crown of my head where I'm oiliest. About three dips of my fingertips was plenty soapy lather for the job, maybe even too much. And I rinsed with water. Boy, my curly were back with gusto!! Then in my squirt bottle I filled it halfway with apple cider vinegar and the rest with warm water and I wet my entire scalp and lengths of my hair, ends and then top of my head with my ACV rinse. My scalp tingled a little, probably from all that brushing I've been doing, but didn't even last a minute. I then rinsed it all thoroughly and used my tangle tamer brush to detangle it while the water continued to pour over my hair. Then I put a tiny bit of warm water not my squirt bottle, then 7 drops of tangerine essential oil, a drop or two of jojoba oil and filled the rest up half way with water. I shook it vigorously and saturated my ends. Then I saturated the length of my hair careful not to touch the scalp and when there was barely anything left, i squirted it into my hands and used that tiny bot on the top of my head. I brushed again with my tangle tamer brush and squeezed out the excess water really well.

Then I let my hair air dry, all out. Wow, there were some awesome ringlets and lots of frizz! Plopping to dry *curly* really is the only way to go!

When thoroughly dry (in the evening) I carefully flat ironed the whole thing in small sections and brushed it all out. My hair looked lovely, felt heavier than I'm accustomed to, and the ends - meh! They need a trim, but they'll have to hold out for a while yet.

So... 23 days since my last wash... lets see if I can make it past Jan 28th!!

Saturday, January 4, 2014

Transitioning with No Poo - Pushing my limits!!

I'm on the verge of pushing my limits ... but need to freshen up my hair a bit since despite being on day I dunno... 19 or so since my last cleanse, I still do not need to cleanse/wash yet. I used EOs directly on my hair, they work great even for a moisture boost lol and I've been brushing way more often since I flat ironed my hair 10 days ago so the sebum has moved like lightening!!! I'm at about one inch from my bra strap length ends to be totally transitioned!!!

 But... I think I'm mid cycle and just got a dose of oiliness and a different smell, one I can actually smell now... Hormones are messing me up, darn!

 How can I freshen my hair?? I could do a WO, but I want to hold out since the sebum is moving so nicely, and with straightened hair it's so easy to brush!!! I'm working on pushing past 21 days, and if I wet it with a WO, I'll be curly again and kill my sebum-moving progress.  I'm having thoughts of doing a clean with my argan oil Castille soap on the crown of my scalp, letting it dry in a French braid and flat ironing it again. If I can go another 20 days, I'll still get there... Grrr.... Back to school on Monday, I'm spazzing a bit lol lol

 - my hair is naturally dry and curly, so it is looooooving the sebum/ hydration! It's also loving the argan oil handmade Castille soap bar I use to wash my scalp - only. So my scalp is brushed, healthy, and my hair is the happiest it's ever been. These past two weeks I've only added EOs directly from my hands to the dryer areas and nothing else, not even my beloved aloe Vera got moisture... Nothing!! - I brush when I wake up, wear it in a constant ponytail - except Christmas day I wore it all out - and I brush really really thoroughly before bed, in all directions, in small sections, over and under, and I brush until the heavier hair with more sebum becomes lighter... I think the sebum gets distributed evenly, leaving my entire head of hair feeling lighter and no more itchy scalp!! I also sleep on a satin pillowcase with my hair in a ponytail.

 - I haven't even done a WO since Dec 23rd because I realize the straight hair is helping the sebum move really fast!

 - I brush when I wake up, wear it in a constant ponytail - except Christmas day I wore it all out - and I brush really really thoroughly before bed, in all directions, in small sections, over and under, and I brush until the heavier hair with more sebum becomes lighter... I think the sebum gets distributed evenly, leaving my entire head of hair feeling lighter and no more itchy scalp!! I also sleep on a satin pillowcase with my hair in a ponytail.

I can feel the sebum and I can see the different texture if my hair. With sebum is heavier and glints in the light without looking oily (except the roots) but the ends are a different colour almost, not as rich brown, perhaps not as dark? The ends of course are the most dry, the most damaged, and will likely get trimmed but I'm soooooooo close!!!

- it's minus twenty degrees Celsius here near Toronto, and I'm on winter break from teaching until Monday so I'm not sweating, I'm not even leaving the house if I don't have to, that helps!

In the morning before brushing I have stringy hair, that's the oil, needs to be redistributed. All that I no poo and newly grown hair by the way, you can kind of see the highlights I got last May, that's about 4 inches.

I can't believe how much it's grown!! I had chin length face framing pieces, now look at them!!

In the middle of brushing it, I've even got flyways, just showing how much my hair loooooves soaking up the oils!

Healthy ponytail - soooo worth it!

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Curly Hair Styling

Brushing Curly hair to Move Sebum...

How I Brush: 100 Strokes...

Sleep on a satin pillowcase, here's why...

Plopping... What is that???

Start at 0:42... #3, part and shake before plopping for well defined beautiful curls!!

Here's another for enhansing curl definition, ignore the product he's selling. He is a true guru on curly hair - he has some really great styling tips!! (styling starts at 2:11), and that scrunching he's talking about, do that into your plop and ta daa!!!!