Rye

Geepers. I haven't posted in forever.

So I tried the Rye flour. With mixed results.

I put 2tbsp in the gotube and added water to it until it was goopy. I did this a few weeks ago.

The first time I did it, I tried a rinse with white vinegar instead of the Apple Cider Vinegar I've been using. My hair looked alright after the rye flakes came out, but my scalp was amazingly dry. So the next time I did the rye wash, I went back to the ACV and put a little coconut oil on the ends. It worked a lot better. I went about 4 days between washes the first time, and my hair didn't even seem that greasy (though, I guess at that point I was comparing it to being super greasy after the honey/aloe mixture as I found that the honey/aloe mixture doesn't actually remove sebum). It felt more like hair. Less than grease and more than straw, so that was good, right?

I didn't need a full wash, but in between rye washes a couple weeks ago on a Wednesday I used the ACV rinse with the spray bottle. It was just a little greasy before, and it was a little less greasy with the ACV rinse, but my hair was really dull compared to what it was before this experiment. I played tennis that night and all I could smell was vinegar as I sweated which was kinda weird, but since I don't have a horrible hangup against the smell of vinegar, it was ok. i did a WO wash that night and felt better. My hair looked pretty great the next day.

I did the rye wash the following Friday with an ACV rinse. It was alright that day, and a little ok the next day (honestly, I did absolutely nothing the next day. I didn't even brush my hair or put a bra on, it was one of those - it was delightfully relaxing, but probably horrible for my hair).  After a WO wash on Sunday morning, my husband was making fun of what my hair was doing. It was stiff and greasy that day, and the next as well.

I washed again this past Thursday, so a bit less than a week between washes. Of course, the day of the wash I wake up and my hair is gorgeous. Why does that always happen to me when I'm greasy like mad the days leading up?! It seemed ok, but it does still feel rather waxy, and there really is almost NO shine to it at all. This is better, I guess, than a couple of weeks ago when I noticed that my scalp was not only crazy itchy, but also that parts were rather raw.

I think what all this means is that I'm not quite out of transition yet. Which is fine. I didn't expect it to go this quickly anyway. That's not my life. :) But the longer this transition period lasts, the less I think the payout is going to live up to my expectations.

I do rather like the body and thickness I've gained. It's possible that my hair is growing quicker because of it. It seems about time to make another appointment for my roots.

I'm really missing my shampoo hardcore right now.

Jenn's Current Status

# of days since last SLS shampoo: 55

# of days since last rye flour + ACV wash: 5

Hair Happiness Scale: 6/10

Public Perception Paranoia Scale: 6/10

I'm Still Here

And just LOOK what's happened with my hair!

Hi kids. Did I mention I had a vacation? Well, I did (which is why I've been radio silent for so long), but I'm BACK and I'm still no-poo :)

Where was I? (You ask. You did ask, right?) I spent a glorious week and a half in Vancouver and SE Alaska, the latter on a surprisingly fun cruise. (Surprising, because I'd never been on a cruise before and had somewhat low expectations.) It was a great trip, filled with hiking, kayaking, canoeing, snorkeling (yes, snorkeling in Alaska), whale watching, and glacier viewing.

Glaciers are totally cool, in both senses of the word.

Going Low-Poo

As you may recall, I had a plan for my hair regimen going into the trip, which mainly consisted of holding out for as long as possible, and then indulging in a low-poo shampoo (is that cheating?). Well, that's pretty much exactly what I did. I landed in Vancouver with hair that hadn't seen a rye flour wash in 5 days, and—other than being matted airplane hair—it wasn't so bad. Which was great, because I promptly tested it—and myself—with a 3-hour mountain hike in North Vancouver the next morning.

The view was lovely.

And I celebrated by using my low poo that night! Now, I think I'd been building up in my mind what using low poo would feel like. After all, it's been quite some time since I last used a commercially available shampoo of any kind, and I have to admit I've missed the glorious sudsy feeling you get from a good lather. And since I'd so bravely conquered that mountain in the morning (a big deal for me, as I have a terrible fear of falling), I felt like I needed to reward myself. 

So in I went to my fancy hotel shower with my fancy non-SLS, moisturizing and thickening shampoo with its fancy-sounding ingredients, and it was...meh. Yes, it lathered and yes, it smelled great, but it also felt...slimy. You know that feeling you get in your hair when you use conditioner and it feels like a lot of work to rinse the product off your head and your hands? (I'm not making it up, I swear.) That's the feeling I had with the low poo, and I found that I didn't like it. It reminded me of the first time I ever used conditioner myself, which, honestly, wasn't until early college. Yes, that's right. Full disclosure: my childhood was a shampoo-only one (my mom didn't believe in the added expense of conditioners), which probably explains the giant knot that formed in my waist-length hair in high school, prompting an overnight switch to a shoulder-length style. So, you see, I grew up used to feeling my hair squeak after a wash, whereas the application of conditioner always made it feel a bit slippery, like I still had soap in it. And the Shea Moisture low poo, which was probably doing exactly what it says on the label, made my hair feel slippery and still soapy to the touch. Sigh. 

In all likelihood, it made my hair look fabulous and probably added some not unwelcome nutrients in, but I kind of missed my rye flour wash. Plus, I felt like my hair got greasy within 3 days. Boo. In any case, great-looking hair was not really a necessity on the rest of the trip, since Alaska was, well, rainy.

Can you see my hair? Doesn't it look fab?

Yep, my typical gear every day was a ponytail or pigtails and a ball cap, pulled low. Hey, Alaska is wet, and I had lots of outdoor physical activities! Water-only sufficed for most of the vacation, though there were also a few skip days (I was tired of my hair being wet).

And now, I'm back (and back to rye flour and ACV), trying to catch up. Did I miss anything?

Back to no poo, and cool with it.

Edwina's Current Status

# of days since last SLS shampoo: 48

# of days since last low poo: 9

# of days since last rye flour + ACV wash: 7

Hair Happiness Scale: 9/10

Public Perception Paranoia Scale: 0/10

Transitioning Is Hard

After reading about the alkalinity of the baking soda wash we'd been using, and experiencing the straw hair of doom, I decided a change was needed.

We're still working on getting a PH test kit, so I don't know what the PH of this solution is, but the ingredients lead me to believe it will be much more gentle, maybe even nourishing than the baking soda.

Secret formula #2: Aloe Gel & Honey

I got the recipe from Code Red Hat

Naturoo Take Two!

1/4 Aloe Gel (I used one I got at Whole Foods)
2 tbs all natural honey (I used Colorado Star Thistle from Bee Raw Honey because apparently I have a honey hookup)

I actually doubled the mixture because I wasn't sure if I was going to get enough. I totally had enough, and probably would have had MORE than plenty if I'd just used the amount in the recipe. I mixed the ingredients in a blender and got something that's vaguely the consitency of shampoo. It smelled delightful, actually, though I resisted tasting it. I did, end up tasting the honey though. You know pouring that can be such a PITA. OMFG it was the most amazing honey ever and I can't wait to put it on waffles and in coffee and everything.

I digress.

This is what the mixture looked like, and probably the coolest naturoo photo this blog has ever seen:

Hey girl, I want to eat your sebum.

I used the mixture last Thursday for the first time. It did make my hair soft and it felt really clean right after. It moved in breezes and felt light.

Happy hair!

Then the oil came right back before the day was done. Not to the point where others noticed it, but I could feel it. 

I think this was taken that night, I'm not totally sure.
Looking at this now, several days removed,
the hair actually looks pretty good.

I washed again several times this week with water only, scrubbing my scalp, trying desperately to get rid of the sebum build up. No dice.

I washed again with the aloe/honey yesterday morning. I don't think I did a great job of getting all the honey out  of the back of my hair. It still felt a little sticky. But then later last night, as I was walking home, wouldn't you know that was the cleanest feeling part of my hair? 

The sebum likes to collect in the front where that one longer piece of hair likes to dangle. Indeed, that piece is covered in greasy sebum, making it look like I haven't washed my hair in days, when I just did. 

I think they key to this for me will be washing with water only almost daily until the transition phase is over.  I played tennis last night and washed with water only (which was way easier than packing my shampoo and conditioner, actually). I think I'm going to stick with the aloe/honey mixture for now since it's not drying my roots. I might pick up some essential oils to stick in it though, and make a cocoa/cornstarch dry shampoo for my especially sebumy days.

I'm not exactly the most patient of people, so this process has me a little frustrated, to be honest. I just cannot wait for that AHA moment of wonderfulness everyone talks about when my hair feels more like hair and less like the innards of an automobile's engine. Two things I have discovered, however, in this process:

1. People honestly don't notice your hair. Hair that I've thought has been almost unbearably greasy has actually been perceived as ok or nothing to comment on by other people.
2. Hippies do not smell like patchouli!  They smell like sebum! I know this because I've been smelling a LOT of sebum recently as my hair dries. I'm not really self conscious of it because I have a super high threshold of feeling self conscious of things (thanks Mom!) and also because most people aren't really getting close enough to me to smell my hair. 

# of days since last commercial shampoo: 30

# of days since last naturoo: 2

Random Friend #1 Check: Are you still even doing that no-poo thing? 

Public Perception Paranoia Scale: 3/10

Shamless plug: no really, go check out Bee Raw's honey. It's delightful both for your insides and your outsides (the kind I used is also good for honey facials, which I didn't know is a thing, but apparently it is - this blog post is pretty good at explaining stuff on honey facials: She Knows - Why Honey Is Good For Your Skin). Their honey is also good for the bees too - they not only support artisinal beekeepers, but they've also set up a foundation to save endangered bees.

Leaving on a Jet Plane

Yep, about to head off for vacation! BUT FIRST. Yes, that's right, I tried using a rye flour mix to wash my hair, and the results are...pretty good :)

Exhibit A: In which I am happier than a chocolate brownie.

I was admittedly a bit skeptical about washing my hair with yet another baking product, particularly one that looks like gloop.

Gloop is a technical term.

But the results speak for themselves: After washing with it, my hair felt clean, smooth, shiny, voluminous... Need I go on? Also, can I tell you a secret? That photo was taken 3 sweaty, humid days after using the rye flour wash. It should also be noted that I'm still using ACV as a conditioner, but much, much diluted from what I started with. Will it make a difference? We'll see. Am I a rye flour shampoo convert? Well, after just one go at it, sure...for now. Of course, I am about to embark on a low 'poo-fueled trip, using a Shea Moisture product, so who knows. Perhaps the seductive qualities of low 'poo will wile me away from the no-'poo life? (I'll certainly be cheating this week...)

The New Formula

Rye flour wash:

• 2 tbsp rye flour (in a 2oz. squeeze tube)
• just enough water to make it gloopy (see, technical term)

Apple cider vinegar rinse:

• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup water
• 3 drops rosemary oil
• 4 drops lemon oil

Edwina's current status:

# of days since last commercial (sulfate-inclusive) shampoo: 27

# of days since last naturoo (rye flour + ACV): 3

Significant Other Check: "It looks good."
Judgmental Coworker Check: "It actually has more volume now (0 days post-rye flour) than at any other point in this whole experiment!"

Public Perception Paranoia Scale: 1/10

Bonus video:

See you on the flipside!