icky hair

Folks, hair happiness is not using baking soda and apple cider vinegar in your hair care routine. I started The Craziness on October 18 and barely made it over three weeks. And truthfully, my hair didn't look that bad, and I didn't smell funny, and I was enjoying being able to curl my hair, but it just wasn't worth it because of one thing: STATIC CLING.

That shit was driving me totally bonkers, and when I got home later than usual last night, all I wanted to do was eat something, relax, and take a shower and not have to rub grit through my hair or spray food on it. Furthermore, any semblance of shininess had quickly run for the hills once I decided to punish my flaxen strands this way, and dang it, I like shiny and soft. Crisp and straw-like isn't what I had in mind.

Although I was shooting for a month of trial, I'm pretty sure three weeks was long enough to conclude that hippie hair is not for me. Today, my hair is soft, smooth, straight, and not plastered to my forehead like a piece of wet plastic wrap. This method may work well for some people and I had certainly done my research, but at this point in my life, my hair clearly requires some level of chemical in it to be in happyland.

Mitsy has happy hair once again
and is not a hippie anymore.

Stupid hippies and their baking soda/vinegar shenanigans. Miss Ali, my hair care professional and friend extraordinaire, can rest assured that The Craziness is definitely over. for now

'poo-free

So, I've been real interested in going shampoo/conditioner-free, which, if you've been living under a rock and don't know, is the latest rage! Well, maybe not so much, but I am intrigued by the idea of not needing to use commercial hair care products.

See, I've been a Finesse girl since about the age of 12. I just love the smell of that shit. And it really does make my hair soft and silky. But I have to continually rotate my hair care products because after a few weeks of use of my beloved Finesse, my hair starts to get weighed down and droopy and lifeless and blargh. And I have pretty awesome hair to begin with, despite the abuse I throw at it.

Anyway, I took the plunge a couple weeks ago and starting using baking soda as my 'poo and apple cider vinegar as my conditioner. When commenting to my mother the fear that I would smell like a derelict, she promptly replied, "You won't smell like a derelict, you'll smell like a salad!" I love you, Mom!

My current hair care regimen. Exciting.

Ignore the spray bottle label. Our late boy Blue (R.I.P my sweet dog) would occasionally get hot spots from sitting on his ass (American Bulldogs sit on their butts like people. Because they think they're people), so I kept this (somewhat) natural remedy on hand.

So far, I'm relatively happy with the results, although I miss having pretty smelling hair. The first time, I did smell like a salad, and it kinda sucked. Once it dried, it was barely noticeable, but smelling like a salad is kinda gross. Then, after a few times, it didn't smell salad-y at all. Or maybe I just have become immune to it. I do make everyone I see these days smell my hair now to make sure I don't smell like a salad, and they assure me I don't, but they could just be humoring me.

Clyde Dog thinks I smell like a hippie and is keeping his distance.

 
I read that it takes at least a few weeks for your hair to re-calibrate from the stripping (shampoo) and moisturizing (conditioner) action of commercial hair care products. And it was super greasy and gross after the first anti-chemical wash. But it has definitely balanced out and is getting softer and shinier with each use.

A few observations: my hair takes the curling iron now like nobody's business. I have super straight hair and would devote the time to using a curling iron on occasion and then the curls would promptly fall out the minute I walked out the door. It actually holds a modest wave all freaking day now, which is radical!

It also takes me a good five minutes longer in the shower to work the baking soda through my scalp (you mix it with water to a toothpaste consistency), which actually makes for a pretty invigorating scalp massage. I put the vinegar in a spray bottle because dumping it on my head from the bottle seemed rather counter-productive.

Lastly, I used to wash my hair every day, but I now go about three days between washings, including actually showering the rest of my bod, much to the chagrin of Jay. But my hair just doesn't get greasy like it used to, and I'm generally not a stinky hippie, so I've enjoyed the extra time I've gained from not showering as often. Hopefully, I haven't totally grossed you out.

I plan to continue this experiment for at least another month. It's dirt cheap, seems to be working well, and I'm always down for trying to reduce my reliance on commercial products. And I always have apple cider vinegar on hand because I have an arsenal of vinegars and like to make bomb homemade salad dressing. And baking soda because I like to make a mess in the kitchen.